Customer Journey Mapping
Customer journey mapping is a central method in user-centered design for systematically visualizing complex user experiences. It involves reconstructing a user’s entire “journey” along all points of contact with a product or service - from initial contact to well beyond use. The aim is to take the user’s perspective in order to identify breaking points, understand emotional trajectories and derive targeted starting points for improvements.
What is a Customer Journey?
The customer journey describes the chronological course of all interactions of a person with an offer. It is not just about the actual use, but about the entire relationship chain: How is a product discovered? What are the expectations? What hurdles are encountered during use - and how do follow-up contact, support or reuse proceed?
One example: A user discovers a sleep analysis app via an ad on Instagram. She clicks, is redirected to the app store, downloads the app and starts the onboarding process. On the very first night, there is confusion when interpreting the sleep phases. The next day, she contacts support - but only receives an automated standard response. This example shows how many touchpoints - emotional and functional - interact and can be mapped in the journey.
🧭 Customer journey map: Sleep analysis app
| Phase | Touchpoints | Actions | Thoughts / Questions | Emotions | Pain points / opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. attention | Instagram advertising | User sees a display with animated graphics to improve sleep. | ”Sounds interesting - does it really help?” | 🟡 Curious, slightly skeptical | Opportunity: Use an emotionally appealing advertising message for motivation. |
| 2. interest & conversion | App store, app ratings | Click on the ad → Forwarding to the App Store → Download | ”Seems well rated - I’ll give it a try.” | 🟢 In a positive mood | Danger: Poor store communication could reduce trust. |
| 3. entry & onboarding | App onboarding | Registration, data protection information, setting up sleeping times | ”Okay, that’s a bit much all at once.” | 🟡 Overwhelmed, but interested | Pain point: Information density & lack of visual clarity. Opportunity: Simplify onboarding. |
| 4th use (1st night) | Sleep tracking, app UI | First night with tracked sleep, morning analysis | ”What does this graph mean? Deep sleep? REM?” | 🔴 Confused, insecure | Pain Point: Missing explanation of the sleep phases. Opportunity: Tooltips, glossary, visual aids. |
| 5. support & problem solving | In-app support, e-mail | User contacts support via app | ”I don’t understand the result - help?” | 🔴 Frustrated | Pain point: Standardized, impersonal response. Opportunity: Human support, FAQ improvement. |
| 6. reflection & decision | App usage in the following days | Decision: Continue to use the app or delete it | ”Maybe it’s not for me after all …” | 🔴 Disappointed or 🟡 neutral | Opportunity: Follow-up mail, proactive help after day 1. |
Why Customer Journey Mapping?
The aim of a journey map is not only to describe the user perspective verbally, but also to visually penetrate it. It helps teams to break away from the internal perspective and understand the user experience from the point of view of the people concerned - including frustrations, irritations, needs and aha moments. Journey maps create a common basis for discussion, promote empathy within the team and enable well-founded decisions on design, communication or process design.
Components of a Journey Map
A complete journey map typically contains:
- Persona or target user - for example “Dan, 34, young professional with little online banking experience”
- phases of the journey - e.g. “Research → Registration → Use → Support → Cancellation”
- Touchpoints - e.g. website, app, hotline, social media, email
- User goals and expectations - what does the person want to achieve in each phase?
- Actions and interactions - how does it actually act?
- emotions and moments of frustration - ideally with original quotes from interviews
- Problems (Pain Points) and Improvement Ideas
A good mapping is not just a table - it is an empathetically and analytically designed visualization.
Procedure in Practice
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Set perspective Who is being considered (e.g. new customer vs. existing user)? Which usage context is the focus (e.g. account opening, termination process)?
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Collect data This is based on qualitative and quantitative sources: Interviews, observations, support tickets, analytics, surveys or log data.
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Define phases and points of contact Which stages does the user go through and through which channels does interaction take place?
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Enter emotions, expectations and frustrations Example: “I have forgotten my access data, but there is no easy way to request a new password.”
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Show and share Whether in tabular form, as a timeline or as a poster: the journey map should be understandable and connectable for all project participants.
Tools & Formats
Many teams start with analog tools: Whiteboards, sticky notes and markers are enough to get started. Digital tools such as Miro, Mural, Smaply, UXPressia or Figma enable collaborative work - often with ready-made templates.
Best Practice
- Start not with design, but with real usage data.
- Keep the journey clear - rather one map per persona than an overloaded megaposter.
- Work with original quotes from interviews to maintain authenticity.
- Involve stakeholders at an early stage - especially from support, sales and development.
- Show emotional swings explicitly: Where is frustration? Where is enthusiasm?
- Do not use the Journey Map ** as the end product**, but as a conversation starter and hypothesis framework.
Conclusion
Customer journey mapping is one of the most effective methods for systematically analyzing the user experience, preparing it visually and making it tangible for the team. It combines qualitative insights with structural clarity - and creates a sound basis for user-centered improvement processes across departmental boundaries.
Customer journey mapping - methods and applications
These articles examine classic and innovative forms of the customer journey method, from app-supported data collection to physical, empathy-oriented representations in the design process.
A Customer Journey Mapping Approach with Mobile Application
Introduces a new app-based method for quantitative data collection for CJM and compares it with traditional ethnographic methods.
Ding, Y., Lattin, J., Buahin, A., & Dweck, G. (2024). A customer journey mapping approach with mobile application. Journal of Mechanical Design. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4067480
Using Verbatims as a Basis for Building a Customer Journey Map
Uses qualitative customer statements (verbatims) instead of interviews to identify touchpoints in the financial sector - practical and scalable.
Moquillaza, A., Falconi, F., Aguirre, J., & Paz, F. (2021). Using verbatims as a basis for building a customer journey map: A case study. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90176-9_7
The Importance of the Journey Map in the Design of a Playful Interactive-Interface
Shows the use of CJM for interactive interfaces and emphasizes the combination of observations, questionnaires and mental models.
Torres-Velasco, E., Laureano-Cruces, A. L., De La Cruz-Martinez, G., & Sanchez-Guerrero, L. (2022). The importance of the journey map in the design of a playful interactive-interface. Global Journal of Management and Business Research. https://doi.org/10.34257/gjmbrgvol21is4pg9
Physical Journey Maps: Staging Users’ Experiences to Increase Stakeholders’ Empathy
Develops physical-interactive journey maps to promote empathy in the company - original, practice-oriented use.
Lallemand, C., Lauret, J., & Drouet, L. (2022). Physical journey maps: Staging users' experiences to increase stakeholders' empathy. CHI EA. https://doi.org/10.1145/3491101.3519630
An Enriched Customer Journey Map
Combines explicit (questionnaires) and implicit (biometric) data into a data-driven, holistic CJM.
Alvarez, J., Léger, P.-M., Fredette, M., et al. (2020). An enriched customer journey map: How to construct and visualize a global portrait of both lived and perceived users' experiences? Designs, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/designs4030029
Last modified: 17 June 2025