Journey Mapping Variations

Question 1

What is an Experience map?

Answer 1

It focuses on the experience of a generic person attempting a goal regardless of the products or services they might use.

Question 2

What is Structural Reading?

Answer 2

Reading and understanding what a journey map says.

Question 3

What is Interpretive Reading?

Answer 3

Understanding what a journey map says about the world.

Question 4

What is Critical Reading?

Answer 4

Reading journey maps and thinking of how they can be changed and improved.

Question 5

How does an Experience map help you?

Answer 5

It makes it easier to think outside of your own product and find ways to expand it.

Experience maps help by encouraging you to look beyond the customer relationship

Question 6

What do designers utilize to navigate various aspects of a design situation?

Answer 6

Designers use different types of journey maps to effectively navigate different parts of a design situation.

Journey maps have variants that are useful in different situations.

Question 7

What are the three common types of journey maps?

Answer 7

Experience Maps, Customer Journey Maps, Service Blueprints

Question 8

What challenges might arise when journey mapping efforts are focused on existing customers of a product or service?

Answer 8

When journey mapping efforts are concentrated on customers who already use your product or service, it can become more challenging to envision a new product or service.

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Question 9

What types of data are used to create an experience map?

Answer 9

The data for an experience map can be both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data includes anecdotes from interviews, blog entries, and personal experiences, while quantitative data encompasses surveys, industry statistics, and trends.

Question 10

Why are various data types included in an experience map?

Answer 10

The goal of incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data in an experience map is to enable you and your design team to fully understand the experience of a person. This comprehensive approach facilitates a deeper insight into user behaviors, preferences, and challenges.

Question 11

Which of the following design questions would be best answered by creating an experience map?

a. What is it like to learn to play the drums as an older person?
b. Where are our customers who are older drummers having trouble scheduling a lesson?
c. What will our service need to do differently to improve our reminder system and coaching to accommodate older drummers?

Answer 11

a. What is it like to learn to play the drums as an older person?

Because an experience map includes a person’s experience outside of your product or service, it is best used to explore questions like the first one. The second question is focused on an older drummer as a customer, and the third question focuses on the internal capabilities needed to support older drummers.

Question 12

What aspects of a user’s experience can be covered by experience maps?

Answer 12

Experience maps can encompass the user’s experience before, after, within, and outside of the context of a particular product. This thorough approach allows for a comprehensive understanding of the user’s journey and interactions at various stages and settings.

Question 13

What distinguishes experience maps from other types of journey maps, and why are they considered valuable?

Answer 13

Experience maps are distinguished by their broad focus on a person, regardless of whether they use a particular product or service, making them the most comprehensive among the types of journey maps discussed. This broad scale is what makes an experience map an exceptional tool for understanding human behavior and exploring new product and service ideas.

Question 14

How do customer journey maps differ from experience maps?

Answer 14

Customer journey maps are very similar to experience maps in their fundamental approach to mapping user interactions. However, the key difference lies in their focus; customer journey maps concentrate specifically on a group of people as customers who use your product or service, unlike experience maps which have a broader focus on individuals regardless of their interaction with any particular product or service.

Because customer journey maps are focused on the journey of a person as a customer of a particular product or service, they almost always include customer touchpoints where the business and customer interact.

Question 15

Why is a customer journey map a good choice for identifying interactions between a customer and a business?

Answer 15

A customer journey map is a good choice for identifying good, bad, or missing interactions between a customer and the business because it specifically focuses on a person as a customer of a product or service. This targeted approach allows for a detailed analysis of the customer’s experience, making it easier to pinpoint areas for improvement or opportunities for innovation within the customer’s journey.

Question 16

How can Customer Journey Maps be utilized to enhance current products or service combinations?

Answer 16

Customer Journey Maps can be effectively used to fix or feed current products or service combinations by mapping all customer interactions into a single visual framework. This approach enables the identification of significant combinations of interactions, whether they are positive or negative. By understanding these combinations, businesses can pinpoint areas for improvement or enhancement, thereby increasing the overall value of their product or service.

Question 17

What is the utility of customer journey maps in relation to experience maps, and how do they assist in product or service development?

Answer 17

Customer journey maps, while similar to experience maps, typically focus on a particular type of person as they interact with one specific product or service. This focused approach is especially useful for identifying key customer touchpoints and understanding how to enhance or rectify current products or service synergies. By mapping the journey of a specific customer segment, organizations can gain insights into the customer experience at each stage, allowing them to make targeted improvements and foster more effective product or service synergies.

Question 18

How does a service blueprint differ from a customer journey map, and what is its main focus?

Answer 18

While a service blueprint shares similarities with a customer journey map in depicting a customer’s experience with the touchpoints of a product or service, it differs significantly in its focus and scope. The primary distinction of a service blueprint lies in its main focus on the employees, products, and processes that support those customer touchpoints. This approach goes beyond the customer’s perspective to include the behind-the-scenes activities and infrastructure that enable the customer experience, offering a comprehensive view of service delivery mechanisms.

Another difference is that service blueprints generally use a format and language that describes the business side of an experience

Question 19

How can service blueprints be utilized for organizational planning and avoiding surprises in business operations?

Answer 19

Service blueprints can be utilized to proactively plan the organizational activities, technologies, and functions due to their comprehensive inclusion of multiple supporting levels of the organization. By mapping out not only the customer touchpoints but also the internal processes, employee roles, and technological supports that underlie these interactions, a service blueprint acts as a strategic planning tool. This enables businesses to anticipate and mitigate potential challenges or surprises from the business side of an experience, ensuring smoother operations and a more cohesive customer experience.

Question 20

How can service blueprints be used to identify and address upstream organizational issues affecting customer experiences?

Answer 20

Service blueprints can be used retroactively to identify missing or misaligned upstream organizational functions that may be impacting the customer experience. When the root cause or solution to a problem within a customer journey isn’t immediately clear, a service blueprint can illuminate upstream factors contributing to the issue, such as low employee morale, a slow supply chain, or inaccurate account data. For instance, if there’s a notable increase in cancellations by customers and/or coaches at Rhythm Road, a service blueprint could help pinpoint potential upstream causes, like the necessity for improved scheduling software or more efficient schedule-matching algorithms. This method allows organizations to target and resolve the underlying issues that indirectly affect customer satisfaction and retention.

Question 21

How do service blueprints compare to customer journey maps in terms of focus and content, and what unique elements do service blueprints include?

Answer 21

Service blueprints and customer journey maps share similarities in their focus on the experience of a specific type of customer, including the processes, people, and technologies that support that experience. Both tools concentrate on a specific persona and represent the customer’s journey in phases that encompass actions and touchpoints, utilizing a mix of qualitative and quantitative data. However, the similarities end there. Service blueprints uniquely include front-stage actions performed by employees during direct interactions with the customer, back-stage actions occurring outside of customer visibility, and the support processes enabling these actions. This comprehensive approach provides a deeper understanding of the service delivery mechanism, highlighting both customer-facing and internal operational aspects critical to the service experience.

Question 22

What are front-stage actions?

Answer 22

Performed by employees as they interact with the customer

Question 23

What are back-stage actions?

Answer 23

Performed outside of customer interactions

Could be actions employees perform out of sight of customers

Question 24

What are support processes?

Question 25

What is the customer journey layer?

Answer 25

The customer’s actions, thoughts, and emotions

Question 26

What is the line of interaction?

Answer 26

The place where the customers, employees, and products/services interact

Question 27

What is the line of visibility?

Answer 27

The dividing line between things that the customer can see and interact with and those they cannot.

Question 28

What is the line of internal interaction?

Answer 28

The dividing line between employee actions that support customers and those that do not.

Question 29

What are support processes?

Answer 29

Internal actions that support the rest of the actions in the blueprint

Question 30

What is the main focus of a service blueprint, and how does it relate to a customer’s experience?

Answer 30

A service blueprint primarily focuses on the employees, products, and processes that support the touchpoints of a product or service, in relation to a customer’s experience. While it does depict the customer’s journey through these touchpoints, its main intent is to provide a detailed view of the underlying support mechanisms. This includes the roles of employees involved in delivering the service, the products that facilitate these services, and the processes that ensure the smooth operation of these touchpoints, offering a comprehensive perspective on how services are delivered to the customer.

Question 31

Why are service blueprints particularly valuable for organizational planning and identifying upstream issues?

Answer 31

Service blueprints are exceptionally valuable for organizational planning and identifying missing or misaligned upstream organizational functions because they provide a comprehensive view of the service delivery process. By mapping out the customer’s journey along with the supporting roles of employees, technologies, and processes, these blueprints enable organizations to see not only the customer-facing aspects but also the internal functions that support these experiences. This holistic perspective allows for the strategic planning of organizational activities, technologies, and functions, and helps in pinpointing upstream issues that might be affecting the quality of service delivery, facilitating more informed decision-making and optimization of operations.

Question 32

What is the consideration of each approach when choosing a journey mapping process?

Answer 32

The steps that are involved. These may include research to gather data, design of the journey map and a workshop to bring the stakeholders together.

The order of the steps. Sometimes the artifact is designed first. Other times the stakeholders are involved first. In other cases, data gathering is the first step.

The stakeholders who are involved. Sometimes a process includes only the design team and sometimes a broader group. Sometimes customers are involved.

The scope. Some journey mapping processes are limited to a single experience like a customer checkout. Others include multi-week experiences like an IxDF journey mapping course.

Question 33

What are the three types of journey mapping processes?

Answer 33

1. Map it Last
2. Map in the middle
3. Rapid Mapping

Question 34

What is the initial step in the “Map It Last” process for customer journey mapping, and who typically carries it out?

Answer 34

The “Map It Last” process, a term coined for this specific course, begins with an extensive data-gathering phase. This initial step may encompass user interviews, the identification of customer pain points, the deployment of surveys, and the identification of current processes. Typically, this phase is executed by the design team or a dedicated team of user researchers. In some scenarios, it might also be beneficial to involve a broader group of stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the user experience and customer journey.

Question 35

How do experienced designers adapt their journey mapping process to meet the specific needs of a project?

Answer 35

Experienced designers emphasize flexibility in adapting their journey mapping process to align with the unique requirements of each project. The adaptation involves several key considerations.

Project Goals: Clearly defining the objectives and what the journey map seeks to achieve is crucial. This could range from improving user experience to identifying pain points in the customer journey.

Available Resources: Assessing the resources at hand, such as time, budget, and personnel, is essential for determining the scope and scale of the journey mapping process.

Stakeholder Input: Understanding the extent of involvement and the type of input required from various stakeholders, including management, team members, and other departments, helps in creating a more inclusive and comprehensive journey map.

Customer Involvement: Deciding on the level and method of customer involvement in the mapping process is key. This could vary from direct interviews and surveys to more indirect methods of gathering customer feedback and data.

By considering these factors, designers can tailor their approach to journey mapping, ensuring it is both effective and aligned with the project’s specific needs and constraints.

Question 36

What is the purpose of the workshop in the Map it last process, and how do participants utilize it to transform research data into insights?

Answer 36

The purpose of the workshop in the journey mapping process is to convene the stakeholders responsible for interpreting the collected research data. During this workshop, participants employ various tools such as perspective grids, affinity diagrams, or whiteboards to systematically organize and analyze the raw research data. These methods facilitate the collaborative conversion of data into meaningful insights. By engaging in this collective analysis, stakeholders can identify patterns, understand user behaviors and pain points, and generate actionable insights that will inform the development of the customer journey map. This step is crucial for moving from a collection of individual data points to a coherent understanding of the customer experience as a whole.

Question 37

What is the final step in the Map it last process, and how are the outcomes utilized?

Answer 37

The final step in the journey mapping process involves using the insights gathered from the workshop to create a tangible artifact, such as an experience map, customer journey map, or service blueprint. This artifact is then shared with the relevant individuals or teams within the organization. The purpose of sharing this comprehensive visual representation is to communicate the findings effectively and to use it as a foundation for determining the team’s next steps. This might include identifying areas for improvement, prioritizing design changes, or strategizing new service implementations. The artifact serves as a crucial tool for aligning the team’s efforts with the user’s needs and the business’s goals, guiding decision-making and action plans moving forward.

Question 38

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the “Map It Last” process compared to the “Map in the Middle” approach?

Answer 38

The “Map It Last” process offers the advantage of potentially generating more and newer insights compared to the “Map in the Middle” approach. This is largely because it involves a broader group of people in both the data gathering phase and the analysis process, allowing for a wider range of perspectives and a deeper understanding of the data. However, a notable drawback of this process is the higher total time investment required from all individuals involved. This extended time commitment is due to the comprehensive nature of the data collection and analysis phases, which, while beneficial for the quality of insights, can be resource-intensive.

Question 39

How does the “Map in the Middle” process differ from the “Map It Last” process in terms of its stages?

Answer 39

The “Map in the Middle” process differs from the “Map It Last” process primarily in the order of its stages following data gathering. While both processes begin with gathering data, the “Map in the Middle” process inverts the subsequent steps. Instead of hosting a workshop to analyze and make sense of the data with stakeholders as the next step, the team proceeds directly to creating an artifact—be it an experience map, customer journey map, or service blueprint—based on the initial data gathered. This preliminary version of the map or blueprint is then reviewed and refined in a workshop with stakeholders. This inversion aims to accelerate the process of moving from data to design and leverages the workshop for validating and refining the initial draft rather than for generating primary insights.

Question 40

What are the benefits and potential downsides of the “Map in the Middle” process?

Answer 40

The “Map in the Middle” process offers the significant benefit of presenting workshop participants with a fully formed picture of the research data and analysis in map form right from the start. This approach can save time for participants by eliminating the need to sift through raw data during the workshop, thereby speeding up the entire journey mapping process. However, the potential downside of this method is that it might yield a narrower set of insights. Since the initial map is created based on preliminary data analysis without the broad input typically gathered during a workshop, it may miss out on the wider range of perspectives and insights that could be uncovered with a more collaborative approach in the earlier stages.

Question 41

How does the “Rapid Mapping” process differ from the “Map It Last” and “Map in the Middle” processes, and why is it considered a valuable approach?

Answer 41

The “Rapid Mapping” process stands apart from the “Map It Last” and “Map in the Middle” processes due to its focus on speed and efficiency, making it particularly valuable in scenarios where time or resources are limited. Unlike the other two processes, which involve extensive data gathering and detailed analysis before or during the mapping phase, Rapid Mapping emphasizes a quicker approach to journey mapping. This method is useful for quickly identifying key insights and making immediate improvements without the extensive investment required by the other processes. Additionally, Rapid Mapping serves as an example of the flexibility within journey mapping methodologies, highlighting the importance of adapting or developing custom processes to meet specific project needs or constraints. It underscores the notion that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to journey mapping, and that innovation in process design can be crucial for addressing unique challenges.

Question 42

What are the initial steps in the Rapid Mapping process, and when is it appropriate to use this method?

Answer 42

The Rapid Mapping process begins with the recognition of specific situations during discussions that would benefit from the creation of a journey map. Such situations may include confusion about the sequence of steps in a customer experience, disagreements regarding the services required to support these steps, or a need to foster empathy with individuals pursuing specific goals. When these conditions arise, it indicates an opportune moment to employ Rapid Mapping.

The subsequent step involves quickly gathering the necessary tools - typically a whiteboard or piece of paper and a writing implement - and then beginning to map out the discussion points in real time. This approach allows for the immediate visual representation of the customer journey, facilitating clearer understanding and alignment among team members. Rapid Mapping is especially suited for scenarios demanding swift clarification and consensus-building without the delays of more formal mapping processes.