Journey Maps: abstract direction to concrete next steps

A wise mentor told me that Design is all about turning the abstract into concrete. One of the main ways humans turn our abstract thoughts into concrete reality is simply through writing it down.

According to Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, authors of the The Experience Economy, “as goods and services become commoditized, the customer experiences that companies create will matter most.” To create a compelling customer experience, company stakeholders must first be aligned on what they want customers to get out of every interaction as well as the overall product or service offering. To create and measure this alignment, stakeholders can start and continue to iterate on a journey map.

Last year, I had the pleasure of working with fellow MakerGirl leaders to build out a journey of what we wanted the entire experience of our participants to look like, all the way from their parents signing them up at the age of 7 to becoming a volunteer ChangeMaker at age 22. While undergoing this process, I learned a few things about the value of creating the map and what to expect in the process:

• Before starting, be clear about who the journey map is for. This will inform how granular to go. For example, do you need to be as specific as understanding when marketing communications will be published? Depending on the audience, too many details might overwhelm readers, and take away from the purpose of why you started.
• The process of creating a journey map takes longer than expected, but that is likely a good thing. Alignment is arduous. It’s likely that your vision in your head for the journey will be slightly or significantly different than the others’ vision; therefore, get specific about what the journey is and what it is not.
• Invite all leaders to the table. If they are not involved in the process of creating or modifying an experiential vision, it’s highly unlikely that they will be motivated to drive outcomes.
• Future-casting journey maps motivate teammates by giving a clear direction for where your company is headed and self-identifying their part in the process.
• Future-casting journey maps help startups by sharing the future strategic direction with potential funders, board members, employees, etc. People tend to be much more excited when an organizational system is well thought out.
• When more questions come up that are beyond the scope of the journey map, put them in a “parking lot”. It is likely that another journey map may be required or a service blueprint. For example, if employees are a significant part of the experience, a separate journey map may need to be created for them.
• Don’t “set it and forget it.” Continue to bring the map up when discussing any process changes. Ask customers to compare their own journey against an ideal map, etc. There are many ways to utilize a journey map as a benchmarking tool.

It’s so cheesy and cliche, but we cannot know where we are going without a map to get there. Journey maps are the tools to cast that future and create internal alignment on next steps at every stage of an experience.