4 key points to build your Experience Map

IDENTIFY THE FACTS THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS

map

A Experience Map helps to map a user's experience, identify obstacles and problems that the customer encounters with a product or service as well as opportunities for improvement and innovation. It's a complete view of the experience, with multiple touchpoints and interactions.

It is a method complementary to that of people, to which it brings a dynamic dimension.

Experience Maps are a way to bring them to life, engage them in experiential action

(Pruitt & Adlin, 2005).

#1 Do research

We can never repeat it enough but you need real data to be able to map your user experience, otherwise it is pointless. In general, we create a map experience for a persona and it is for a limited period of time.

At the end of the exploration phase, the team must be able to identify:

  • what motivates users
  • what font users
  • what pensent users
  • what feeling  users

#2 Define the course

There are different experience map formats, it all depends on the company's strategic vision! If you want to improve or create a new service the format is a little different.
Formats-Experience-map

The formats “Current state” et “Day in life” are mainly used for observation and to identify the difficulties encountered by users and thus improve the experience. While the “Future state” format is different: we imagine how the user could use a non-existent service or product but still with real data. With regard to "blueprint service” it takes into consideration theclient experience and business experience.

Once you have your data and your format then you can invite the project stakeholders to define the experience map together during a workshop. Stakeholder engagement helps build empathy among the people who can impact the user experience the most.

#3 Tell a story

There are two representation formats: linear or wheel. 

 Le linear format highlights a user's points of contact with a service or product. This format is very useful for a cross-channel experience in order to show the different points of contact of a user (smartphone, tablet, desktop, store, friends, application, website, chat, search engine, etc.)

RailEurope_CXMap_FINAL.001
Source: http://adaptivepath.org/ideas/the-anatomy-of-an-experience-map/

Le wheel format will highlight the actions performed by the user.

1-legowheel

The visual representation is very important, it helps to convey the message. Need to know what message you want to get across for a quick read? In 5 mins or 15 mins? The people who will read this document will have more or less time to devote to reading it and yet it is often the people who are the most able to make decisions to impact the user experience.

#4 Use your Experience Map

You should know that an Experience Map is like a persona, it's not definitive, it can be constantly adjusted. This is why it is important to communicate this document to all departments, it is necessary to capitalize on the research work that has been done.

Your Experience Map is a trigger, not a conclusion!

TAKE AWAY

The Experience Map is a real value proposition that allows you to ccreate a shared frame of reference around user experience. The objective is to cbuild organizational knowledge behaviors and needs of users through the different channels. And thus promote the organizational evolution towards a user-centric approach.

UX-Republic