On Monday Dawn wrote about the central importance of behaviour in determining how, and how well, we can weather the current storms. Perhaps particularly in challenging times, when people’s ability to tolerate disconnects and dissonance is lower than usual, we are judged by what we do rather than what we say.
To help with the task of imagining how someone else might see the world we shared The Empathy Map. Today we are sharing another tool to help you think about how others may experience an event that you are inviting them to. It could be the re-opening of your museum, an online quiz night or their first day back at work for many months. Whatever the event, you want them to have a good experience and to come back for more!
Definition: A journey map is a visualization of the process that a person goes through in order to accomplish a goal.
In its most basic form, journey mapping starts by compiling a series of user actions into a timeline. Next, the timeline is fleshed out with user thoughts and emotions in order to create a narrative. This narrative is condensed and polished, ultimately leading to a visualization.
Journey maps are sometimes called customer journey maps but their use is not limited to customers. We have worked with organisations to develop student experience maps for HEIs and with museums to map their online visitor experience. They are often used in designing public service offers where they are called user experience maps.
You can create a map with pen and paper, flipcharts and post its, online whiteboards or specialist software, some of which is free. The process is as simple or as complicated as you want and need to make it. You can do one in 30 minutes or develop a portfolio of detailed maps for different users/customers over several weeks.
The process is simple.
- Decide who your user is going to be. Think about what you know about this user – an empathy map could be useful here.
- Think about the scenario – what is happening and what is your user’s goal? What expectations do you think that they might have? Again the empathy map can help here.
- Break the journey into phases. As a minimum there are usually three phases: before the event (sometimes called pre-service), during the event (service) and afterwards (post-service).
- Add the user’s actions, mindsets and emotions to the map. What did they do? What did they think, want or need? What was their emotional journey or arc during the experience?
- Review the map you have created. Where are the opportunities for you to improve the quality of their experience?
A few tips
- Using colour really helps
- Start with the big picture and drill down only where you need to
- Try and work with others as you develop your map
- Test your map by showing it to at least one person who is in, or understands, your user group
This tool could be used in a variety of different ways to help you think about and plan for a new experience you are providing . Possible uses include:
- Planning how to welcome people back to your venue
- Thinking about how to bring staff who have been furloughed or working remotely back into your building
- Working out how to provide a great induction for new members of staff, trustees or volunteers when you are working remotely
- Designing digital experiences
- Planning a fundraising event in the virtual or physical world
Some resources and tools to help you with your map making
Good general introductions
How to make a user journey map
Customer journey mapping: the path to loyalty
Free templates
Customer Journey Canvas that helps you both map the journey and identify areas for change
Examples for different industries including museums and restaurants
For those interested in going deeper
Collection of great blogs on journey mapping
Extract from a great book: Stickdorn, M., Hormess, M. and Lawrence, A. (2018) This is service design doing. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Our good colleague Lisa Baxter at The Experience Business also offers a range of resources focused on audience XD on her website