How to create an empathy map

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*being a non-native English speaker, this article may have language mistakes.

*Check my other articles related to empathy maps: article 1, article 2.

An empathy map should be used not just through the UX process (where it is mandatory in establishing common ground among team members), but in all processes in which we want to empathize with our end-users. Usually, in the UX process, this tool is used at the very beginning of the process or during a design sprint session. The benefits of the empathy maps are:

• describe who a user, a group of users or a persona is;
• communicate a user, a group of users or a persona to others;
• collect data directly from the end-user.

Things to do before the session

1. Define the purpose of empathy mapping. Before building an empathy map, you should identify the reason you need to create one. Usually, you can create a map for the understanding of a situation or for the understanding of the end-users.
2. Conduct user research. For having an accurate empathy map that will lead you to achieve your goals, before creating it, you should conduct user research. It is recommended having both qualitative and quantitative data from the users. The results from the research should be shared with all the members which will be involved in the empathy map creation process.
3. Involve a team. Empathy maps should be built by a team, not just from a single person. As in the design thinking process, you invite members with various expertise (for example UX person, Product Manager, Developer, Marketing Specialist, Tester, etc.), it is recommended that in this process to involved t-shaped people, as well. Also, if you have the possibility to involve the stakeholders in the process will be also a plus.
4. Schedule enough time for the session. Building an empathy map will not need to take you more than 30–60 minutes. But, you will need an extra 30 minutes (15 before and 15 after) to make sure that everything is set and to summarize the findings.
5. A moderator to facilitate the process. Every step for creating an empathy map should be facilitated by a moderator. That person should not ask leading questions, not express his/her own opinion and will make sure that the people involved are actively involved during the whole process.

Things to do during and after the session

1. One map for one persona. Usually, for a persona or for one group of users you should create just one empathy map. This means that if you have more personas or user groups, you should create an empathy map for each.
2. Create a context or scenario. For the success of an empathy map, a context should be created (you can mention the location, the need of the user and the goal that he/she wants to accomplish). For example, a caregiver in the hospital trying to find what he/she needs to do for that day.
3. A common understanding of the persona or the user group. Before creating the empathy map, you should have created a persona. That persona should also be present in the empathy map creating process. Usually, a persona could be presented via a projector or listed on paper.
4. Use stick notes. Each member who will participate in this process is unique and has his/her own thoughts. For having anyone involved, you should encourage people to write on sticky, not all the things that they will consider related to the established goal. You will have the possibility to group the notes, to put them on different categories.
5. Summarize the results. After all the fields were created, you should take some time to reflect around each section and to summarize the results. This will help you to have a general overview which will be easy to share with the other team members that weren’t involved in the creating process.

So, using empathy maps will help you to have a user-oriented mindset. Also, this will be behind all the decisions that may be taken during the development process.