Empathy Map

An Empathy Map allows us to sum up our learning from engagements with people in the field of design research. The map provides four major areas in which to focus our attention on, thus providing an overview of a person’s experience. Empathy maps are also great as a background for the construction of the personas that you would often want to create later.

• Complete your interviews with key users and stakeholders
• OR bring your observation and other outside research to inform how someone impacted by the problem might respond and prioritize needs.

• Lay the four quadrants and motivations sections on a table or draw them on paper or a whiteboard, as shown above.
• Review your notes, pictures, audio, and video from your interviews/research and fill out each of the four quadrants while defining and synthesizing.
  • BE
    • Write down significant quotes and keywords that the user said.
    • Consider the user’s thoughts and feelings that make them who they are. What is their mindset? What are their aspirations and fears?
  • SEE
    • Consider the user’s environment. What do they see around them? How do they behave? What influences their perception?
  • KNOW
    • Reflect on the user’s knowledge and understanding. What is their level of education or expertise? What information guides their decisions?
    • Dig deeper. What do you think that your user might be thinking?
  • DO
    • Analyze the user’s actions and behaviors. What activities do they engage in? How do they spend their time?
    • What emotions might your user be feeling? Consider subtle cues like body language and their choice of words and tone of voice.
  • MOTIVATIONS
  • • • Explore the driving forces behind the user’s actions. What motivates them positively? What are their concerns or negative influences?
      • What are their goals, their needs, their desires?

Synthesizing needs involves analyzing and distilling the recurring themes and essential requirements identified in the Be, See, Know, and Do sections. The key things to keep in mind include:

• Identifying Common Themes: Examine the Be, See, Know, and Do sections of the Empathy Map to identify recurring themes or patterns related to the user’s needs.
  • For instance, students living on campus may share a common theme of waste management around the kitchen area and not other areas on campus.
• Highlighting Critical Requirements: Pinpoint essential elements crucial to addressing the user’s needs.
  • In the water waste management example, a critical requirement might be the need for teacher/administration support to implement new waste protocols.

An “Insight” is the realization that can help you solve your current design challenge. Look to synthesize significant insights, especially from contradictions between two user attributes. You can also synthesize insights by asking yourself: “Why?” when you notice strange, tense, or surprising behavior.

When synthesizing insights, the focus is on extracting valuable information about user behaviors, preferences, and motivations. Key considerations for this step include:

• Connecting Patterns to Behaviors: Understand how the identified patterns in the Empathy Map translate into specific actions or behaviors exhibited by the user.
  • For the campus water management example, the insight could be that students are more likely to adopt water-saving practices if provided with interactive workshops or demonstrations versus just reading about it.
• Extracting Motivational Factors: Analyze the motivations section to uncover key factors influencing the user’s decisions and actions, both positive and negative.
  • In the case of students, the insight might reveal that positive motivations, such as being rewarded by teachers for participating in campus clean-up efforts, significantly impact their engagement in water conservation initiatives.

These synthesis steps are integral to the design process as they help designers gain a deeper understanding of user needs and behaviors. The insights derived from this process inform the creation of solutions that are not only functional but also resonate with the users on a personal level, enhancing the design’s overall effectiveness.