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Workshop Framework

Empathy Mapping

Empathy Mapping is a visual collaboration tool that helps a group build a shared understanding of a specific person's experience. The group works around a large canvas divided into sections covering what the person sees, hears, says, does, thinks and feels, along with their pains and gains. The output is a one-page portrait of someone's world that aligns the team on who they are designing for, responding to, or trying to help.

90 minutes
3-8 people
intermediate
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✓ Created by former KPMG & McKinsey consultants

Empathy Mapping Illustration
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What You'll Achieve with the Empathy Mapping Workshop

Real outcomes that transform your team

1

Achieve a shared understanding of user experiences among team members.

2

Identify actionable insights that guide product or service design.

3

Enhance team alignment on user needs and priorities.

When to Use the Empathy Mapping Workshop

Perfect for these situations and team challenges

Before designing a product to ensure user-centric design.

When team members have conflicting views on customer needs.

How the Empathy Mapping Workshop Works

A step-by-step breakdown of the workshop process

1Setup

Gather a group with knowledge of the user, collect relevant research, and prepare the Empathy Map canvas with a clear persona focus.

2Step 1: Frame the person and the goal

Define the specific user to be mapped and align the group on their understanding of this person’s situation and goals to ensure coherence during the mapping process.

3Step 2: Populate the outer sections

Each participant contributes insights into the observable aspects of the user’s world, focusing on what they see, hear, say, and do, to build a comprehensive outer picture.

4Step 3: Fill in Think & Feel

Explore the internal experiences of the user by discussing their thoughts and feelings, aiming for depth and specificity beyond surface-level observations.

Key Topics Covered in the Empathy Mapping Workshop

empathy mappingvisual collaborationuser experiencedesign thinkingteam alignment

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4

Improve communication strategies based on user perspectives.

During persona development to add emotional depth to user profiles.

Before service blueprinting to ground the design in real experiences.

When stakeholders need to understand unfamiliar user groups.

Team Problems the Empathy Mapping Workshop Solves

Say goodbye to these common team challenges

Misalignment among team members regarding user characteristics.

Lack of qualitative data leading to assumptions about users.

Generic understanding of users that lacks emotional depth.

Difficulty in designing effective communication strategies for users.

5Step 4: Identify Pains and Gains

Participants identify the key frustrations (pains) and positive outcomes (gains) for the user, which will inform actionable insights for design or strategy.

6Step 5: Surface insights and tensions

Reflect on the completed map to extract insights, contradictions, and unmet needs, ensuring the group agrees on the most critical takeaways for future actions.

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