It is a useful tool to helps teams better understand their users.
What is an empathy map and why create one?Īn empathy map is a simple, easy-to-digest visual that captures knowledge about a user’s behaviors and attitudes. While an empathy mapping session won’t alter a company culture that doesn’t value user research, it can help focus participants on users by putting them “in their shoes” when interacting with a product or service.
UX professionals often face challenging situations where colleagues and stakeholders default to their own opinions and feelings and forget about the intended target audience. It is our job to help them–but how? Try empathy mapping. They don’t understand the users wants and needs. But behind every UX’er is a team, a client, or a company CEO that wasn’t there. As researchers, when we experience a user’s struggle first hand, feel the frustration, and hear their words, we can’t help but empathize. There are endless conversations about its importance in user experience work, but few focus on how to help others achieve it. And when we take the time to better understand them, we can empathize.Įmpathy is a critical part of human-centered design. We can research, observe, ask, and surmise. No amount of training or expertise tells us what is going on in users’ heads. We don’t know what they would do or how they think. These are phrases UX professionals do not say. “Our users aren’t going to worry about that.”
