Empathy Maps

I was introduced to the concept of Empathy Maps recently, and found it an effective way of translating a User Persona to a concrete problem statement.

Below is the version of Empathy Maps I was introduced to.  The purpose is to keep the user persona in mind, and empathise with their journey through a certain situation. That would help us translate their journey into a concrete set of problems to solve, and thus help us build the right thing in the right way. The map below helps us brainstorm what that persona would think and feel, what sensory inputs would they receive from their surroundings, and what action would they take. Then, we could think about their pain points during the journey, and how we can help them achieve any goals and gains they may be looking forward to.

 

 

I then tried using this version on a personal project, and struggled. Some categories overlapped, such as seeing and hearing. Other than that, I was not able to figure out how to make it goal oriented. For example, what does Say and Do mean? How does it translate into a problem statement?

As I read about Empathy Maps in more detail, I stumbled upon this link. This particular post helped me make the empathising activity more action oriented. Below is the image of the Empathy Map used in this post. Here’s a brief description of how this helped me –

Tasks describe the journey the user was trying to traverse, and the actions they were trying to take. Feelings and Influences described the internal and external motivations respectively that could affect their journey. Pain Points describe problem statements in terms of blockers and frustrations, and Overall Goals tell us the bigger picture of what they’re trying to achieve, and why are they executing a certain set of tasks.

 

Switching to the second version of Empathy Maps helped me focus my brainstorming activity to the current path the user was traversing. It also helped me focus at the bigger picture, and think beyond the software I already have in mind.

In conclusion, Empathy Maps are a means to an end. Use whatever feels more natural to you, and let me know about your experience!