- User’s emotional state, often represented as an adjective plus a short sentence for context.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

A collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of user. It externalizes knowledge about users in order to 1) create a shared understanding of user needs, and 2) aid in decision making.

Empathy mapping

- Contains what the user says out loud in an interview or some other usability study. Contains verbatim and direct quotes from research.

Says Quadrant

- Captures what the user is thinking throughout the experience.

Thinks Quadrant 

- Encloses the actions the user takes. (What does user physically do? How does the user to go about doing it)


Does Quadrant 

Feels Quadrant

Empathy maps can capture one particular user or can reflect an aggregation of multiple users

One User vs. Multiple-Users Empathy Maps

- Capture who a user or persona is
- Communicate a user or persona to others
- Collect data directly from the user

Why Use Empathy Maps

1. Define scope and goals
2. Gather materials
3. Collect research
4. Individually generate sticky notes for each quadrant
5. Converge to cluster and synthesize
6. Polish and plan

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