What are empathy maps and how to use them

What is the empathy map

Understanding the product from the user's perspective is key to properly planning the features, business model and its positioning in the market. Lack of empathy often results in a solution that no one needs or wants to use.

However, being empathetic is not easy because we are different in this regard. There is no easy way to immediately turn on empathy. Fortunately, there are techniques that can help direct your own or your team's attention to the needs of your users or customers. One such tool is the Empathy Map.

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Empathy map

An empathy map is an easy-to-use technique for better understanding users. It allows us to delve deeper into their thoughts and feelings, focusing on their experiences and needs. This approach allows us to go beyond typical customer demographic profiles. The method was developed by experts at XPlane and gained popularity with Alexander Osterwalder's book "Business Model Generation."

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Its simplicity makes it understandable to everyone involved in product development - from developers to sponsors and investors. The empathy map is perfect as a basis for reflection, for conducting team workshops to empathize with the end user. It can even be used in workshops with users themselves!

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What does an empathy map consist of?

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The empathy map is a simple diagram on a single sheet of A4, divided into 6 areas with a set of questions. These areas relate to how the user acts in the world and what they feel internally. One such diagram can be used for one target group or a specific person (making it even better to understand our user).

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What the user sees

We analyze what we notice about the user, elements from the user's environment that influence our situation or problem, such as "he receives expensive offers" or "he lives in a minimalist environment."

What are his observations from the environment and the market?
Who or what does he have in his environment?
What difficulties does he face in the workplace?
What offers does he receive from the market?

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What the user hears

This is the place where we show how the environment affects you, that is, what you hear or notice around you.

What kind of opinions do customers express?
What market trends are important to him?
What are the opinions of the boss or co-workers?
What do influential people or experts say?
Who else can influence this person and how?

What media does the customer use? Which sources of information does he trust?

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What does the user think and feel?

Once we gain an understanding of what the user is observing and how the environment affects his perspective, we try to understand what thoughts and reflections pop into his mind; for example, "How can I justify a new investment in IT?" or "It must take less time!"

What is it worth to him?
What are the user's aspirations?
What is important but may be hidden?
What are his desires?
What evokes emotions in him, what really touches him?

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What does the user say and do ?

What actions does the user take outwardly based on his thoughts? For example, how does he express himself publicly: "Takes a firm stance with the boss, although he may have doubts about the best solution," or "I'm going to cut expenses!"

What kind of behavior does he demonstrate in public?
How does it create an impression on others?
Where is the discrepancy between his thoughts and actions?
How does he behave with other people?

What causes the user difficulties? What is the problem for him?

We describe the difficulties faced by our user in the areas that our product/service touches. For example: "the introduction of new solutions is met with resistance from my employees" or "the interface is very complicated and difficult to use."

What does he pay attention to, what does he fear?
What causes him the most dissatisfaction?
What obstacles are hindering him from achieving his goals?

What benefits does the user expect?

We show what the user expects in the areas affected by our product/service. For example: "doing this activity faster than we currently do" or "employee evaluations must be positive toward this solution."

What are the deep desires and needs of the user?
What will it be for him to achieve success?
What is the right target he is really aiming for?

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How to start using the empathy map in 4 steps?

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We already have the Empathy Map ready. Now it's time to use it to take action and bring positive change!

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Before we begin, we select potential customer groups for the product or service. We can do this by brainstorming with the team. We select the first segment and identify its representative. On the Empathy Map, we record his personal and demographic information in the center.
The next step is to fill in the map. We usually start with the order: what the customer sees, hears, thinks, does, and finally his pains and benefits. This is a guideline, so we don't have to keep it rigid. During the workshop, ideas will come from different areas.
Finally, it is worth summarizing the map - think about which elements from each area are the most important.

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