Mapping
An exercise intended to help Product Managers find a succinct way for their users to reach their goal.
Introduction
Mapping serves as a way to make clear the path our users take to find a service, understand it and achieve their goals. This exercise gives a clear indication of where the common steps are for each organisation participating in the Design Sprint. The path should be guided by three categories: Discovery, Learning and Using, starting from the various actors to the end goal.
Discovery is how the user finds the service for the first time. Learning is the process of understanding the services offered by the charity. Using is the steps towards achieving the goal or at least getting closer to the goal.
"Behind those few simple steps were all kinds of difficulties...You won't have to capture every detail and nuance. Instead, you'll just include the major steps required for [users] to move from beginning to completion" - GV Sprint Book
Required Materials
For remote delivery: Using Miro, or a similar service, create one space a large frame with each user at once side and the agreed common goal at the other. The Post-its tool and arrows are used to map steps across the frame.
A common goal, user personas, post-its, pens
Workflow
On a large Miro board, whiteboard or blank wall place large post-its at either side. On the left hand side list the users (these can be directly referencing User Personas). On the right hand side, place the common goal for the sprint.
Each Product Manager should start at their user and outline the steps required to achieve their goal through the stages of Discovery, Learning and Using.
Steps are formed in the context of actions the user takes to get to their goal, such as 'Search on Google (Discovery)', 'Browse available services (Learning)', or 'Book an appointment (Using)'.
Between each step there should be an arrow to indicate what comes next. There may be multiple paths so arrows can diverge wherever appropriate.
Facilitators should encourage participants to keep things simple and avoid superfluous steps where possible. The map should consist of between 5 and 15 steps.
The map can then be used to find a target or shared focus by deciding which step is most critical.
Collaboration
Finding the target is one of the main objectives in this exercise - individually as an organisation mapping helps to work through the steps and decide which part of the process is most critical to focus.
Although each Product Manager is drawing the path for their unique personification of their user group, they are working to find a path for these distinct groups of people to reach a common goal.
During mapping it becomes clear where commonality lies in how each group of users will find the digital service, use it and accomplish their goal. Often, disparate groups of users will follow a similar path to accomplish their goal. Designing a path for many groups opens up the accessibility of the service and ensures we're designing for a diverse range of users.
A common target can be found when collaborating which helps organisations to find a shared focus.
Facilitator notes
This exercise is often really tricky for participants to get their heads round. Sometimes that is down to the complexity of the problem area and other times it is difficult to compact a user journey into a few steps on a map. Going through a mapping example of a completely made up problem first, in which they can engage and practise, is really useful to help them get the most out of this exercise.
Resources
The following resources expand on the mapping exercise:
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