Journey Mapping¶

Why It Matters¶

Systems are typically designed around core transactions (buying a product, using a feature), ignoring the broader context of how people arrive at that moment and what happens after. Journey mapping reveals that the "product" is often not the main source of value or friction - onboarding, discovery, post-purchase support, or abandonment processes matter more than the core feature set.

The Key Move¶

Pick a specific user goal (not "use the product" but "accomplish X using the product"). Map every step from first awareness through completion and beyond: How do they discover this option exists? What prompts them to start? What happens at each stage? Where do they get stuck, confused, or frustrated? What emotional state are they in? Continue past the "success" moment to consequences and follow-up. Look for pain points outside the designed experience.

Classic Application¶

Healthcare patient experience. Medical providers focused on clinical quality (diagnosis accuracy, treatment efficacy), treating "patient experience" as waiting room comfort. Journey mapping revealed major pain points elsewhere: confusing insurance verification, difficulty scheduling across multiple specialists, post-discharge medication confusion, no one to call with questions. The medical interaction itself was often fine; the journey around it was terrible.

Surprising Application¶

Research paper writing. Mapping the journey from "have an idea" to "paper published" reveals that actual writing is perhaps 20% of the timeline. The journey includes: finding the right venue, understanding submission requirements, navigating coauthor availability, dealing with revision requests, formatting references, responding to reviewers. Optimizing "writing productivity" (the obvious focus) misses larger bottlenecks in the journey.

Failure Modes¶

Mapping the ideal journey rather than reality - showing how it should work instead of how it actually works. Mapping from the organization's perspective (what they see) rather than user's experience (what they feel and do). Stopping at the transaction boundary - ending the map when the user completes a purchase/signup, missing post-transaction experience. Over-generalizing - creating a generic map that doesn't reflect actual user diversity. Mapping without empirical data, just assumptions.

Go Deeper¶

Kalbach, Mapping Experiences: A Complete Guide to Customer Alignment; Rosenbaum, Otalora & Ramírez, "How to Create a Realistic Customer Journey Map" (Business Horizons, 2017)

Friction - Military Strategy & Strategic Thinking: A Map of the Territory