An empathy map is a one-page picture of what a person says, thinks, does and feels. It is quick to make, easy to share, and it keeps a team talking about people instead of features.
It works best early, before screens exist, when opinions are still cheap to change and everyone in the room can add what they have seen or heard.
Fill the Four Quadrants
Draw four boxes and fill them with real quotes and observations from your research, not assumptions. Mark anything you invented so you can check it later.
Use one map per user type. A single map for everyone ends up describing nobody, and the details that matter get averaged away.
Keep the sticky notes short and specific. “Worried the payment failed” is more useful than “anxious”.
Aya Nikola
“When the team can describe a user's day without looking at a spreadsheet, the design gets better.”
Look for the Gaps
The most useful part of the map is where what people say and what they do disagree. Those gaps are where the best design opportunities hide.
Circle each gap and ask what is causing it. Often it is a missing piece of information, a fear, or a step that asks for more effort than people expected.
Finish by turning the top three gaps into questions the team can answer in the next round of design or testing.
2 Minutes
