Empathy mapping is a visual thinking technique and model developed by XPLANE to understand audiences, including users, customers, and any other players in a business ecosystem. Empathy mapping is a core game in Gamestorming by Dave Gray and Sunni Brown and has been featured by Alexander Osterwalder in Business Model Generation.

1. © 2012 Redpoint Technologies.
All rights reserved.
Empathy Mapping
Developing Deeper Customer Insights
Dave Neuman, Principal, Redpoint Technologies
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Confidential information.

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3. Background
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Empathy Map
Developed by Scott
Mathews of XPLANE
Core game in book by
Dave Gray & Sunni
Brown
Inspired by visual
thinking & serious
game play
Referenced By and
Used In

4. Why Empathy Mapping
• “Really simple customer profiler”
• Goes beyond basic demographics
• Develops better understanding of environment, behavior, concerns, and
motivations
• Profiles guide decision making for business models, projects, UX designs, etc.
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Objective: Quickly develop a customer or user profile aka persona

5. When can you use Empathy Mapping
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Product managers Defining new products and features, evaluating current features and offerings, feedback
Service managers Defining new services, evaluating current services, feedback
Marketing
Qualitative market research (gaining understanding of human behavior and reasons that
govern such behavior)
IT leadership Strategic planning, managing services, SLAs, relationships with internal & external
customers, gaining feedback
Project teams Chartering & initiating new projects, defining project objectives, requirements gathering, UX
design, testing
Entrepreneurs Business model generation and business planning, lean startup testing

6. What is an Empathy Map
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Six questions
to quickly
profile a
customer

7. What is an Empathy Map
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What really counts
Major preoccupations
Worries & aspirations
What is really important
What keeps him/her up at night
Imagine emotions
What influencers say
What friends say
What boss says
Who really influences and how
What media channels are
influential
Environment
Friends
What the market offers
What does it look like
What problems encountered
What type of offers exposed to
Attitude in public
Appearance
Behavior toward others
What could he/she be saying to others
What they say vs. what they do
Fears
Frustrations
Obstacles
Challenges
What risks he/she fears taking
Wants/needs
Measures of success
Obstacles
Truly wants to achieve
Strategies to achieve goals
Six questions
to quickly
profile a
customer

8. When can you use Empathy Mapping
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Segment 1
Segment x
Project Charter
Stakeholders
Objectives
Segment 1
Segment x
Segment 1
Segment x
Projects
Business
Strategy
UX

9. Examples of Empathy Maps
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10. How to do Empathy Mapping
• Simple Process
1. Brainstorm possible customer segments serving
2. Select x number to profile
3. Give customer a name
4. Provide some basic description or demographics
5. Profile each customer using the questions on the map
6. Collaborate with stakeholders to test hypotheses and confirm observations
7. Refer to profiles regularly and refine profiles as new knowledge and experience is gained
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11. Let’s Practice Empathy Mapping
Goal is to develop a new coffee maker to take to market. Identify a
customer segment and provide a profile of that customer to feed
into the design process.
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12. The End
Thank you for your time and participation!
Any other questions?
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