Stages, steps, and lanes
The structure of a journey map
In general, journey maps are illustrated in the form of a matrix:
- columns visualize the experiences over time
- rows show details of each experience
Cards
You can fill the matrix with different types of cards, for example:
- Text
- Image
- Stage
- Icons
- Slider
- Embed
- Planning
- Metric
- Link
- Opportunity
- Pain point
- Solution
You can flexibly add cards to the matrix, expand them horizontally or vertically and move them around on the matrix.
→ Tip: Use color coding in step titles to indicate to what degree the information in this card is data-backed already. For example red for “no data”, yellow for “partly data-backed”, and green for “fully research-based”. Use the journey map info section to describe each color’s meaning.
Branching and looping
Branching helps you to show non-linear flows of journeys.
Lanes: adding rich details
To better understand a specific experience, you can add details to each step. For example:
- Use text cards to note detailed descriptions of the situation; you can also use text cards to note anything else that can be communicated through text but that there is not a specific card type for.
- Emotions to visualize the satisfaction of the customer in each moment
- Channels of communication to see how customers get information
- Images to help anchor the story of our map, and help people understand the main activity in each step.
- KPIs, backstage processes, research data – feel free to add/link any information that you find relevant.
→ Tip: Don’t flood your maps with all the data you have but only pick relevant insights. If you feed/add all of what you have without first reviewing whether the data is relevant to a specific step, this data overload might overwhelm people.
Creating a journey map hierarchy
Aim for a maximum of 20 steps per journey map. If you’re exceeding that number, consider creating sub-journeys and connecting them in a journey map hierarchy.
Learn more about journey map hierarchies
Creating service blueprints
A service blueprint helps you understand all the organizational processes needed to provide a specific experience.
Collaborate, online and offline
Invite your colleagues or clients to collaborate on the map.
