Journey mapping helps you see the customer experience over time — not just what people do, but what they’re trying to achieve, where they get stuck, and how it feels along the way.

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By mapping every stage of one journey, you get a single, shared view across the organisation so teams can balance user needs with business goals. The finished map surfaces patterns in actions, channels, emotions, and decision points, making it easier to prioritise improvements that have real impact.

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Step1: Set the scene with a recent real example

Ask: “Can you tell me about the last time you did X?” Keep it grounded in a specific moment so you’re mapping what happened, not what “usually” happens.

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Step 2: Capture the high-level actions first

Ask them to walk through the steps of X end-to-end (e.g., buying a t-shirt). Treat this as an outline of the journey—don’t dig into tools, feelings, or problems yet.

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Step 3:Lock a starting point

Ask: “What’s the first thing you do when you begin X?” Start your map there (you can always move the start point later once you learn what triggered it).

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Step 4: Build the main journey flow

Use: “Once you’ve done that, what do you do next?” Keep going until they reach a natural end, then leave ~5 minutes at the end to review the full journey together.

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Step 5: Add context to each action

Go back through each step and ask them to describe exactly what they’re doing (device, channel, tools, habits). This is where details like “I always use Google on my phone” or “I save things to Pinterest” belong.

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Step 6: Connect the steps

Ask: “How does this step help you get to the next one?” This reveals workarounds and decision logic (e.g., wishlists reduce effort, screenshots help compare later).

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Step 7: Identify friction and difficulty

Ask: “What makes this difficult or challenging?” Capture pain points directly against the relevant steps so you can see where the journey breaks down.

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Step 8: Identify what works well

Ask: “What were the positive parts you remember?” These highlights show what users value and what you should protect or amplify.

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Step 9: Playback for accuracy

Summarise the journey back to them step-by-step and ask: “Have I captured that correctly?” This is where you catch missing steps, wrong assumptions, or mis-ordered actions.

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Step 10: Fill gaps and go deeper with focused prompts

Ask clarifiers like: What triggered X? Where do you usually do X? What would help you complete X? Then use optional probes (how they heard about you, what attracted them, goals, time spent, drop-off reasons, ease rating, support experiences) only where they’ll genuinely add insight