Applications of User Experience Journey Maps
In this section, we will review four specific applications of UX journey maps that include a variety of elements and environments. Most of them build off the general models we discussed and all serve to illustrate the range and utilities of UX mapping.
Application One. The experience of a regular shopper at a Red and White grocery store. UX Journey Maps can be straightforward representations of an experience or can be complex depictions of a multi-layered journey. This example shows clear boundaries for the experience and a defined sequence of events with a detailed timeline. The map displays only the information that is needed in order to understand one customer’s shopping experience. The timeline includes various touchpoints in which the user interacts with the employees, products, and services of the store and includes the different channels of interaction (i.e. the parking lot, the entrance, the aisles, the checkout counter). Photographs are included among the timeline to help illustrate the experience and share the user narrative.
The information embedded in the touchpoints on this map can assist this organization with determining possibilities for improving the customer’s shopping experience both inside and outside the store. They also provide the organization with the opportunity to layer their existing store metrics (e.g. wait time at the checkout counter during different times of day, number of times per shift that employees locate products for customers) onto the customer journey information. This approach can offer the organization a 360 degree vision of the user’s experience and a cyclical view of the engagement process between the user, the organization, and back again.
Application Two. The pizza ordering experience. A customer’s journey of purchasing a pizza is documented in this UX example. This journey map offers a straightforward depiction of three stages of a pizza purchase along with the data that defines the user’s experience. Both quantitative and qualitative data are shown here, with the quantitative data displayed in visual form and the qualitative data displayed in text form. The combination of these two types of data help members of the organization to process a great deal of information quickly and easily, and help them identify how the information intersects throughout a user’s journey.
The ease of this display helps engage members to interpret the data from their own perspectives and roles within the organization. These varied perspectives can result in different interpretations of the data and can lead to valuable insights and opportunities for enhancing the user experience that might otherwise have been overlooked.
Application Three. Linda’s online journey searching for grant information. It’s not uncommon for organizations to make assumptions about how their users are interacting with their products or services because they often lack the specific feedback necessary to truly understand and empathize with their customers. The UX process can provide detailed feedback to organizations that ultimately reinforce initial assumptions or highlight hidden opportunities for improvement. The map included here depicts a lengthy, frustrating process of navigating websites that were intended to provide users with clear information and access to resources. The UX process uncovered multiple kinks in the system which ultimately lead to the user seeking personal interaction beyond the website.
It would have been easy for this organization to believe that their website design and content were simple to access and comprehend, assuming that the service worked the way it should. However, by being open to researching these topics with real users the organization gained empathy with its target audience and identified stumbling blocks and untapped resources that challenged their original assumptions. The potential opportunities for improvement that are included in this map represent many different roles within and across organizations, from website development, department task force collaboration, graphic design, and the possibility of creating new positions to serve users in ways that don’t currently exist.
Application Four. Patient’s medical journey map during and after hospital visit. A patient’s recovery journey is the topic of this UX Journey Map. It prominently features both the positive and negative aspects of the patient’s journey, along with the motivations behind the actions the patient takes during recovery. This example reminds us about the importance of reflecting user thoughts and emotions, even if they are less than favorable, in order for an organization to build empathy and understanding of its clients. This map is evidence of deep listening and deferring judgment, because without these two skills the user’s authentic experience would not have been uncovered so completely.
An accurate reflection of the cognitive and emotional layers of the journey validates the user’s point of view and provides insights that can help organizations take action to enhance user experience. We must remember that it isn’t necessary for a UX journey map to challenge or change a user’s cognitive or emotional state. Instead, the process can help us acknowledge and understand these states so that we can identify opportunities to respond and accommodate them in the future. The UX journey mapping process helps organizations uncover how their products or services impact their customers and reveal truths that they sometimes can’t see on their own.
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