What is User Empathy Mapping?
A user empathy map is a visual tool for product developers who want to gain a deeper and more personal understanding of a certain subset of users. A standard user empathy map focuses on what the user says, thinks, does, and feels throughout their engagement with your product or service process. User empathy maps should be created and analyzed by your team in order to form a consensus on how they believe their users react emotionally to certain aspects of their product.
Why is User Empathy Mapping Important?
Creating user empathy maps is an essential part of the product development process because it allows us to experience what our customers feel when they engage with our product on a much more human level. When designing a product, it's easy to get caught up in the user experience flow and only view the process from a very technical level. User empathy mapping brings us closer to our product and our users by adding an emotional element to the user's journey. After we understand what the user is experiencing emotionally, we can leverage their emotional reactions to more successfully market our product or user experience.
Key Components of User Empathy Maps
Says
What would the user say out loud if you were to interview them about your product or service experience? To make this section even more accurate, you can use direct quotes from user interviews.
Thinks
What might be going through the user's head that they are not saying out loud? Users do not always S voice all of their opinions, both good and bad, about your product or service. Try to identify what the user is thinking and how you can alleviate their concerns without them having to ask.
Does
What physical actions are your users taking? Do they have to refresh your web page to see their new results? Do they have to contact a sales rep in order to purchase the product? Isolate the actions your user needs to take to achieve their goal.
Feels
What actual emotions are your users experiencing? These can be one word, general emotions, or they can be more specific statements geared towards your product and an actual action they took.
How to Create a User Empathy Map
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Choose a User Persona
The first step is to choose a user persona to center your empathy map around. Your business or product may attract radically different types of users who will have completely different types of emotional reactions to the same stimuli. Choose a persona and alter the empathy map to their perspective.
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Choose a User Objective
Next, choose a specific objective this user is trying to achieve. Are you trying to create an empathy map for the user's purchase process? Their first interaction with your product? Their request for customer service assistance? Decide what the user's objective is and alter the emotional responses to their experience trying to achieve the objective.
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Build Your Map
Next it's time to build your map. Place an image to represent your user in the center to remind yourself and observers of who you are focusing on, and then divide the rest of your visual into sections. You can use the four common themes of says, thinks, does, and feels, or you can customize the quadrants to something more specific to your business. When building your map, remember to account for all possible scenarios or emotions your customer may experience, both good and bad.
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Isolate Positive and Negative Flows
Lastly, look through the sections of your completed empathy map and analyze particularly positive and negative flows. For example, a positive flow could be the user saying they really enjoy interacting with the product, they think the customer service is great, they click to purchase the product, and they feel excited about using it in the future. Alternatively, a negative flow could be the user saying they have no use for this product, they think the sales process is pushy and aggressive, they exit off the page, and they feel disheartened by the product or service and decide not to return or promote it. Identifying both your positive and negative flows will allow you to see what aspects of your user experience you are doing correctly, and where there is some room for improvement.
User Empathy Map Templates
How Tos about User Empathy Mapping
Engage students with empathy mapping activities for classroom projects
Involve students in empathy mapping by connecting the process to real-life classroom projects. This helps students build empathy, critical thinking, and collaboration skills.
Introduce empathy mapping with a relatable scenario
Present a simple, familiar problem—like organizing a class event—and ask students to imagine the feelings, thoughts, and actions of everyone involved. This grounds the activity in their everyday experiences.
Guide students through building their own empathy maps
Direct students to draw a large square on paper and divide it into four labeled sections: Says, Thinks, Does, Feels. Encourage them to use colors, sketches, or sticky notes for each area.
Facilitate group discussion to fill out the empathy map
Ask students to collaborate by sharing what characters or classmates might say, think, do, or feel in the scenario. Prompt deeper thinking with open-ended questions.
Reflect on insights and connect them to classroom decision-making
Lead a short class reflection about how understanding others’ perspectives can improve teamwork and problem-solving. Relate these insights to future group projects or classroom challenges.
Frequently Asked Questions about User Empathy Mapping
What is a user empathy map and why is it important?
A user empathy map is a visual tool that helps product teams understand what users say, think, do, and feel throughout their journey. It's important because it encourages teams to connect with users on an emotional level, leading to better product design and marketing decisions.
How do I create a user empathy map step by step?
To create a user empathy map, start by choosing a user persona, then define their objective. Next, build the map using quadrants for what users say, think, do, and feel. Finally, analyze positive and negative flows to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
What are the key components included in a user empathy map?
The key components are what the user says (spoken feedback), thinks (unspoken thoughts), does (actions taken), and feels (emotions experienced). Each helps teams gain a well-rounded view of the user experience.
How can user empathy mapping improve my product or lesson design?
Empathy mapping helps you identify emotional reactions and pain points, allowing you to tailor your product or lesson for greater engagement and satisfaction. It highlights both what's working and what could be improved.
Are there templates available for user empathy maps?
Yes, there are user empathy map templates that make it easy to start mapping. These templates typically include sections for says, thinks, does, and feels, and can be customized to your specific audience or project.
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