Empathy Mapping: An essential for UX design

TLDR: A good empathy map helps designers understand the various facets of end users. It also reveals any existing gaps in the existing data.

As UX professionals, we often have the responsibility of advocating on behalf of the user. However, we also need to help our colleagues understand their users’ needs.

An empathy map is a collaborative method used to visualize the knowledge about a specific user. It helps users make informed decisions and build a shared understanding of their needs.

Presentation

Instead of having 4 distinct sections, an empathy map has a hierarchy that shows the user’s whole persona.

Credit: Oban International

The says quadrant is a place where the user talks about what they said in an interview or a study.

The Thinks quadrant shows the user’s thoughts throughout the experience. It is important to pay attention to what the user actually thinks, as well as why they would not want to share their thoughts.

The Does quadrant shows the user’s actions and helps them answer some of the questions that come up during the research.

The Feels quadrant is a place where the user talks about their emotions. It’s important to ask yourself what worries the user most and how they feel about the experience.

There are times when the juxtaposition of the quadrants makes it difficult to identify the patterns that make up the user’s behavior. However, empathy maps can help us uncover hidden nuggets of understanding.

Purpose of Empathy mapping

Empathy maps are used throughout a UX process to establish a common ground between team members and to prioritize user needs.

By mapping a user’s persona or sense of identity, it allows you to gather important information about them.

By capturing the user’s persona or sense of identity, it allows you to distill down your knowledge of the user.

This mapping technique can help you identify the types of research that’s needed to address the gaps in your knowledge.