An Empathy Map is a collaborative tool that teams can use to gain a deeper insight into their customers/clients/end users, describing aspects of a persons’ experience, needs and pain points. The Empathy Map will help you understand your citizens (your Personas) even better, drawing a more detailed picture about them within their respective market environment. This will help you especially to identify the pain points (=problems) they might be experiencing.
How to create an Empathy Map Canvas – a step-by-step procedure
This step-by-step procedure is related to the Empathy Map Canvas templates provided by Dave Gray, Founder of XPLANE (http://xplaner.com).
The template can be downloaded here: https://gamestorming.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Empathy-Map-Canvas-006.pdf
Step 1. Start with the GOAL section, – Define WHO will be the subject of the Empathy Map: summarize his/her situation/role; – Define WHAT will be the desired outcome: What would you like the person to do differently?
Step 2. Once you have clarified the goal, start working your way clockwise around the canvas and capture the outside world of your persons. It is like walking in their shoes, giving you the chance to imagine what their experience might be.
- What do they SEE? What are they watching, reading, and exposed to in their environment or the marketplace that could influence them? Consider here as well the Megatrends you have identified;
- What do they DO and SAY? What are their behaviours?
- What do they HEAR? What are they hearing and how is it influencing them?
Step 3. AFTER you have made the circuit of outside elements you can focus now on what’s going on inside the customers’ heads.
- What do they THINK or FEEL?
- Based on your market research, what do you think, what makes them feel good or bad? What do they worry about or what keeps them up at night?
Step 4. When all the sections are completed, take a moment to reflect. Which new insights or perspectives have you gained? What is your conclusion?
