User journeys and user flows both describe processes users go through in order to accomplish their goals, but they differ in scope, purpose, and format.
Data from 343 companies provide a baseline to understanding typical approaches for selecting journey-mapping applications, research methods, contributing roles, and map components.
While analytics cannot be the only source of data about user journeys, path reports can provide insights about potential issues, typical navigation routes, and the content that users interact with right before key actions.
By placing colored dots on items, participants in UX workshops or group sessions can manage the collaborative discussion of research findings, design ideas, goals, or anything else.
Our research suggests that customer-journey maps 1) tend to be created collaboratively with a team, 2) produced with digital tools, and 3) are moderately successful at making organizational impact.
Unsure how to get started using UX mapping methods? Use this collection of links to our articles and videos to learn how to visualize UX insights and ideas into mapped visualizations.
User journeys should be managed like products — by people and teams with specialized, journey-dedicated roles who continually research, measure, optimize, and orchestrate the experience.
Asset maps display and organize the screens and elements users encounter along workflows and journeys. They provide a systematic way of analyzing the consistency of an organization’s experience across channels.
Set yourself up for journey-mapping success by educating yourself on the basics, defining objectives, building a crossfunctional team, collaborating on the map, and optimizing your presentation.
How to design a journey-mapping workshop that leads participants through current-state assumption mapping, pain-point identification, and future-state visioning.
Before beginning any journey-mapping initiative, teams must decide between (1) a current-state or future-state map, and (2) an assumption-first or research-first approach. A hybrid approach for each decision works well for most teams.
A collaborative spreadsheet is an efficient, effective tool for virtual customer-journey mapping. Because of the format and structure it affords, almost everyone will be able to access and easily use it.
Evaluate your journey map to identify low and high points, failures in setting expectations, unnecessary steps, channel transitions, and moments of truth.
Stories build empathy and make the user needs and pain points memorable to your team. Effective stories speak the language of the audience, are rooted in data, and take advantage of compelling artifacts.
When conducting research for customer-journey maps, use qualitative methods that allow direct interaction with or observation of users, such as interviews, field studies, and diary studies.