TC Design
Journey map
- Dan Larmour
What is a user journey map?
A user journey map is a type of visualization used to show the process a user goes through in order to accomplish a goal or complete a task.
Key components
There are many different visual styles and variations of journey maps out there, but a basic journey map often has the following components.
Persona or actor
Because journey maps focus on a specific user progressing through a series of phases to achieve a goal, it is important to pick a single persona for each journey map. There is a good chance that motivations, feelings, and pain points for one persona are different than other personas. If we use an example of the ‘buying a car’ journey, the persona of a college student buying their first car is going to have a different journey than a wealthy business person looking at buying an exotic sports car.
Scenario and expectations
The scenario describes the specific situation the user is in that the journey map addresses. In the example journey of buying a car, one of the scenarios could be that our persona’s lease is set to expire in 3 months. The expectation is that before the lease expires, the persona will determine whether or not buying the car is the best financial decision for their family.
Journey phases
Phases are the high-level stages of a journey and it is important to remember that phases will vary from scenario to scenario, and persona to persona. In the car-buying journey example, you might see phases such as Awareness, Research, Shopping, Purchase, Maintenance.
Actions, mindsets, and emotions
Actions are the steps the user takes in that phase. These are usually kept at a high-level and not granular. You will typically see only one to three actions per phase.
Mindsets correspond to users' thoughts, questions they ask themselves, their motivations, and information needs at different phases of their journey. Ideally these are verbatim quotes you can pull from your user research.
Emotions are plotted in a single line across all the phases to visually communicate the “ups and downs” the user experiences throughout the journey. This helps the team determine where the user is happy and what parts of the process frustrate them.
Opportunities
Opportunities are the insights we gain from the mapping exercise and speak to how the user experience can be optimized (sometimes these are also referred to as pain points). Most often, opportunities will focus on the phase of the journey where the user is the most frustrated as a high-impact improvement for your product or service.
Solutions
Solutions are the ideas the team(s) can act on based on the Opportunities identified above. These ideas can either turn a negative user experience (pain point) into a positive one, or turn a positive experience into a delightful experience so that the user is more likely to promote your product or service.
Internal ownership
This section identifies the area responsible for the solutions identified in the Opportunities section. Sometimes the best high-value and low-effort solution can come from a different team or part of the organization and this section identifies that area so there is common understanding and the right team or area takes ownership.
Why use a journey map?
When done correctly, a journey map can be an incredibly powerful tool that helps build empathy for users and provides us with a concise, tangible, and visual understanding of our users and how they interact with our product or service. A visual map helps convey information in a way that is memorable, concise and helps to create a shared vision among the team and stakeholders. The journey map then becomes the basis for decision making as the team moves forward.
Journey maps can be used for both product development and service design. Although a service blueprint is the artefact often associated with service design, both maps actually work in tandem: a journey map focuses specifically on the client or user’s journey, and a service blueprint focuses on the business perspective of what happens or is required to support that user journey.
Regardless of what phase of the product or service design cycle you are in, there are significant benefits from a journey mapping exercise. Here are a few scenarios common to large organizations that journey mapping can help with:
Shift the organization’s perspective from inside-out to outside-in
If your organization is letting internal processes and systems dictate decisions that impact client and/or citizen experience, journey mapping can help flip that script. By focusing on the thoughts, actions, and emotions of your clients and citizens, journey mapping brings real human experiences to light—experiences that organizations often know very little about.
Break down silos for a unified vision
Journey maps provide a comprehensive view of the entire client or citizen journey, making them a powerful tool for fostering cross-departmental conversations and collaboration. They can be the first step in creating an organization-wide action plan to enhance client and citizen experience by pinpointing areas of friction and answering the crucial question, “Where do we start?”
Assign ownership of key touchpoints
Inconsistencies and glitches in client and citizen journeys often arise because no internal team is responsible for those elements. Journey maps can clarify which departments or groups should align with different stages or key touchpoints in the journey, ensuring these areas get the attention they need.
Target specific clients and citizens
Journey maps help teams zero in on specific personas or client and citizen segments. Whether it’s understanding the differences and similarities across multiple personas or prioritizing a high-value persona, journey mapping provides the insights needed to make informed decisions.
How to create a journey map
Establish the 'what' and the 'why'
Before you start, make sure you have clear answers to the following questions:
What business goal does it support?
Who will use it?
Who is it about and what experience does it address?
How will it be shared?
Journey maps are living documents and should be updated if and when the user’s journey changes. This might happen as the result of a solution that has been implemented or you learn something new through research.
Base it on research truth
Just like a persona, a journey map must be based on research to be effective. Start by gathering all existing research and use additional research activities to fill in any gaps in the narrative. While quantitative data can help support or validate findings, building a journey map is a qualitative research process.
Collaborate with others
The act of actually creating the journey map is often more valuable than the visual output itself. Collaborate with other groups, stakeholders, and teams that have insight to offer on this particular journey to help compile data and build the map together.
Collaborating on the creation of the journey map will also help create a shared understanding of the user’s journey. Since journey maps can be intricate and complex, having a shared understanding with stakeholders and other interested parties is essential to making them easier to interpret and more meaningful. This in turn makes it easier to facilitate conversations around the journey map.
Don’t jump to visualization
Although it can be tempting to want to create a visually stunning journey map right away, make sure to take your time to ensure the data synthesis is done correctly and that the findings are well understood.
Engage others with the final product
Use the visualized journey map in sprint reviews to engage stakeholders or to set the stage for the work the team just completed. You can also use journey maps in agile events such as refinements, planning, and dailies to remind the team of the shared vision and why the work they’re doing that sprint is important. A shared understanding empowers the team to make critical decisions during the sprint without having to consult stakeholders or users, which may be unavailable.
Template
Remember that in order for journey mapping to be truly effective, you must use actual user research. After conducting the research, use this template to help gather insights and visualize the journey. We’ve also included a completed fictional journey map as an example to use for reference.
Journey mapping template - EN_FR
Resources
How to Do User Journey Mapping: A Detailed Guide | Looppanel
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