Why Map in Discovery: 3 Mapping Methods - NN/G

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January 16, 2022 2022-01-16
Discoveries can be messy because there are many unknowns, which often necessitate the use of exploratory research methods, such as field studies, interviews, and diary studies. During discovery, many new things are learned about the problem space at a fast pace. It can be challenging to manage the amount of new information and make it actionable. Here enters mapping.
Humans have been mapping things for thousands of years. In addition to supporting wayfinding, maps have been used to orient people in their surroundings, manage complexity, and create a shared understanding of a terrain, whether physical or conceptual.
In discovery, maps provide many benefits. These include:
Of course, there are many, many maps that designers can use in discovery! This article focuses on 3 commonly used types of maps, but feel free to choose another mapping method that suits the problem you’re exploring. See our mapping-methods study guide for plenty of mapping methods to choose from.
The following maps can clarify the problem space:
This article focuses on maps for visualizing insights, rather than analyzing user-research data (such as affinity mapping.)
An ecosystem map is a visual representation of the people, organizations, products, and services that a user may interact with during a particular experience.
Ecosystem maps usually have a hub-and-spoke design — where people and things are connected to a central user (the hub) through lines of different lengths — or a ripple-like design, made up of concentric circles. Either format can be used, and both demonstrate the metaphorical distance between a person or thing and the user. People who have more influence or interact with the user for longer periods of time are closer to the nucleus, while people who interact with the user only indirectly or briefly lie further away in the structure. Ecosystem maps are not linear or chronological, although you can use the clockwise format to add a time element if you want.
Ecosystem maps are useful at the beginning of a discovery, when there are many unknowns. For example, maybe you’re working with a new client or on a new project and you know nothing about the domain. This map can be constructed with stakeholders and subject-matter experts within a discovery kick-off workshop. It can highlight major actors that need to be researched and reveal how complex the problem space is.
To create an ecosystem map, there are 3 simple steps.
Chronological maps visualize the experience of a user over time. They tell a story and capture areas where improvements can or should be made or where opportunities for new features, products or services lie.
There are 3 types of chronological map:
An experience map is a visualization of the experience a person has while accomplishing a particular goal. It captures the broader human experience and is not tied to a specific product or service.
A service blueprint is a visualization of the experience a general user has while accomplishing a goal, alongside specific service components that directly tie to touchpoints in that user’s journey.
A user-journey map (or customer-journey map) is a visualization of the process a specific user of a product or service goes through to accomplish a goal.
While these maps may sound similar, they each take a slightly different view of the problem space. The table below highlights when each map is useful in discovery.
All 3 maps can be used in discovery, but using them all could be overkill. If you want to capture the end-to-end experience of a user, start with one map that ties most closely to your discovery goals.
Here are 3 steps to construct a chronological map:
As the name suggests process maps (or process mapping) is used to understand how a given process works. They can be applied to both user processes (e.g., how users go through a return process) or business processes (e.g., how the organization handles a return).
Often, chronological maps don’t go into a lot of detail about specific processes; in contrast, process maps offer a zoomed-in view of a specific area of the problem space. Maybe you’ve isolated the most crucial part of a user journey or business process and want to identify how it works currently to see if improvements could be made.
There are many formats that process mapping can take: flowcharts, operational-sequence diagrams, or HTA diagrams. Use whichever format you feel comfortable with. Process maps can be as granular as you need them to be.
Because process maps are more granular, they usually are created later in discovery, when a specific area of a service or journey has been isolated for investigation.
Mapping done collectively can teach team members about users. It’s also a way for team members to actively engage with insights from research. Where possible, create buy-in for your discovery efforts by bringing in stakeholders who may be interested in your work.
Mapping doesn’t have to be done in one sitting. In fact, mapping should be an ongoing process during discovery. Start a map, even if you don’t have much information. Keep it low-fidelity — such as a flipchart paper and stickies on a wall — to set expectations and communicate to others that it’s supposed to change as you learn new things.
Schedule team sessions to update a map. Mapping sessions can follow research debriefs. Make sure to share artifacts such as notes from user research sessions, so team members can actively contribute to the map. As a facilitator, you can oversee that anything added to the map reflects the research.
A collaborative tool (such as Miro or Mural) that everyone has access to can ensure that remote team members can take part in mapping. These tools are also relatively easy to update and use if everyone has had some basic training on how to use them.
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