User Journey
Definition
User Journey
The experience and emotional response a person has during the use or anticipated use of a product, system, or service. It is often communicated through a storyboard to show empathy and highlight key interactions and touchpoints.
Note
Key Elements:
- Persona: Who the user is and what they want
- Touchpoints: Where the user interacts with the product
- Emotions: How the user feels at each step
- Pain Points: Frustrations or barriers
- Opportunities: Where the design can improve the experience
The Role of Storyboarding in Design
Definition
Storyboard
A visual tool used to communicate how a product is used, through images, drawings, or photographs, to represent the user experience. It helps identify opportunities for improvement by highlighting key interactions and challenges.
A storyboard helps designers:
- Identify Steps: Break down the user journey into individual actions and interactions.
- Visualise Emotions: Capture the user's emotional state at each stage.
- Spot Pain Points: Highlight areas where the user experience can be improved.
- Communicate Ideas: Share the user journey with stakeholders in a clear and engaging way.
Tip
- When creating a storyboard, focus on the user's perspective.
- This ensures that the design addresses real user needs and challenges.
Analogy
- Think of a storyboard as a comic strip.
- Each panel tells a part of the story, showing the user's actions, emotions, and interactions with the product.
Why Use a Storyboard?
- Helps teams visualise the user experience
- Makes pain points easier to identify
- Encourages empathy and shared understanding across the team
- Links real-world user behaviour to actionable design improvements
Note
Pain points are moments in the user journey where the experience breaks down, identifying them is key to improving the design.
Self review
- Identify three pain points in a user journey you have experienced recently.
- How could design improvements address these challenges?
