Empathy mapping in UX: How to put yourself in users’ shoes

An empathy map is a collaborative tool used in UX design to visually represent and synthesize user research findings, helping design teams better understand users' thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and needs. This tool breaks down user interviews into digestible components, categorized into four quadrants: what users say, think, do, and feel, allowing teams to make informed design decisions and identify gaps in understanding. Empathy maps are often compared to other UX tools like journey maps, which track the end-to-end user experience, and affinity maps, which group qualitative feedback for prioritization. The map serves as a shared visualization that aligns team members on a single vision, removes bias, and aids in the communication of design decisions. It is essential during the early stages of the design process post-user research and is valued for its low cost and speed. While empathy maps focus on the user's mental model, they complement persona maps by adding behavioral data. Best practices for creating effective empathy maps include aligning team goals, being inclusive of diverse perspectives, and using collaborative tools like digital whiteboards. Despite their simplicity, empathy maps are powerful artifacts that help UX designers empathize with users, uncover unmet needs, and navigate the complexities of human behavior.