Glossary
User journey map
What is a user journey map?
A user journey map shows a person's or persona's experience as they pursue a goal with a product or service. It can bring actions, touchpoints, thoughts, feelings, and difficulties together over time.
How it works
Maps often place stages across columns and aspects of the experience in rows. A purchasing journey might include discovery, consideration, purchase, onboarding, and use. The stages should fit the experience being studied.
Interviews, diary studies, and analytics can inform the map. Label whether it describes observed evidence, assumptions, or a proposed future experience.
Example
A lender could investigate the wait between an application and a decision. Applicants may need clearer status information. A map can make that gap visible and help a team propose an update service. Whether the service improves the experience needs testing.
Why it matters
Journey maps help teams see how separate encounters connect. A low point on an emotional line can identify an experience to investigate.