18F

18F-Journey Mapping

Journey mapping visualizes a user's end-to-end experience with a product or service. It captures actions, thoughts, emotions, and pain points across all touchpoints. In this 4-hour exercise, teams synthesize research into a narrative. This reveals opportunities often missed when examining individual interactions. Teams map stages from initial awareness to post-use reflection. Identify key moments to amplify the positive and resolve the negative. A good journey map includes lanes for user actions, thoughts, emotions, pain points, and opportunities. The result? Cross-functional teams aligned around user experience. Teams can prioritize improvements based on emotional impact. And you'll reveal systemic issues spanning teams or channels. Journey maps should be living documents. Update them as new research emerges.

Duration
4 hours
Group Size
6-10
Category
18F
Difficulty
Easy
Give design teams a bird's-eye view of a service. Help them see the sequence of interactions in a user's experience. Capture the complexity, successes, pain points, and emotions users experience. Start from the earliest research phases through adoption.

  • A complete journey map.

  • Visualized user experience.

  • Identified opportunities for improvement.

Consider these points:

  • Journey mapping is a powerful tool, but it's not a magic bullet. It requires good user research data.

  • Don't be afraid to iterate on the map as you learn more.

  • For further information, search for "3-part series on the what, why, and how of journey mapping — GSA Customer Experience Center of Excellence."


Government Considerations:

  • No PRA implications.

  • Exempts direct observation and non-standardized conversation.


  1. Document the design context:

People involved and their goals.
 Their behaviors in pursuit of those goals.
Information, devices, and services that support them.
 Important moments in their experience or major decisions.
The emotions tied to those moments or decisions.
 Potential harms associated with those moments or decisions.

  1. Visualize the order of behaviors, information use, decisions, and emotions. Group elements into "phases" related to each persona's narrative. Identify shared components.

  2. Discuss the map with stakeholders. Highlight key insights. Establish design principles based on these insights. Consider how to streamline a customer's journey. Incorporate this into the project's scope. Sometimes, stakeholders struggle to see the value initially. Be patient and guide them through the process.

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For Facilitators

  • Review participant profiles and expectations
  • Prepare all materials and supplies
  • Test technology and room setup

For Participants

  • Complete pre-session survey
  • Review background materials
  • Prepare examples or case studies

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  • Large wall space.

  • Sticky notes.

  • Markers.

  • User research data.

  • Journey map template.

Unlock Materials Required

Create a free account to access step-by-step instructions, agendas, and resources for all activities.

NNGroup - Journey Mapping Guide
Comprehensive guide to journey mapping from NNGroup.

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