Today's User Journey

What does the service look like from the user’s point of view?

Overview

It’s easy to map out what a process should look like. But it’s much more valuable to understand how people actually experience it. A journey map helps you visualise a real user's experience step by step—from their perspective, not the organisation’s.

This tool helps teams break down what a person goes through when using a service, from start to finish. It’s not just about the steps, but also what the user is thinking, feeling, or struggling with at each point. That’s where the insights—and the opportunities to improve—often lie.

Open in Google Slides Open template in Google Sheets

⏱️ Time: 45–60 minutes

👫 Participants: Team members who conducted interviews or observations

🛠️ Materials: Today’s Journey template, persona profiles, interview/observation notes

Input

Before completing this canvas, ensure you have completed the following steps:

User ObservationPersonaUser Interview

Context

Use this tool after conducting user interviews or observations. It helps you make sense of what users shared by turning their story into a visual experience. You can also co-create it with users directly, especially in workshops or interviews.

Use one template per user (or per persona), and if you have 3–4 different user types, you’ll likely need 3–4 different maps.

Recipe

1

Choose a persona

Select a real or representative user based on your research (interviews and observations). You can use the Persona tool to guide this.

2

Clarify their goal

What were they trying to do? What outcome were they hoping for?

3

Map the journey

Fill in the journey step-by-step:

• Start: How did the user first engage with the service?

• Steps: What did they do next? What forms, channels, or people were involved?

• End: How did the experience conclude?

4

Add user actions and insights

For each step, describe what the user did, how they felt, and what stood out. Note any pain-points, workarounds, or emotional reactions.

5

Define the challenge for the user during the journey

What was hard about the experience? Where did things break down?

Results

• A clear, visual representation of how a user experiences the service from start to finish

• Key pain-points, emotional highs and lows, and moments of confusion or frustration

• Opportunities to improve specific steps, remove friction, or align better with user expectations

• A shared reference for the team to build empathy and prioritise improvements

Tips

• Stick to real experiences – Build each map from actual interviews or observations, not assumptions. Try not just to guess what users felt—use their words.

• Keep it simple – Don’t overcomplicate the map with too much technical detail. Focus on what matters to the user.

• Use visuals – Arrows, icons, emojis, or colour-coding (e.g. red = frustration, green = satisfaction) can make patterns easier to spot.

• Compare across users – Mapping multiple journeys side by side can reveal systemic issues or variations in experience.

• Don’t treat it as final – Journey maps evolve. Revisit them as you learn more.

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Share Your Experience

We'd love to hear how you're using this tool! Please share your examples and feedback to inspire others and help improve the Booster. Submit your example today and be part of our community.