Empathy map
Empathy mapping helps to get to know the user and its environment. This method can be of help when researching customer segments or when making a business model canvas. It is a useful method to get a better understanding of your users with the help of stakeholders. Empathy maps are best used at the start of a project. They can be used for new product development as well as for redesigns. The outcome (a filled empathy map) can be used during the design process to guide design decisions.
How to
Empathy mapping can be done by an interaction designer after having done user research, or as a workshop together with stakeholders. The description below is for a workshop with stakeholders.
- Before the workshop, ask the participants to gather information about the users of the product (usability testing of the current product, interviews, user data).
- Draw the empty empathy map on the whiteboard (or print out the template). Each section focuses on a different aspect of the user’s experience; tasks, influence, feel, pain points and goals.
- Tasks: Which tasks does the user want to fulfil? Which questions does he want answers to?
- Influence: Which people, systems or contexts influence the way the user reacts?
- Feel: How does the user experience this process? What is really important to this (type of) user?
- Pain points: Which frustrations does the user experience? What does he want to solve?
- Goals: What is the user trying to achieve?
- Fill in the empathy map quadrant by quadrant. Each participant writes down their thoughts about the user on separate post-its. After writing everything down, each participant puts their post-its on the map and explains them.
- When all quadrants are filled, the facilitator summarises the empathy map.
Tips
- During the exercise be wary of assumptions about the target group. Keep asking participants whether something is an assumption or based on research. You can for example indicate assumptions with dot stickers, to validate later on.
- Leave some space next to the empathy map for additional notes (user quotes, ideas, insights, etc.) that come up during the exercise.
- You can combine empathy mapping with a persona-exercise for a longer workshop.
- You can make an empathy map for a target group in general, or for a user in a specific situation.
- If required, you can choose other topics for your empathy map.
- Fill out an empathy map for each user if there are multiple distinguishable users.
- To stimulate participants to provide useful content, you can ask them the following questions during the exercise.
- How does the user think about his hopes and fears?
- What does the user see when using your product?
- What does your user gain from the product?
- What does the life of the user look like?
- What are defining quotes or words for the user?
- The empathy map can be used to identify problems or opportunities that the project could solve.
What do you need
| Tools | People | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Empathy map template printed. (or a whiteboard.) | Facilitator, preferably an interaction designer | 30 min. - 1 hour |
| Pens / markers | Stakeholders with user insights | |
| Post-its | ||
| Paper |