Being able to visualize the attitudes and behaviors of users in an empathy map helps UX or User Experience design teams to understand and empathize with end users of products.
As UX designers, we must not only understand the users, we must also be able to get the rest of the team members and even the members of other teams to understand the users and their needs.
What is an empathy map in UX
An empathy map can be defined as a graphic document that helps visualize everything we know about a specific and particular type of user.
It communicates knowledge about users to create a shared understanding of the needs of the users themselves who use or will use the product and thus helps to make decisions.
The empathy map provides four main areas to focus on, conveying an overview of a person’s experience.
Empathy maps are also excellent starting points for the construction of what will be necessary in later processes.
Some of the advantages provided by an empathy map are:
- They allow to quickly visualize the needs of the user.
- They fit seamlessly into your workflow as a starting point for building personas.
- They allow to maintain the focus on the user when designing the product.
- They are easy and quick to create.
When to perform an empathy map
Empathy maps are very useful at the beginning of the design. It needs to be completed before collecting product requirements and after user research. It will help us to detect the problems that we must solve.
This type of document, if well prepared, can affect the definition of product requirements. and the whole project in general. They work better if they are done after the so that they are based on real data. For example after conducting interviews or .
How to make an empathy map
A common UX empathy map is divided into four parts or quadrants, to which are added notes about aspects of the user’s internal experience.
The quadrants may vary according to needs and preferences, but as a general rule they are usually:
- Thoughts and feelings: Quotes about what the user thinks are included. What is it that matters to you? What is he thinking about? What are you worried about? What is it that worries you? What is your emotional state?
- Hears: What is your family saying? And his friends? And the people who influence you? It is about concluding how the environment affects you.
- Go: What influences you in your environment? What do you see the people around you doing? It is about describing your environment.
- Says and does: What the user says out loud in one or another study is added. It is best to include literal and direct quotes from the research that the user has said. As for what it does, it consists of including the actions carried out by the user in the investigation phase.
- Strain or pain: What are your fears? Your frustrations? What obstacles do you find?
- Results or earnings: What are your wants and needs? What do you hope to get? How do you measure success?
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