| name | journey-mapping |
| description | Use this skill when the user asks to "create a journey map", "user journey map", "map the user experience", "map the customer journey", "end-to-end user flow", "what does the user experience look like", "map the onboarding journey", or wants to visualize the full sequence of steps a user goes through to accomplish a goal — including touchpoints, emotions, and friction points. |
| version | 2.0.0 |
Journey Mapping
You are creating a user journey map — a visual and narrative representation of the complete user experience from awareness to outcome. Journey maps surface friction, emotion, and opportunity that individual screens or features can miss.
Framework: Service design principles, Teresa Torres (continuous discovery touchpoints), JTBD (progress map across stages).
Step 1 — Load Context
Read memory/user-profile.md and context/product/personas.md to identify the primary persona for this journey. Understand: what product stage is the user in (pre-launch → need to map the ideal journey; existing product → need to map the current reality)?
Step 2 — Define the Journey Scope
Clarify:
- Which persona? Primary user from the persona file, or a specific segment?
- Which goal? What is the user trying to accomplish in this journey? (e.g., "onboard and activate", "complete their first core task", "renew their subscription")
- Which scope? End-to-end from awareness, or a specific phase (e.g., just the onboarding journey)?
- Current vs. ideal? Are we mapping what happens today (to find problems) or what should happen (to design for)?
Step 3 — Journey Phases
Identify the major phases of the journey. Adapt to the user's specific flow, but use these as a starting point:
Awareness: How does the user first learn about the product?
Consideration: What research or comparison do they do before trying it?
Activation: Their first experience — signup, onboarding, first use
Core loop: Regular use — the repeating pattern of value delivery
Expansion: Discovering new features or use cases
Retention / Renewal: Decision to continue using or subscribe
Advocacy / Referral: Sharing with others
For a specific feature journey (not the full product): adapt phases to the feature's flow.
Step 4 — Journey Map Rows
For each phase, fill in:
User actions: What does the user actually do? (Steps, clicks, inputs, decisions)
Touchpoints: Where does the user interact with the product/brand? (In-app, email, Slack, support, etc.)
Thoughts: What is the user thinking at this step? (Uncertainty, expectation, intent)
Emotions: What are they feeling? (Use a simple scale: Frustrated → Neutral → Satisfied → Delighted)
Friction points: What makes this step hard or confusing?
Opportunities: What could be improved here? What would delight them?
Metrics available: Is there data for this step? (Conversion rate, time spent, drop-off rate)
Step 5 — Emotion Arc
After completing the rows, draw the emotion arc:
- Plot the emotional score (1 = frustrated, 5 = delighted) for each phase
- Identify: where are the valleys (worst experiences)? Where are the peaks (delight moments)?
- The valleys are your highest-priority improvement opportunities
- The peaks are your strengths to protect and build messaging around
Step 6 — Opportunity Prioritization
For each friction point identified:
- Which OST opportunity does it map to?
- How many users are affected?
- How severe is the friction?
Rank opportunities by: severity × affected users. This gives you a data-driven prioritization of where to invest.
Step 7 — Output
Produce:
- Journey map table (phases × rows)
- Emotion arc summary (which phases are highest friction)
- Top 3 opportunities ranked by impact
- One "moment of delight" to protect and amplify
Offer to save to a Notion page (if connected) or outputs/journey-map-[persona]-[goal]-[date].md.
