Method Description for Empathy Mapping Tool in Service Design.
Empathy mapping is a collaborative tool used to explore different users’ and stakeholder groups’ thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and needs by visualizing their experience in four key quadrants — focusing on what the user may say, think, do, and feel. Empathy maps highlight gaps in knowledge and uncover new opportunities in cities’ climate action and related interventions.
Name of Method
Brief description
An empathy map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate what is known about a particular type of user. It externalizes knowledge about users in order to create a shared understanding of user needs, and aid in decision making. It helps synthesize observations and draw out unexpected insights. Empathy maps provide a glance into who a user is as a whole through a study of what they speak, think, do and feel about an activity.
Type/Level of Method
Challenges
Empathy mapping is a tool with multiple functions and can be used also for conflict/crisis resolution and development of shared visions by creating empathy towards others, broadening individual perspectives. It was also help synthesise, categorise and make sense of existing knowledge or qualitative research while also highlighting gaps in current knowledge and identifying the types of research needed to address it. For example, a sparse empathy map can indicate a need for more research.
Problem, Purpose and Needs
Empathy maps are needed to establish a shared understanding of the user and to understand and prioritise user needs. Generating empathy with the stakeholders highlights weaknesses in the project, uncovers user needs that the user themselves may not even be aware of, develops an understanding of what drives users’ behaviours, and eventually be a guide towards meaningful innovation.
Relevance to Climate Neutrality
Challenges
Thematic Areas
Impact Goals
Issue Complexity
Issue Polarisation
Enabling Condition
Essential Considerations for Commissioning Authorities
Engagement Journey
- To self assess
- to define problem(s)
Governance Models and Approaches
Enabling Conditions
Democratic Purpose
Spectrum of participation
Communication Channels
Actors and Stakeholder Relationships
The stakeholders are either gathered together to discuss the ‘anatomy’ of the challenge or are interviewed individually or in groups to inform the team that visualises the empathy map
Participant Numbers
Actors and Stakeholders
Participant Recruitment
Interaction between participants
Format
Social Innovation Development Stage
Scope
Time commitment
Once the user personas are identified and interviews (or journeys mapped), the actual empathy mapping itself can be done in half a day within the standard template. Different visualisation and categorisation might need a bit more time commitment.
Resources and Investments
Typical duration
Resources and Investments
In-house
Step by Step
After user groups have been identified, interviewed and target personas have been established, the journeys and experience need to be reflected upon. What they said, thought, felt and did during the interactions need to be mapped out in order to create a canvas. This can further be analysed to bring out gaps in the project.
Evaluation
When all the sections are complete, they need to be reflected upon. The participants can share their thoughts on the experience and how it changed their perspectives or if it produced new insights. The purpose of the exercise is to put the user at the centre of the participants’ minds. If the exercise leaves a lasting impact on the people who participated, it can be considered a success.
Connecting Methods
Empathy mapping is closely related to, but not the same as customer journey map or a user persona. Rather it is an additional extension of those two service design tools to get a deeper understanding of the user.
Flexibility and Adaptability
Various visual templates exist for empathy maps, but the core idea is conveyed in all of them. Say, Do, Think, Feel sections are standard, but additional sections of pain-points and how to relieve them can also be added to result in a more well-rounded graphic.
Existing Guidelines and Best Practice
Imagine 2050: Empathy Mapping for ‘Climate impacts and concerns for young people'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm3WK6OLr9k
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