Empathy Mapping
Follow these guidelines for Empathy Mapping.
Guidelines for Empathy Mapping
Step 1: Set the stage
5 min
Share 1-3 personas and any user research or data you have.
Explain that the group's task for the next hour is to immerse themselves in the target personas. This isn't a sterile tick-the-box exercise you can sleepwalk your way through! Really step into their skin and imagine how they feel.
Step 2: Demonstrate by doing
5 min
Before you break into sub-groups, ensure the team have detached themselves from their biases and are prepared to morph into their customer persona. To get into the mood, choose an example persona that is unrelated to your product or service and run through a quick role play.
For example, you could choose "a 42-year old who likes breakfast cereal" and walk through the sections of the empathy map.
Step 3: Fill in the empathy maps
15 min
Divide the group into pairs or trios. Work out which sub-group tackles which persona, and allow 10-15 minutes to fill in their empathy map.
Remember, you can create empathy maps for an existing product to better understand how your personas feel about it right now. Or, you can create the map with a new design in mind to help articulate how you want customers to feel about it in its future state.
Pay special attention to pain points. Think about what the persona hears from friends or says about the product in terms of the pain they experience when using it.
Step 4: Present the empathy maps
30 min
As each sub-group presents their map, encourage the full group to raise questions or items for discussion.
What insights does the map reveal? What assumptions are we making that need to be researched? Where do we have gaps in knowledge?
Step 5: Determine next steps
5 min
Did you stumble on questions that need to be answered before moving ahead? Assumptions that need to be validated? Discuss as a group what you've learned from the empathy maps and how that can be applied as you work on your project or operate and improve your service.
Assign tasks, owners, and due dates as necessary.
Get started with this template right now.
Video Storyboarding Template
Videos can be a game-changer when presenting a new idea. To create an engaging video, structure your narrative effectively using a Video Storyboarding Template. This ensures your message is clear and easy to understand and can help you gain support and feedback.
Customer Touchpoint Map Template
Works best for:
Desk Research, Product Management, Mapping
To attract and keep loyal customers, you have to truly start to understand them—their pain point, wants, and needs. A customer touchpoint map helps you gain that understanding by visualizing the path your customers follow, from signing up for a service, to using your site, to buying your product. And because no two customers are exactly alike, a CJM lets you plot out multiple pathways through your product. Soon you’ll be able to anticipate those pathways and satisfy your customers at every step.
Service Blueprint
Works best for:
Research & Design
Utilize the Service Blueprint template to visualize and optimize your service processes. This template captures interactions between customers and service elements, helping you identify areas for improvement. It's ideal for teams aiming to enhance service delivery by aligning processes, identifying inefficiencies, and fostering a comprehensive understanding of the service journey. Perfect for creating a cohesive service strategy.
Crazy Eights Template
Works best for:
Design Thinking, Brainstorming, Ideation
Sometimes you just need to get the team’s creative juices flowing for a brainstorm—and get them thinking of as many ideas as they can, as fast as they can. Crazy Eights will do it in a hurry. Favoring quantity over quality, this sketch brainstorming exercise challenges them to come up with eight ideas in eight minutes, which leaves no time to second guess ideas. It’s perfect for early stages of development, and it’s a team favorite for being fast paced and fun.
Service Definition Canvas
Works best for:
Research & Design
The Service Definition Canvas helps you define and visualize the core components of your service. This template is perfect for outlining service interactions, identifying improvement areas, and aligning teams. Use it to create a clear and comprehensive service blueprint that enhances customer experience and operational efficiency. It's ideal for strategic planning and ensuring a cohesive understanding of service delivery among stakeholders.
Parallel Universes Template
Creative ideas often come from exploring ordinary things from unique perspectives. The key to success is borrowing and adapting. The Parallel Universes Template encourages you to examine how a successful organization from a different field would tackle a specific problem.