Filled with questions, explanations and examples, this guide asks 6 essential questions that a designer should answer when co-creating Experience Maps with clients. It supports designers who strive for the best Customer Experience (CX) of their clients' customers. A big thanks to Ewout van Lambalgen for the illustration!

1. MAPPING
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

2. This is a guide for mapping
customer experiences.
It will guide you through the necessary steps to create
Experience Maps by asking you 6 essential questions.

3. Ready? Let’s get started.

4. Question #1:
Which goal(s) do I want to achieve
by using an Experience Map?

5. Goal (1/2)1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6
Define the goal(s)
Defining the goal(s) of the Experience Map will give you an idea about its purposes, requirements
and limitations. Ask yourself:
• For whom am I creating the map?
• What type of customer am I mapping the experience of?
• Does the input need to be based on validated data?
• What am I going to use the map for?

6. Examples
• Understand the customer
• Compare customers
• Emphasise the customer’s importance
• Facilitate discussion/brainstorming
• Align understanding with the client
View details
• Map the current customer experience
• Identify opportunities and priorities
• Map the ideal customer experience
• Evaluate design during a project
• Manage customers’ expectations
View details
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Goal (2/2)1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

7. Question #2:
Which structure should my Experience
Map have to achieve my goal(s)?

8. Determine the structure
After defining your goal(s), the next step is to determine the map structure you need to actually
achieve your goal(s). Each map consists of multiple dimensions on the vertical axis that need to be
filled with relevant information for each step in the customer journey. Ask yourself:
• Which aspects of the customer experience need to be visualised?
• Which dimensions are needed to clearly communicate my message to the stakeholders?
• Which dimensions are most important to show?
It is recommended to always at least use the following basic dimensions in your map: business
needs, customer needs, customer emotions, and touch points.
The following slides provide an overview of other possible dimensions that you can include, from the
viewpoint of the customer, the client, and you. Be careful not to include too many! The map should
be able to communicate its message at a quick glance.
Goal1
Structure (1/5)2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

9. Examples (customer’s view)
• Channels
• Customer actions
• Customer emotions (basic)
• Customer goals
View details
• Customer needs (basic)
• Doing, Thinking & Feeling
• Touch points (basic)
View details
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Goal1
Structure (2/5)2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

10. Examples (client’s view)
• Answers
• Back-stage processes
• Brand promises
• Business goals
View details
• Business needs (basic)
• Content
• System
View details
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Goal1
Structure (3/5)2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

11. Examples (your view)
• Benchmarks
• Wireframes
View details
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Goal1
Structure (4/5)2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

12. Examples (general)
• Barriers
• Conditions
• Opportunities
• Questions
• Resources
View details
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Goal1
Structure (5/5)2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

13. Question #3:
What do I need to learn about
the customer?

14. Research the customer
Before starting to fill in your Experience Map, you need to get to know the customer. The structure
that you determined in the previous steps will provide you with the necessary guidance for this
research. For example, if your map needs to show ‘Customer needs’, your research should explicitly
focus on uncovering these needs.
Some research techniques that you could use include contextual interviews, surveys, cultural
probing, or available information from the client. Always use both qualitative and quantitative
research methods. Ask yourself:
• What do I already know about the customer?
• What does my client already know about the customer?
• Which aspects of the customer do I still need to learn?
• Which qualitative techniques will I use to investigate these aspects?
• Which quantitative techniques will I use to investigate these aspects?
Goal1
Structure2
Research (1/2)3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

15. Pick a persona
Personas are fictional profiles that represent a particular group of customers. They can help you to
empathise with the customer, and provide a solid basis for the information that you will put in the
Experience Map. Furthermore, they can help your client to understand the customers’ needs,
expectations, emotions and behaviours.
You can construct your own personas based on the results of your research. Sometimes your client
will already have a persona ready. Always make sure to aks what these personas are based on
before deciding to use them.
Goal1
Structure2
Research (2/2)3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage6

16. Question #4:
How do I determine the content of
my Experience Map?

17. Co-create!
You know the structure of your map, and have researched the customer. Now it is time to determine
the content. Gather all your relevant stakeholders in a co-creation workshop, and start creating
content together. Make sure to have enough space, sticky notes (at least five different colours),
sharpies and sketching paper available.
You have the role of facilitator in the workshop: you create context, explain the goals, and guide the
stakeholders through the process. Recruit a fellow colleague to take up the role of observer,
photographer and/or note-taker.
The next slides will talk you through the necessary phases of a co-creation workshop.
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (1/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

18. 1. Create context
You give an introductory presentation in which you:
• Welcome the stakeholders;
• Give an introduction of the workshop;
• Discuss the goals of the workshop;
• Talk the stakeholders through your research.
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (2/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

19. 2. Organise
After giving the introduction, it is time to explain the procedure of the workshop.
If the group of stakeholders is too big for efficient discussion, divide them into teams of maximum 6
people.
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (3/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

20. 3. Define CX stages
Now is the time to truly start co-creating!
Together with your stakeholders (or, if you have multiple teams, each team separately) decide upon
the stages of the customer experience before, during and after the service. Use sticky notes to put
these stages on a wall, window or large sheet of paper. This is the first draft of the horizontal axis of
your Experience Map.
An example sequence of stages is as follows: Discover, Compare, Decide, Commit, Use, Leave.
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (4/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

21. 4. Define dimensions
You determined the horizontal axis, now it’s time for the vertical one.
Use a sticky note for dimensions that you determined earlier, and create the first draft of the
vertical axis of your Experience Map. This is also the time to ask feedback about your pick of
dimensions from the stakeholders. Update according to the new insights you acquire through
discussion with them.
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (5/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

22. 5. Define the lens
Now is the time to introduce your persona. It can be used as a relevancy filter (a ‘lens’) when filling
the map with information, to make sure everything adds value to the customer. Basically, for each
cell that you fill, you should ask yourselves:
• What are the characteristics of the customer?
Additionally, when creating an Experience Map that will the show the ideal customer experience,
you should always ask yourselves:
• What is the value proposition to the customer?
• On which design principles are the design solutions based?
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (6/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

23. 6. Fill the map!
Together with your stakeholders, you start brainstorming and discussing about the content of your
map. You go on until each cell that can be filled, is filled. Depending on the goal, dimensions or lens
that you determined earlier, some cells might not need to be filled, and some cells might contain a
larger amount of information than others.
This phase of the workshop can be very lengthy. As a facilitator, it’s jour job to make sure to
announce coffee breaks, and to keep everyone happy and energised in general. If needed, divide the
workshop into multiple sessions. Only after all stakeholders agree on the content, the co-creation
workshop ends.
If there are multiple teams, each team should fill their own map.
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (7/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

24. 7. Share the results
This step is meant for workshops that have multiple teams of stakeholders.
Each team has made their own Experience Map out of sticky notes and discussion. Now, they need
to share their results with the other teams. Learning from each other, and building upon each
others’ ideas, everyone needs to come to terms about the contents of one final Experience Map.
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation (8/8)4
Visualisation5
Usage6

25. Question #5:
What should my Experience Map
look like?

26. Visualise your map
Well done, you pulled off the challenge of facilitating a co-creation workshop! Now it is time to start
processing all the information you have gathered. This step is all about finding a way to visualise the
results of the workshop in a compelling way. Sketching is a good way to explore different types of
visualisations.
The map should communicate the takeaways (such as strategic insights or recommendations), the
highs (delight points) and lows (pain points) of the customer experience, and the moments of
truth (the moments that make or break the experience). Ask yourself:
• Which message should the map convey?
• What are the takeaways? The delight points? The pain points?
• What are the moments of truth?
• What should be immediately clear upon first glance?
• Which details may be discovered after closer inspection?
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation (1/1)5
Usage6

27. Question #6:
How am I going to use
my Experience Map?

28. Put your map to good use
Your map is ready to use as a tool for achieving the goal(s) that you set initially. It may be used to
identify opportunities, align stakeholders, evaluate design, or something entirely different. It’s all up
to you.
Either way, it should be quite easy to put your map to use, as you already defined its purpose in the
first step of this guide. Ask yourself:
• Which goal(s) do I want to achieve again?
• How am I going to use my map to achieve these goals again?
Goal1
Structure2
Research3
Co-creation4
Visualisation5
Usage (1/1)6

29. That’s all, folks!
These where all the steps. I promise.
Now, get out there and show them
what your maps are made of :)

30. Oh, by the way.
The next slides contain a bunch of detailed descriptions
of possible goals and dimensions. Use them well.
Happy mapping!

31. Goals

32. Goal #1: Understand the customer
Experience Maps can be used to get to know or empathise with a customer, and the context in which this customer
lives.
Consider using an Experience Map not as part of the delivery for your client, but just as a means to understand the
service experience of the customer.
Back to overview

33. Goal #2: Compare customers
Customer come in all shapes and sizes. Experience Maps can be used to compare different types of customers
with each other.
One possible way is as follows. First, identify the central value proposition that appeals to each customer type. This
gives you the baseline journey. Second, identify in this baseline journey the moments that have a unique value
proposition to each customer type. These are the key moments where something extra can be offered to a certain
type of customer. The resulting Experience Maps are then easy to compare with each other.
Back to overview

34. Goal #3: Emphasise the customer’s importance
Due to the central focus on the customer in Experience Maps, using it may encourage your client to consider the
customer’s needs, feelings and questions. The is especially true if the Experience Map is based on a persona.
Also, a common by-product of co-creating is that client often realises that the journey before or after the service is
important as well.
Back to overview

35. Goal #4: Facilitate discussion/brainstorming
Experience Maps can be used as a basis for discussion or brainstorming with your client, as it provides all
stakeholders with a comprehensive and visual overview of the service.
Back to overview

36. Goal #5: Align understanding with the client
Through the process of co-creation, a shared awareness and understanding starts to develop between you and the
client.
You may gain insight in the client’s business in a playful manner, while your client gains insight in the (often
surprising!) customer perspective.
Back to overview

37. Goal #6: Map the current customer experience
One possible purpose of an Experience Map is to visually represent the current situation of the customer
experience. This is a descriptive Experience Map.
After creating such a map, it can be used to identify opportunities for improvement (see next goal).
Important to keep into account is that the current situation is always subject to change. Not only will new insights
emerge during the project, also throughout the years the needs and behaviours of customers and organisations will
change due to technology, economy, etc.
Back to overview

38. Goal #7: Identify opportunities and priorities
The visual overview of the customer’s experience that an Experience Map provides, can help to identify the
opportunities where the experience can be enhanced. Some common opportunities are:
• Customer pain points (a ‘trough’ in the experience).
• Recurring problems.
• Inconsistent service quality throughout the customer journey.
• Service inefficiencies that might be removed.
• A lack of focus on before or after the customer journey.
• Possibilities for measuring and using contextual data to anticipate customers’ needs.
Back to overview

39. Goal #8: Map the ideal customer experience
Creating an ideal Experience Map, in which all opportunities for enhancing the customer experience have been
integrated, is a good basis to start communicating and actualising these opportunities. Basically, it is a vision of the
service to the customer that the client wants (or at least should) provide.
When creating this map, always start with the current (descriptive) Experience Map before creating the ideal map.
This is to avoid coming to an ideal service that is disconnected from reality.
Also, be mindful to clearly distinguish between the current information and the ideal information, to avoid
confusions.
Back to overview

40. Goal #9: Evaluate design during a project
Experience Maps can used to evaluate designs during a project. By having the map on the wall during the design
process, you and your colleagues will have a clear reference point on which to base your design.
Moreover, it will be easy to check where your sketch, wireframe or concept design is located in the customer
journey, and if it actually is in line with the customer’s goals and needs.
Back to overview

41. Goal #10: Manage customers’ expectations
Experience Maps can be used as a tool to communicate to customers what their upcoming experience will be like.
By showing the map to them, they will gain insights in what they can expect from the service.
Moreover, they can be informed about all the processes behind the scenes, which can be a way to gain more
understanding from customers.
Back to overview

42. Dimensions

43. Dimension #1: Channels
• Point of view: Customer
• Definition: A medium that the customer uses to interact with the service provider.
• Examples: physical store, mobile, web, etc.
Note: channels define the opportunities and constraints for the touch points, of which there can be multiple per
channel.
Back to overview

44. Dimension #2: Customer actions
• Point of view: Customer
• Definition: The steps that the customer takes to achieve his goals.
• Examples: choose flight, go to the bank, search for a hotel, etc.
Note: also referred to as ‘Doing’ in many Experience Maps.
Back to overview

45. Dimension #3: Customer emotions
• Point of view: Customer
• Definition: What the customer feels, or wants to feel, during each step in the service experience.
• Possible ways of representations: words (e.g. frustrated, delighted, surprised), quantitative visualisations (e.g.
scores, graphs, scales), quotes or icons.
Note: if the service results in positive emotions, it is likely that customers will want to repeat the experience.
Back to overview

46. Dimension #4: Customer goals
• Point of view: Customer
• Definition: What the customer aims to achieve.
• Examples: reach my holiday destination, pay a fair price, get an answer to my question, etc.
Back to overview

47. Dimension #5: Customer needs
• Point of view: Customer
• Definition: What the customer needs to achieve his goals.
• Examples: efficiency, social contact, reassurance, etc.
Back to overview

48. Dimension #6: Doing, Thinking & Feeling
• Point of view: Customer
• Definition: A useful combination of dimensions that refers to the key behaviour (doing), the evaluations
and expectations (thinking), and the emotions (feeling) of customers.
Back to overview

49. Dimension #7: Touch points
• Point of view: Customer
• Definition: When and how the customer interacts with the service provider to fulfil a specific need.
• Examples: smartphone, desktop, search engine, etc.
Back to overview

50. Dimension #8: Answers
• Point of view: Client
• Definition: How the needs of the customer are answered in the current service, or could be answered in an
ideal service.
• Examples: provide reassurance, clear overview of offers, efficient process, etc.
Back to overview

51. Dimension #9: Back-stage processes
• Point of view: Client
• Definition: The necessary processes of the service provider that are hidden from the customer.
• Examples: back-office, content management system (CMS), operations management, etc.
Back to overview

52. Dimension #10: Brand promises
• Point of view: Client
• Definition: How and when the brand promises to the customer, made by the client, are met during the
lifecycle of the service.
• Examples: be genuine, inspire optimism, bring people together, etc.
Back to overview

53. Dimension #11: Business goals
• Point of view: Client
• Definition: What the client aims to achieve.
• Examples: improve customer service, increase conversion, reduce costs, etc.
Note: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) may be used on the map to show how the client has been doing so far with
reaching their goals.
Back to overview

54. Dimension #12: Business needs
• Point of view: Client
• Definition: What the client needs to achieve his goals.
• Examples: funding, data analytics, alignment meetings, etc.
Back to overview

55. Dimension #13: Content
• Point of view: Client
• Definition: What the client needs to achieve his goals.
• Examples: navigation, confirmations, instructions, etc.
Back to overview

56. Dimension #14: System
• Point of view: Client
• Definition: The content, requirements and functionalities of the systems that are needed to provide the
service to the customer.
• Example: content management system (CMS)
Back to overview

57. Dimension #15: Benchmarks
• Point of view: You
• Definition: The content, requirements and functionalities of the systems that are needed to provide the
service to the customer.
• Example: competitors’ designs, inspiration from different fields, etc.
Back to overview

58. Dimension #16: Wireframes
• Point of view: You
• Definition: Visual representations of the design structure of an interface.
Note: placing these wireframes on the map will make it easier to communicate the purpose of the particular screen
in the overall service.
Back to overview

59. Dimension #17: Barriers
• Point of view: General
• Definition: Any things that may stand in the way of enhancing the customer experience.
• Examples: insufficient technology available, stubbornness, low budget, etc.
Back to overview

60. Dimension #18: Conditions
• Point of view: General
• Definition: The minimal requirements for allowing the service to take place.
• Examples: sufficient staffing, weather conditions, etc.
Back to overview

61. Dimension #19: Opportunities
• Point of view: General
• Definition: Opportunities where the experience can be enhanced.
• Examples: customer pain points, recurring problems, using data to anticipate customer needs, etc.
Back to overview

62. Dimension #20: Questions
• Point of view: General
• Definition: Any questions that arise during the service design.
Back to overview

63. Dimension #21: Resources
• Point of view: General
• Definition: Any information, materials or people that are needed by customer, client or designer.
• Examples: developers, budget, books, etc.
Back to overview