UX/UI designers are the professionals responsible for the user’s experience: whether they will find using a digital product convenient or try and avoid it. To deliver the right product, you need to try and gain a better understanding of your clients. Empathy maps help you do just that. This post will show you how these maps are used in professional UX/UI design agencies.
What Is an Empathy Map?
Anempathy map is a visualization tool developed by XPLANE that puts you in theplace of the user. It lets you look at the problem that your product solvesfrom their point of view. An empathy map is also a diagram. In the center, arepresentative of a particular user segment is located. There are four blockson different sides (“think and feel,” “say and do,”“see,” “hear”). The findings are presented in twoadditional blocks: “problems and pain points” and “values andachievements.”
How to Fill the Map
Todraw up an empathy map, we sequentially fill in all the blocks of the card –the numbering of the blocks corresponds to the order in which they are filled.
Atemplate is filled out on printed paper – this option is suitable for workingin small groups.
Itis optimal to use a flipchart or marker board when working in a large team. Ifyou are composing a map in a larger format, it is convenient to place thetheses on stickers. They are easy to remove or move to another place.
Where to Get Data
Tocompile an empathy map, you need to collect information about the experienceand personal opinion of the client. You will receive some of this data frommembers of the working group. Specialists will be able to fill only part of thesectors qualitatively. Therefore, for large-scale tasks, it’s logical toattract more employees with diverse competencies whose experience is relevantto the task at hand.
Youcan also get additional data about the client for compiling a map on:
- profiles on social networks;
- discussions on thematic platforms, forums,communities;
- high-quality, specialized media;
- comments under publications.
Thetypes of members for a working group for empathy mapping include: analyst, salesmanager, head of the client loyalty department, account manager, lawyer, headof optimizers department and marketer
Setting the Goals
UX/UIdesigners begin drawing up an empathy map by stating goals and describing tothe target audience what to focus on.
Todo this, draw a circle in the center (it will represent the hero of your map),give it a name, and fix additional characteristics. The latter is needed if youare compiling several maps for different segments of the audience.
In the Dave Gray template, in the center of the map, a person’s profile is already drawn, which is the personification of the client. The author then recommends adapting it, adding character traits and emotions. You can add details (glasses, hairstyles, tie, etc.) or use a photo of a real person or character. When the profile on the map becomes more like a real user, it will be easier to project his experience directly onto yourself.
Thereis a risk of going into a more manageable task and to start thinking not“what do we want this person to do,” but instead, “what do wewant him to understand?” Focus on action. Ask yourself or the group,“what happens when he understands?”.
Filling in External Blocks
Next,we sequentially fill in the blocks “Sees,” “Says,”“Does,” and “Hears.” Each block introduces a separateaspect of the sensory experience of our hero.
Intotal, four external blocks must be filled:
- “What does he see?” – this block characterizesthe external environment of the client, his circle of communication, andopinion leaders.
- “What he says?” – we study what weheard from what he said. What words can we imagine what he would say on a topicof concern to us?
- “What is he doing?” – fix specificactions: what is he doing today? What behaviors have we observed in the past?What kind of behavior can we imagine?
- “What does he hear?” – determine whathe hears from other people. What does he hear from friends? What fromcolleagues? What do they tell him from the words of others?
Filling in Internal Blocks
Atthis stage, we analyze what thoughts and feelings affect the behavior of ourcustomers.
Theblock is divided into two sectors:
- “Pains” – what are their fears,frustrations, and fears that interfere with the solution of the problem;
- “Benefits” – what are their desires,needs, hopes, and dreams.
Ifexternal blocks represent the user’s experience, these blocks reflect the innerworld of our client.
Conclusion
By filling in all the blocks and collecting feedback from a range of different specialists in your company, you will be able to compose a comprehensive portrait of the user. In the end, it should allow you to expand the client’s business with confidence.
