Designing mobile and responsive experiences that delight our users and meet our organizational objectives isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. User journeys can help. Understanding our users context is critical to the success of every app or responsive website. But more often than not, we jump right into discussing functionality and technical requirements without ever stopping to considering who our users are and what they need. While many of us seek out shiny new tools to prototype products, mapping the users’s journey is still the most reliable tool we can use to understand context and design mobile experiences that matter.

1. `
FOR DAMN GOOD DIGITAL DESIGN
Journey Mapping
DIGITAL SUMMIT DALLAS 2015 - @REBEKAHCANCINO

2. Roadtrippin’ with Dad

3. Quite the journey

4. Get your kicks...

5. All the necessities

6. Not necessary at all

7. So glamorous

8. Context, baby

9. THINKING
DOINGFEELING
The user’s context
From Daniel Eizans

10. THINKING
DOINGFEELING
The user’s context
I need an
affordable place
to stay for the
night and a way
for the kids to
release some
energy
Driving for long
periods of time
with two kids in
the back
Carrying a lot of
luggage for the
family
Parent: tired,
hungry
Kids: restless,
hungry

11. Find motel Park, unpack
kids, lug into
lobby, book
room
Park near
room, unload
kids, bring
luggage
Take kids
swimming
Find food Go to bed
Dear God, no.
Hooray!

12. Design for context
AND EVERYTHING ELSE WILL FOLLOW

13. Context

14. The mobile context?

15. “I love fiction. Unicorns, UFOs, faith healing, the
Mobile Web, the Mobile Context, psychics.”
- Stephen Hay

16. CONTEXT ISN’T TIED TO DEVICES

17. CONTEXT IS TIED TO PEOPLE

18. Responsive website or native app?
iOS and Android? Windows?
Features?
Gestures?
Wondering where to start?

19. THINKING
DOINGFEELING
Start with context

20. What actions are users taking to meet their needs?
What’s the real goal or hidden motivation?
Why are they here in the first place? What do they
expect?
What are their potential high points and low points?
What devices do they use? For what? When?
Then keep going...

21. Map the journey

22. User steps ( and needs)

23. thoughts, feelings,
people involved in decisions

24. Features, functionality, content

25. Critical steps, what’s going well,
what needs improvement

26. Green: user is having the experience he/she expects or needs
Yellow: thing are going okay, but the experience could be improved
Red: user is NOT having the experience he/she expects or needs

27. Doing
People,
Thoughts,
Feelings
Need to buy a
grad gift
for niece
Showthistomysister,
thisisfunpart
aboutplanning
asurprise
She likes sweet
treats,
I hope there is
something
grad themed
Visits Shari’s Berries
to place an order
I better call customer
service, because I’m
not finding the info I
need
I’m waiting on hold
for way too long.
Waits for order to
arrive at niece’s dorm
She’s been so busy,
I hope she will be
home for
the delivery
How are the berries
going to stay fresh if
it’s too warm out?

28. Why map the journey?
BUILD ALIGNMENT, ADD VALUE,
AND MAKE STUFF THAT MATTERS

29. The world’s first
social streaming media player?

30. Wasted time and money

31. Create alignment and a shared understanding of the
users journey, behaviors, and needs
Remove politics and pet projects out of product design
Prioritize needs and identify key content and
functionality
Discover opportunities for innovation and delight
The value of journey mapping
@rebekahcancino

32. Journey maps are strategic tools you can use
to save time and money, add value, and make
experiences that matter.
@rebekahcancino

33. Understanding context clarifies user needs
so that you can create products and digital
experiences that deliver business results.
@rebekahcancino

34. Strategic direction: Why are we making this, what
problem are we solving?
Required functionality: What content, features, and
functionality do we need?
Design decisions: How should this look, sound,
and feel?
Three kinds of insight

35. Strategic insight
WHAT PROBLEM ARE WE SOLVING?

36. Invite two groups of users from each key segment: they
formulate problem statement, you ask smart questions
Have internal cross-discipline team of stakeholders help
facilitate: build shared understanding, get alignment on
direction
Share ideas with the group: listen for nuances, patterns, and
hidden motivations
Codesign the way forward
@rebekahcancino

38. Map the user’s context

39. USER + NEED + INSIGHT
An anxious aunt
sending a grad gift
To feel
good about
her gift
choice
Once she sends the
berries she worries
about if her niece will
be there to receive
it, will they spoil?
Uncover insight

40. Formulate a problem
statement, together

41. We believe that ___________ has ________________
and that ______________may solve this problem by
____________________ and _____________________.
We will know we have succeeded when
___________________and/or ____________________
reaches ___________________.
(USER) (PROBLEM)
(THIS SOLUTION)
(THIS ASPECT) (THAT ASPECT)
(QUANTATIVE MEASURE)(QUALITATIVE MEASURE)
(THIS LEVEL)
@kevinmhoffman

42. Share with group, listen for nuances

43. Look for patterns

44. After working with customers to define problem and
map context, we discovered that the planned app
was the wrong solution all together.

47. Required functionality
WHAT FUNCTIONALITY AND FEATURES
SHOULD WE OFFER?

48. Journey evidence is everywhere

49. Mine the data, all the data

51. Made for in-store experiences

52. vs.

55. Estimate yourfare here!

56. I mean ...

57. More control over his or her shopping experience
Reduce stress and provide peace of mind
Eliminate shopping hassles and automate applying
discounts or input of information
Give customers a great experience
@rebekahcancino

58. Of customers would
pay more if they got
the top 3 experience
aspects they want
most from a retailer
53%
SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL, THE RETAIL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 2015

59. Of customers would
shop more often if
they got the top 3
experience aspects
they want most from a
retailer
77%SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL, THE RETAIL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 2015

60. Design decisions
HOW SHOULD IT LOOK, SOUND, AND FEEL?

62. THINKING
DOINGFEELING
The user’s context
I need a way to
relax, increase my
focus, and be
more intentional
New to
meditation and
trying to focus
their attention
On their phone
with access to
many distractions
Stressed,
overwhelmed,
scattered
unsure of how
meditation works,
curious

65. Authentic, helpful, and human

68. “I didn’t go looking for grief this afternoon, but it
found me anyway, and I have designers and
programmers to thank for it. In this case, the
designers and programmers are somewhere
at Facebook.”
@meyerweb
Inadvertent algorithmic cruelty

70. Don’t assume, regularly test assumptions and ask
users for feedback
Stress test design decisions, see where an experience
might break down
Be careful
@rebekahcancino

71. Start mapping
AND MAKE THINGS THAT MATTER

72. Journey maps help us: get strategic insight,
prioritize features and functionality, and make good
design decisions.
Whether you’re making decisions on content, features,
functionality, gestures or anything else in between—
understanding context and mapping the journey
helps you make it better.
@rebekahcancino

73. Save time and money by getting to the best solution
faster with less rework.
Gain and retain customers by providing them with
elegant solutions they need.
The value of understanding context
and mapping the journey
@rebekahcancino

74. mappingexperiences.com dschool.stanford.edu
Further reading

75. @rebekahcancino
togetherly.co
Happy mapping!