The document outlines the process of experience mapping, which involves researching and visually mapping out the holistic journey a customer takes to achieve a goal. The process has four steps: 1) uncover customer behaviors, thoughts, and feelings through research; 2) collaboratively chart the customer journey; 3) tell the story of the journey through a visual map; and 4) use the map to improve customer experience and prioritize opportunities. Done correctly, experience mapping provides insights into how customers interact with a brand across different channels and touchpoints over time.

1. Adaptive Path’s Guide to
Experience Mapping
Brandi Kinard, Kyle Miller,
Kaelan O’Fallon, Danielle Oliveras

2. Overview: Experience Mapping
● The value of Experience Mapping
○ Shows the archetypal journey of customers going to achieve a goal
or satisfy a need.
○ Builds knowledge and consensus across teams and stakeholders
● Focus on the interconnectedness of channels and touchpoints
○ Channel: medium of interaction with users or customers
○ Touchpoint: A point of interaction between a person and any
agent/artifact of an organization

3. Overview: Experience Mapping
● Part one of two phases is the “activity” phase of the experience
map.
○ A collaborative, iterative process for synthesizing and visualizing the
holistic consumer.
● Then it goes into the “artifact” phase
○ An experience map presents key insights into your consumers’
complete experience.
● The four steps are:
○ Uncover the Truth
○ Chart the Course
○ Tell the Story
○ Use Your Map

4. Step One: Uncover the Truth
● The Activity phase
● Big picture of how and why customers are interacting with different
channels, touchpoints, products, and services.
● Discovery with Rigor
○ Research to understand both the customer experience and context around it
○ Triangulate your problem and know the full picture.
○ Build an authentic story

5. Step One: Uncover the Truth
● The Building Blocks of Experience Mapping
○ Challenging to uncover critical information about the customers’ experience.
○ Use building blocks as core framework to guide the process
■ Key blocks are: Doing, Thinking, and Feeling
● Doing: Actions, key behaviors?
● Thinking: Fram and evaluations, expectations
● Feeling: Emotions, highs, lows
■ Secondary blocks are: Place, Time, Devices, Relationships, Channels, and
Touchpoints

6. Step One: Uncover the Truth
● Quantitative Research
○ Web analytics, customer satisfaction data, creating surveys, and
gathering data.
● Qualitative Research:
○ Having conversations, focus on a story that is relevant to the
product / service / problem area
○ Interview / observe customers in their natural settings.
○ Foster an engaging conversation rather than pointed questions

7. Step Two: Chart the Course
“This is not a solo adventure”
● Basic Framework
○ The Lens
■ The lens is the filter through which you view the journey, such as persona, more general experience,
principles or a value proposition.
○ The Customer Journey
■ Depicts the range of interactions customers have across channels, touchpoints, time and space in pursuit of
satisfying one or more needs.
○ The Takeaways
■ Summarizing the key findings from the experience mapping process.
●

8. Step Two: Chart the Course
“An experience map is a collaborative activity”
● Experience Map
○ At the core is a visual narrative of the customer journey.
● Goal
○ The goal is to bring the data to life through a visually engaging infographic that is easy to comprehend.
● Role as a facilitator
○ Create a clear context
○ Outline goals
○ Guide participants through the activity
○ Keep everyone motivated and happy

9. Step Two: Chart the Course
● Steps for a successful workshop
○ Set the context
○ Organize yourselves
○ Deconstruct
○ Stage
○ Construct
○ Shape

10. Step Two: Chart the Course

11. Step 3: Tell the Story
● Strong outline becomes compelling end result
● Identify key components of the story your map will tell
● Beginning, middle, and end

12. Step 3: Tell the Story
● Hierarchy
○ Choose lead story, supporting info
○ Scale, color, contrast create hierarchy
● Impact with time and distance
○ What stands out?

13. Step 3: Tell the Story
● Making it real
1. Have a point of view
2. Consider your audience
3. Design for impact

14. Step 3: Tell the Story
● Sketch the story
● Experiment with different building blocks that could drive the narrative

15. Step 3: Tell the Story

16. Step 4: Use Your Map
● Analyze customer behavior
● You see the world as customers do
● Embracing the ongoing challenge of understanding your customers’
needs

17. Step 4: Use Your Map
● See the issue(s)
● Prioritize customer value
● Address the issue(s)
● Helps you identify high-value areas of opportunity

18. Step 4: Use Your Map
● A sequence of pre-visualizing
● Making rapid ideation of future experiences grounded in the insights of
your customer journey

19. Step 4: Use Your Map
● define the ideal customer journey
● What customers would ideally do, think, and feel as they interact along
the journey
“Happy Mapping”

20. Acknowledgements
Not Pictured:
Bryn Bowman, Pam Daghlian,
Rae Brune, Toi Valentine,
Gabrielle Parsons, Evi Hui,
Shahrzad Samadzadeh and
Jason Ham.