Understand
Empathy map
A shared picture of one type of person: what they say, think, do and feel, built from research rather than guesses.
- Time30 to 45 minutes
- People2 to 8 people
- Steps4
What it's for
Use it after interviews or observation, when a team needs to agree what it learned about the people it serves. Splitting what people say from what they think and feel shows the gaps between them, which is often where the useful insight is.
Make one map per type of person. A map of everyone is a map of no one.
How to run it
Name who you're mapping3 min
Write the person or segment in the middle, with the situation they are in.
Fill the four areas15 min
Add notes from your research to Says, Thinks, Does and Feels. Quote real words where you can.
Look for tensions10 min
Where do says and does disagree? Where do thinks and feels? Mark them.
Write what you learned7 min
Turn the tensions into two or three needs or insights.
Tips
- Every note should trace back to something seen or heard. If you're guessing, mark it as a guess.
- Thinks and feels are inferred. Keep them separate from what people actually said.
Where it comes from
Created by Dave Gray at the consultancy XPLANE, and published in Gamestorming (2010) by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo. Gray revised the canvas in 2017.
Pairs well with
Proto-persona
A quick persona built from what the team already believes, written down so the beliefs can be tested with research.
Journey map
Map what a person does, thinks and feels at each stage of getting something done, and find where it goes wrong.
Affinity mapping
Group a pile of notes into themes by moving similar ones together, then name each theme to see what the pile is telling you.