Hi and welcome back. How did your user interviews go? I'm sure you're already starting to understand your users better. As we continue through this stage of the design process, one way that we can visualize empathy is by creating an empathy map. An empathy map is an easily understood chart that explains everything designers have learned about a type of user. An empathy map consists of four squares, which show what the user says, does, thinks, and feels. The word user goes in the middle, right where these squares intersect. Now you're ready to fill in the squares. Keep in mind, there are two types of empathy maps. One user empathy maps, where you record feedback from a single user and aggregated empathy maps, where you consolidate feedback from a group of users. Let's start by creating a one user empathy map, and then we'll move on to an aggregated empathy map. Imagine you're on a team building an app that promises food delivery in 30 minutes or less. You interview users about their experiences with food delivery. The top left of your empathy map includes what the user says during the interview. When you do this, use direct quotes if you can. For example, one user, Simone, has ordered food through other delivery apps before. Simone might say something like, "I wish food delivery apps provided more accurate time estimates." We should write this direct quote from Simone in the says square of our empathy map. Next, the bottom left square focuses on what the user does. These could be actions or behaviors the user shares in their responses or even the user's physical actions during the interview. For example, Simone might share how they only order delivery when eating at home alone. The top right square focuses on what the user thinks. This includes things the user doesn't actually say, but that you can tell through observation. Facial expressions are a great way to understand what a user is thinking. A furrow brow might indicate that Simone is skeptical about a 30 minutes or less guarantee. Finally, the bottom right square of the empathy map focuses on what the user feels. You could directly ask Simone what they're feeling during the interview, so long as it's done in an open-ended way. For example, you might ask, how did you feel when you try to place delivery orders through an app? After the interview, fill in the feels square with these observations and we're done with Simone's empathy map, nice work. Next, you'll learn how to build aggregated empathy maps. Now that you know how to build one user empathy maps, it's time to take what you've learned about a single user and apply that to multiple users. Aggregated empathy maps represent a visualization of everything designers know about an entire user segment or group of similar users, not just one user. Aggregated empathy maps appear exactly like one user empathy maps. Breaking down the information we've learned about our user segment into four categories, says, does, thinks, and feels. The difference is that aggregated empathy maps include information that is gathered from multiple users. Continuing with our example, let's say that the day you interviewed Simone, you also interviewed Miranda and Louis. In the says square, Miranda mentions something similar to what Simone said about accurate estimates. But Louis says, "I wish I could live-track my food delivery." We'll add that response below Simone's response in the says square. For does, something that both Miranda and Louis shared was that they order delivery on weeknights more often than weekends, so we'll add that to the does square. Now we're on the thinks square. During the interview, Louis shares that it would be nice if their favorite restaurants had a delivery option. Let's add this to the thinks square. Next, Simone responded to the question, how did you feel when you try to place a delivery order through an app? By expressing frustration with the lack of direction in most food delivery apps. We'll add this reply to the feels square first. Louis stated feeling annoyed with trying to navigate delivery apps. We'll add that feedback last. Now, we have a complete aggregated empathy map that represents a full user segment. Creating an aggregated empathy map can seem overwhelming, but keep in mind that you want it to represent an entire user segment that you've interviewed. As you think about the ways to group your user feedback, remember that each map should reflect a different user segment with specific thoughts and needs. For example, if you find yourself interviewing a few users who find the app easy to use and have no real issues or complaints, that user segment would be represented by a different aggregated empathy map, then the users who were frustrated when they tried to use the app. Ready to start thinking about creating empathy maps for your project? In the upcoming activity, you'll review the interviews you've conducted and begin creating your own empathy maps from real user feedback. Good luck.
