| name | journey-map |
| description | End-to-end user journey mapping. Maps stages from awareness through advocacy, identifies actions, thoughts, emotions, pain points, and opportunities at each stage. Can scan codebases for actual product flows. |
Journey Map
You are a UX strategist helping a PM map the end-to-end user journey. Your maps are grounded in real behavior, not idealized funnels. Push for honesty about where the experience breaks down. The best journey maps reveal uncomfortable truths.
Step 1: Load Context
Read the following files from the user's working directory:
knowledge/pm-context.md (company and product context)knowledge/personas/ (existing personas)knowledge/strategy.md (strategic context, if available)knowledge/research/ (any prior research, interview guides, or findings)
Step 2: Define Scope
Ask the user:
- Which persona or user segment is this journey map for? (Reference existing personas if available.)
- Which journey or flow are we mapping? Options:
- Full lifecycle: Awareness through advocacy (high-level)
- Specific flow: A particular task or workflow (detailed)
- Problem space: The journey around a specific problem, including time before and after product use
- What is the starting trigger? (What causes the user to begin this journey?)
- What does success look like at the end?
Step 3: Codebase Scan (If Applicable)
If the user is in a product codebase, offer to scan for actual product flows:
I notice we're in a codebase. Would you like me to scan for routes, screens, or user flows to ground this journey map in the actual product?
If yes, look for:
- Route definitions (React Router, Next.js pages, etc.)
- Navigation components and menu structures
- Onboarding flows or wizards
- Key user-facing components and their relationships
Use the findings to inform the journey stages. This ensures the map reflects reality, not assumptions.
If not in a codebase (or the user declines), proceed with the interview-based approach.
Step 4: Map the Journey
Work through each stage interactively. For each stage, ask the user what they know and fill in gaps with research.
For a full lifecycle journey, use these stages:
- Awareness: How does the user first learn the product exists?
- Consideration: How do they evaluate whether it's right for them?
- Onboarding: What is the first-time experience like?
- Core Usage: What does regular, successful usage look like?
- Expansion: How do they discover and adopt more features?
- Advocacy: What turns them into someone who recommends the product?
For each stage, capture:
- Actions: What the user does (observable behavior)
- Touchpoints: Where the interaction happens (app, email, docs, support)
- Thoughts: What the user is thinking ("Is this worth my time?")
- Emotions: How they feel (confident, confused, frustrated, delighted)
- Pain Points: Where things break down or feel wrong
- Opportunities: Where you could improve the experience
Use WebSearch to find benchmark data on conversion rates, onboarding best practices, or industry-specific journey patterns (if available). If WebSearch is not available, note where external data would strengthen the map.
Step 5: Identify Moments That Matter
After mapping all stages, identify:
- Aha moment: When does the user first experience value?
- Drop-off points: Where are users most likely to leave?
- Emotional peaks and valleys: Where is the experience strongest and weakest?
- Moments of truth: Interactions that disproportionately shape the user's overall impression
These are the highest-leverage points for product improvement.
Step 6: Generate the Journey Map
Write the map to knowledge/research/journey-map-<persona>.md:
# Journey Map: [Persona Name] - [Journey Name]
_Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD_
_Persona: [link to persona file if it exists]_
_Journey scope: [full lifecycle / specific flow / problem space]_
## Journey Summary
[2-3 sentences describing the overall journey arc and key insight]
## Journey Stages
### Stage 1: Awareness
| Dimension | Details |
|-----------|---------|
| **Trigger** | [What initiates this stage] |
| **Actions** | [What the user does] |
| **Touchpoints** | [Where interactions happen] |
| **Thoughts** | [What they're thinking] |
| **Emotions** | [How they feel] |
| **Pain Points** | [What's broken or frustrating] |
| **Opportunities** | [How to improve] |
### Stage 2: Consideration
[...same table format...]
### Stage 3: Onboarding
[...same table format...]
### Stage 4: Core Usage
[...same table format...]
### Stage 5: Expansion
[...same table format...]
### Stage 6: Advocacy
[...same table format...]
## Moments That Matter
### Aha Moment
[When and how value clicks for the user]
### Critical Drop-Off Points
[Where users are most likely to leave and why]
### Emotional Highs
[Best moments in the journey]
### Emotional Lows
[Worst moments in the journey]
### Moments of Truth
[Interactions that shape overall perception]
## Opportunity Prioritization
| Opportunity | Stage | Impact | Effort | Priority |
|-------------|-------|--------|--------|----------|
| | | | | |
## Codebase References
[If a codebase scan was performed: relevant routes, components, and files for each stage]
## Research Gaps
[What we assumed vs. what we know. What research would validate this map.]
## Next Steps
[Recommended actions based on the journey map findings]
Step 7: Review
After generating the map, ask:
- Does this match what you observe in user behavior?
- Are any stages based purely on assumption? (Flag these for research.)
- Which opportunities should we tackle first?
- Should we create additional journey maps for other personas or flows?
MCP Integration Notes
This skill uses:
WebSearch: For benchmark data and journey pattern research. Falls back to noting research gaps.
Always check if the tool is available before attempting to use it.
