Journey Map
How an experience feels over time, with highs and lows
- PhaseUnderstand
- Group4 to 12 people
- Time60 minutes
- SettingRoom or remote
- ExecutivesYes
What it is
A journey map shows how a person's experience unfolds over time, stage by stage, with the highs and lows marked. It turns a vague sense that an experience is poor into specific moments that can be fixed.
When to use it
When the experience of a customer, employee or partner is the problem, and you need to find the moments that matter.
When to skip it
When the problem is internal to a back-office step nobody outside the team sees.
How to run it
- 5 minChoose the person and the start and end of the journey.
- 10 minDraw the stages across the top.
- 15 minFill in what the person does, thinks and feels at each stage.
- 10 minDraw the emotion line and mark the lowest and highest points.
- 15 minMark where AI could help and where it could harm trust. Pick the three moments that matter most.
About 55 minutes of method time. Add ten to fifteen minutes to open and close the session.
What to watch for
Mapping the ideal journey. Using one persona to speak for everyone.
The AI lens
Add two rows: moments where AI could help, and moments where it could damage trust. People remember the failure, not the average.
What you leave with
A journey with an emotion line, the moments that matter, and the AI opportunities and risks at each.
An example
For an AI assistant in a bank's service channel, the map follows a customer from noticing a problem to getting it resolved. It shows the stage where waiting hurts most, and the stage where a wrong answer from the assistant would do the most damage.
How it compares
A Journey Map follows the person's experience. A Current-State Workflow Map follows the work. Use both when a process and the feelings around it need to be understood together.
Related methods
Questions
What is Journey Map?
A journey map shows how a person's experience unfolds over time, stage by stage, with the highs and lows marked. It turns a vague sense that an experience is poor into specific moments that can be fixed.
When should I use Journey Map?
When the experience of a customer, employee or partner is the problem, and you need to find the moments that matter.
How long does Journey Map take and how many people do I need?
Journey Map takes about 60 minutes and suits 4 to 12 people, plus a facilitator. Add ten to fifteen minutes to open and close the session.
How is Journey Map different from other methods?
A Journey Map follows the person's experience. A Current-State Workflow Map follows the work. Use both when a process and the feelings around it need to be understood together.
Can I run Journey Map remotely or with executives?
Yes. Journey Map works in the room or remotely. Remotely, put the canvas on a shared board in advance and write silently in the board, not in chat. Executives: Yes, works with executives present.