Empathy map
A template divided into zones, such as what the person says, does, sees, hears, thinks and feels, that the team fills in with what it knows about them to put itself in their shoes.
What it’s for
Helps the team share a single picture of the person it designs for, and see what it knows about them and what it is assuming.
Key elements
One person or one concrete type
The map is made for someone specific and with a goal, not for “users” in general.
What is observed and what is inferred
What they say and do comes from research; what they think and feel is deduced, and it is best to mark it as such.
Filled in as a team
Its value lies in the conversation it sparks and in the doubts it brings to light.
How it’s done
Choose the person and what they want to achieve.
The team fills in the zones with notes from interviews and observations.
Review what is missing and what needs to be checked with more research.
Applications in design
When to use it
After interviewing or observing, when the team needs to agree on what the person it designs for is like.
Avoid
Filling it in from memory, with no research behind it, and treating what was made up as data.
Don’t fall for it
It is a starting point: check it with real people.
Connections
Authors and works
XPLANE
According to the company itself, the map was born in the mid-2000s from “big heads” drawn by its creative director, Scott Matthews, which Dave Gray turned into a template.
- 2010
Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo
They published it in Gamestorming, a book of workshop activities, and it spread from there.
Sources
Original sources
- Gray, D., Brown, S., & Macanufo, J. (2010). Gamestorming: A playbook for innovators, rulebreakers, and changemakers. O'Reilly Media.
Secondary sources
- XPLANE (n.d.). The empathy map: A human-centered tool for understanding how your audience thinks. XPLANE. View source: XPLANE (n.d.)
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