Synthesize

Map a journey

Lay out what a persona does, step by step, and how it feels.

How to do it

1. Name the stages from trigger to outcome.
2. For each stage, write what they do and how they feel.
3. Mark the low points; these become opportunities.

Tip. Map the current experience first. A future-state journey comes after ideation.

What you need

Start from:

• Persona

It is better with: Insight, Interview notes, Jobs to be done or Empathy map.

What you get: Journey map

A journey map template has these sections:

• Current journey

Where it fits

• Define (Double Diamond): Agree the one problem worth solving, and for whom.

Usually comes after

• Build a persona

What to do next

• Map opportunities
• Write how-might-we statements
• Write a readout
• Audit the evidence
• Check what new evidence changes

Templates that use it

• Exploratory study: We don’t know the problem well yet: why do people do what they do?
• Double Diamond: A whole project, from understanding a problem to a tested answer.
• Jobs to be done: Why do people start using, switch to or leave a product like yours?
• Design Thinking: Empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test, in the classic five modes.
• Design Sprint: Five days from a big question to a prototype tested with real people.