RESEARCH DELIVERABLE

95 User Journey Maps

A user journey map is a visualization of the experiences people have when interacting with a product or service, so that each moment can be individually evaluated and improved.

A user journey map tells a story about an individual’s actions, feelings, perceptions, and frame of mind—including the positive, negative, and neutral moments—as he or she interacts with a multichannel product or service over a period of time. By documenting the series of events and interactions that a person experiences, the user journey map can shift an organization’s focus from an operational, system-centered view to the larger context in which products and services are used in the real world. It also helps teams pinpoint distinct moments that elicit strong emotional reactions and are ripe for redesign and improvement. By creating discussions around which interactions are working optimally, which are insignificant, and which are failing altogether, the user journey map helps teams develop a shared vision about ways to more effectively augment existing user behavior within their actual contexts of use.

Solid user journey maps are usually created alongside, or immediately following, personas and scenarios documents. All three deliverables should be heavily informed by direct contact with the customers who use the product or service. Rich, qualitative data that is a result of primary research is the only way to be sure to craft deep, compelling narratives that reflect people’s actual needs, feelings, and perceptions that occur before, during, and after product interactions. Each map should represent a journey specific to a persona, as well as include a description of the persona. For the benefit of the internal team, the map should also articulate the event it illustrates: this can be either an entire relationship life cycle, or can be limited to a specific scenario. The map should be an honest representation of an experience, and include moments of indecision, confusion, frustration, as well as delight and closure. Multiple maps will need to be created for multiple personas, as each persona will have different tasks and goals, and will experience different breakdowns and successes on their journey.

The early versions of the document can then serve as a springboard for discussion on the team. Print out an early version of the map on large-format paper, pin it up on a board, and hold a review session where everybody can get up close to the document and mark it up with questions, ideas, and suggestions for improvement. The hands-on, inclusive design activity that brings all decision makers together can go a long way in ensuring that the user journey map becomes a living document for the organization.

Further Reading

McInness, Andrew. “Assess The Effectiveness of Your Customer Journey Map.” Forrester Research, 2010.

Browne, Jonathan. “Executive Q&A: Design Personas and Customer Journey Maps.” Forrester Research, 2011.