Design Thinking & Innovation

Empathy Map

Put yourself in a user's shoes: what they say, think, do and feel, and what that means for your product.

How to use this worksheet
  1. Base the map on real research: interviews, support tickets, observation. Mark guesses as guesses.
  2. Fill Says and Does first: they are observable. Then infer Thinks and Feels from them.
  3. Look for contradictions, such as what people say versus what they do. Those gaps are where insights live.
  4. Close with insights and pain points, then turn each into a "how might we" question.
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What does the user say out loud? Use direct quotes.

Prompts and example

Ask yourself

  • Which exact phrases keep coming up?
  • What do they ask for?

Example

- "I do not have time to learn another tool." - "Can you just send me the report?" - "Where is the export button?"

What might they be thinking but not saying?

Prompts and example

Ask yourself

  • What worries them?
  • What do they hope for?
  • What do they not want to admit?

Example

- Will this really save me time? - If this breaks, I will be blamed - Others seem to understand this faster than I do

What do they actually do? Observable behaviour.

Prompts and example

Ask yourself

  • What workarounds do they use?
  • Where do they hesitate or give up?

Example

- Keeps a private spreadsheet as backup - Exports to Excel before every meeting - Asks a colleague instead of reading help

What emotions do they experience?

Prompts and example

Ask yourself

  • When are they frustrated or proud?
  • What would delight them?

Example

- Anxious about making mistakes in front of the team - Relieved when the numbers match - Annoyed by pop-ups and surprises

What patterns do you see? Which needs are not being met?

Prompts and example

Ask yourself

  • Where do Says and Does disagree?
  • Which pain would, if solved, change the most for them?
  • Which "how might we" question follows?

Example

Insight: she wants speed, but her spreadsheet backup shows she does not trust the numbers. Pain: no way to verify a result at a glance. HMW: How might we show where a number comes from?

Before you finish

About empathy maps

The empathy map was popularised by Dave Gray (XPLANE) and is widely used in design thinking to align a team around one user before solving problems for them.

It is a starting point, not a substitute for research. Update it whenever you learn something that does not fit.

Recommended reading

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