Empathy Map is designed by Dave Grave at XPLANE, as part of a human-centered design toolkit called Gamestorming.

This particular tool helps teams develop deep, shared understanding and empathy for other people. People use it to help them improve customer experience, to navigate organizational politics, to design better work environments, and a host of other things.

The Empathy Map was created with a pretty specific set of ideas and is designed as a framework to complement an exercise in developing empathy. 

Essentially, an empathy map is a rectangle divided into seven segments with the user or client in the middle. Each of the categories helps us delve into the mind of the user:  what he/she says, sees, thinks, feels, hears, and does. And also the most important part answers the questions why: who and what does the person need? 

How to use it?

1. Start with the GOAL section, by defining WHO will be the subject of the Empathy Map and a goal: something they need to DO. This should be framed in terms of an observable behavior.

2. Once you have clarified the goal, work your way clockwise around the canvas, until you have covered Seeing, Saying, Doing, and Hearing. The reason for this is that the process of focusing on observable phenomena (Things that they see, say, do and hear) is like walking a mile in their shoes. It gives us a chance to imagine what their experience might be like, to give us a sense of what it “feels like to be them.”

3. Only AFTER you have made the circuit of outside elements do you focus on what’s going on inside their head. The large head in the center is one of the most important aspects of the map’s design. In fact the author used to call this exercise “The Big Head” when he first started doing it, because the whole idea was to imagine what it’s like to be inside someone else’s head. That was and is the primary power of the exercise.

Find the map here

Let’s take a closer look at the seven categories and how they can capture an accurate image of the user.

What does he/she SEE?

What is he/he/she encountering in her daily experiences? These could be people, their activities, or things. What are the people around her doing? What is he/she watching, reading, and exposed to in her environment or the marketplace that could influence her? Consider alternative products and services or something the competition is doing. Remember this is her world, not yours, so don’t assume that your company or product is commanding her attention. Even if your email newsletter is fantastic so are the other 20 in her inbox.

What does he/she DO and SAY?

What are her behaviors and how does he/she conduct herself? What is her attitude and what does he/she say? This may change depending on where he/she is, who he/she is with, or is nearby. Attitude can be actions towards others or how he/she conveys something. If applicable, note how him/her behavior has changed recently or changes in a public versus private settings. For example, he/she used to constantly post on Facebook until he/she told everyone that it was evil. Now he/she secretly uses it and stalks but doesn’t post.

What does he/she HEAR?

What is the user hearing and how is it influencing him/her? Consider personal connections with family, friends, and coworkers along with what is being said in the media by bloggers, social media influencers, and experts in fields. Focus on things that impact her thinking—not superfluous information streams. Influencers should focus on the people, things, or places that influence how the user acts. Skip the Beyoncé chatter.

Explore Inside the Mind

After completing the outside elements, the focus moves inside the mind to explore the thoughts and feelings that are internal to the user and not observable. These might be inferred, guessed, or captured in direct quotes during research. This is the central point of the exercise, as teams imagine what it is like to be in someone else’s head.

What does he/she THINK and FEEL?

What matters to the user that he/she is thinking about it? Consider positive and negative sides of thoughts. What makes her feel good or bad? What does she/he worry about or what keeps her up at night? Her mind is exploring paths and possibilities as she considers doing or trying something. How does she feel? Frightened? Excited? Anxious?

Next, explore the specifics of her pains and gains. What does success and failure look like? Capture frustrations and challenges, the obstacles that stand in his/her way. What goals and dreams does he/she have? Gains are what he/she aspires to achieve or have.

Tips for an Effective Empathy Mapping Session

Don’t get hung up on what goes where.

Some participants might be concerned about putting things in the “right” section. (e.g. Is that a pain or a feeling? Did she see it or hear it?) If you have multiple groups working on building out maps for the same user. there will be nuances on how people categorize things. That’s okay. The goal isn’t to correctly classify information, it’s to identify with the user.

Only explore what matters about the user’s perceptions related to the project goal.

This exercise isn’t about logging every emotional and behavioral aspect of the user. It’s about focusing on the target audience and understanding his or her world as it relates to your work. Going too broad will get things off track.

Adapt the map for your situation and needs.

Change or streamline the categories to work with the session goal, persona or available data. For example, if the persona is a purchasing manager at a B2B company, feelings might not have been relevant or revealed by the research. Make whatever changes are needed to ensure the outcome is useful and the session is productive.