User journey mapping: My journey of surprising my sister with her favorite desserts
A user journey map, in its most basic form, is a visualization of the process a user has to go through to accomplish a task. This allows designers to understand this interaction from a user’s point of view.
To form a journey map, all the tasks that a user performs while accomplishing a goal are taken and put into a timeline. Then, the emotions the user felt and the experiences the user had are taken into consideration to visualize everything that the user went through and then all these are finally mapped.
Before we get started with my journey, let me first brief you with the different components of the journey map for a better understanding.
Components of a Journey Map
A user journey map has several components and comes in all different shapes and sizes. the key components include- Persona, who is the user in the story; Goals, which is the task that the user needs to accomplish, this is the scenario that the journey map addresses; Expectations, which is basically what the user expects from accomplishing the task; Journey Phases, or the phases the user goes through to complete the task; Actions/Steps, the steps the user takes; Touchpoints, which are the interactions of the user; Emotions, the emotional ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ the user feels in the journey; Experience, the experience of the user while going through different phases of the journey; Ideas/Suggestions, these are ideas that could have improved the user’s journey.
My Journey
I have a nine-year-old sister who is the youngest in my family which basically means she gets spoilt the most and I am one of the contributors in doing that. So I decided to get her favorite desserts for no apparent reason to surprise her and mapped my journey along the way. I also needed the desserts as quickly as possible so that I could surprise her when she would wake up so this was something I was expecting from my journey apart from the desserts tasting good and getting the specific kind of desserts my sister liked. This is my story of what I experienced while going through the simple task of buying desserts for my sister.
Phase: Discovery
Actions- As I mentioned before, I decided to surprise my sister with the desserts she loves eating and I was very excited about her reaction towards it. I initially decided to order them online from Swiggy searching for her most preferred ones which include choco balls and mango cupcakes but I couldn’t find any (probably because of the festivities going on). Then I searched on Google and found cake shops nearby and decided to visit a nearby one which I had previously heard about from my friends.
Touchpoints- Phone, Swiggy, Google Maps
Experience- At first I was excited about the surprise but then I got irritated on not finding any of the desserts I wanted to buy on Swiggy. On finding bakeries nearby with the prospect of having those desserts, I felt happy again and then decided to visit one.
Emotions- 😁 → 😥 → 😀
Ideas/Suggestions- I found out that the bakery was already delivering on Swiggy but didn’t offer options for desserts. I could have ordered them online if they provided them online.
Phase: Travel
Actions- Google Maps showed that the bakery was just 11 mins far so I decided to walk. I got ready, opened Google Maps, and left, following directions to the bakery. I reached the bakery within the estimated time but I was tired because it was too sunny to walk.
Touchpoints- Phone, Google Maps, Bakery
Experience- I felt irritated on walking in the sun even if it was a short walk but I felt relieved after reaching the bakery. I was also happy that the way to the bakery was a fairly simple one so I reached it without going through any trouble with the directions.
Emotions- 😓→😃
Ideas/Suggestions- None
Phase: Exploring Options
Actions- After entering the bakery, I started searching for the desserts and I found all that I needed. Then I told the attendant my order and waited for the attendant to pack it which was not long.
Touchpoints- Bakery, Desserts, Bakery Attendant
Experience- I was surprised that I found all the items I needed in the bakery and did not have to go search in other places. This made me very happy and I did not have to wait long for the attendant to pack the order so I had a good experience in the shop.
Emotions-🤩→😁
Ideas/Suggestions- None
Phase: Payment
Actions- I tried paying via Debit Card but on swiping it in the swipe machine, a ‘no account’ error was being shown on the screen which made no sense as the next thing that I did was use the same account via Paytm UPI to pay for my order.
Touchpoints-Debit Card, Card Swipe Machine, Paytm UPI, Phone, Bakery Shop, Bakery Attendant
Experience- On not being able to use the swipe machine, I got confused and could not understand what went wrong with the transaction. Then I got frustrated because I could not use the swipe machine to pay. But then I was given the option of paying via UPI so I used it feeling indifferent making the transaction.
Emotions- 🤨→😣→😶
Ideas/Suggestions- The swipe machine could have shown a proper error message to have an idea of what went wrong with the transaction as the error ‘no account’ didn’t make sense because the same account was used to complete the payment.
Phase: Exiting Shop & Returning Home
Actions- After paying I took the order from the clerk and exited the shop. Returning home was easy and I didn’t even have to use Google Maps for it as the way back home was simple enough to remember.
Touchpoints- Bakery Shop, Home
Experience- I was relieved on reaching home and couldn’t wait to surprise my sister and see her reaction to it.
Emotions- 😄 → 😁
Ideas/Suggestions- None
Phase: Surprising Sister
Actions- I reached home before she woke up and surprised her when she woke up.
Touchpoints- Home, Box, Desserts, Sister
Experience- I was very happy to surprise my sister and relieved to see her as the surprise. I was very happy that she could not wait to eat them.
Emotions- 😁
Ideas/Suggestions- None
Phase: Feedback
Actions- My sister and I spent some quality time together having desserts.
Touchpoints- Desserts, Sister
Experience- I was slightly annoyed at the Kaccha Mango pastry being a little too sweet because of the frosting but I enjoyed having the desserts and spending time with my sister.
Emotions- 😐 →😄
Ideas/Suggestions- The pastry was too sweet and could be improved with less frosting on it.
Takeaway
Mapping user journeys is essential to understand how the user interacts with the products. This is a very useful UX tool as it gives us insights on how to improve the experience of the users. Mapping my journey made me more conscious about the actions that I took and also gave me ideas on how to improve my experience. Similarly, to make the experience of the users’ better, understanding the user’s journey is important to deliver better on their needs and expectations.
