This visual demonstration of the emotional journey of a user can help your team align on the highs and lows of your customer's experience — whether its with a product, feature, or process. After you've mapped the emotional journey based on inputs from research (ex. user interviews, feedback, sentiment analyses, etc.), you can brainstorm ways to double-down on the emotional "highs," and ways to support users through the "lows." Use this journey map on its own, or within a larger user research presentation.
Here's how to use the template
Understand the goal: This template visually maps a user's emotional journey to highlight their highs and lows during their interaction with a product, feature, or process. It provides a foundation for identifying opportunities to enhance positive experiences and alleviate pain points.
Prepare your inputs: Gather insights from user research, such as user interviews, feedback surveys, sentiment analysis, support tickets, and/or reviews. Use Miro AI to synthesize your inputs and sort the main themes along the emotion spectrum.
Add emotional highs:
Use the green bubbles to mark the positive emotional moments users experience.
Write brief descriptions of these highs (e.g., "Feature worked flawlessly," or "Enjoyed quick setup").
Annotate along the arrow to provide context about why this moment is a high. Consider user motivations, environment, and specific triggers.
Add emotional lows:
Use the red bubbles to identify pain points or moments of frustration.
Include details like "Confusing UI" or "Error messages unclear."
Again, annotate along the arrow to explain the cause of the emotional dip and the circumstances surrounding it.
Mark cycles of frustration:
Use the arrow wheels to show where users may get stuck in recurring emotional cycles (e.g., repetitive errors, repeated failed attempts).
Add short notes on why these cycles occur and their impact on the overall experience.
Customize the template
Adjust the central through-line arrow to better reflect the flow of your specific journey (linear, branching, etc.).
Move, add, or remove green and red bubbles as needed to match the complexity of the experience you're analyzing.
Analyze and action: Once the journey is mapped, discuss as a team...
How to amplify emotional highs: Explore ways to repeat or expand positive moments.
How to improve emotional lows: Brainstorm solutions to reduce friction and improve user support.
Document actionable insights and assign follow-up tasks.
This template serves as a dynamic tool to iteratively improve your user experience based on their real emotional journey.
