Empathy Mapping: Visual User Understanding Tool
Empathy Mapping is a visual tool that creates a shared understanding of a user by capturing what they think, feel, say, and do, along with their pain points and gains—enabling teams to design with authentic user perspective.
What Is It?
Empathy Mapping is a simple visual framework created by Dave Gray at Xplane that helps teams build a shared understanding of users. Rather than discussing users in abstract terms, empathy maps create a concrete representation of a specific user persona by documenting what that user thinks, feels, says, and does.
The framework recognizes that users' stated needs ("what they say") often differ from their actual behaviors ("what they do") and underlying desires ("what they feel"). Empathy maps bridge this gap by capturing all dimensions of the user experience, creating shared understanding across product teams.
The tool is particularly powerful for UX designers, product managers, and customer service teams who need alignment on who they're serving and what matters to those users.
Quick Reference
Core Features
- Thinks: What occupies the user's mind? Concerns, focus, goals
- Feels: Emotions, anxieties, aspirations, what matters to them
- Says: What does the user express to others? Their public voice
- Does: Actions, behaviors, how they spend time
- Pain Points: Frustrations, obstacles, fears, what keeps them up at night
- Gains: Aspirations, goals, measures of success, what would make them happy
- Visual Format: Easy to understand, shareable, creates quick alignment
When to Use
- You need quick team alignment on user understanding
- You're starting UX design or product development
- You want to move beyond demographic segments
- Your team includes non-designers who need user context
- You're designing for a specific User Persona
- You need to document user research findings visually
- You want to identify pain points to address
When NOT to Use
- You need deep customer research (use Jobs to Be Done for strategic insights)
- Users have very diverse needs requiring multiple maps
- Your team needs structured customer research methodology (try Voice of the Customer)
- You're making strategic business decisions (too tactical)
- You lack existing user research or data to base the map on
Key Strengths
- Speed and Simplicity: Creates alignment in 30-60 minutes
- Visual Communication: Simple format enables shared understanding across teams
- Low Cost: Requires no tools or expertise, just whiteboard and markers
- Bridges Theory and Practice: Shows difference between what users say and do
- Team Alignment: Brings together diverse perspectives into shared view
- Foundation for Design: Directly informs user experience and feature decisions
Key Weaknesses
- Doesn't generate new insights—documents existing knowledge (unlike Jobs to Be Done)
- Subject to bias—captures team assumptions rather than validated understanding
- Oversimplifies complex users—one map can't capture diverse needs
- Risk of stereotyping if not grounded in research
- Quality depends on accuracy of underlying customer research
How It Works
| 1 Primary Input | User persona or specific customer segment you're designing for |
|---|---|
| 2 Data You Need | Customer interviews, user research, observational data, customer feedback |
| 3 Primary Output | Empathy map showing thoughts, feelings, words, actions, pain points, and gains |
Comparison with Related Frameworks
Empathy Mapping is one of the fastest user understanding tools. Here's how it compares:
Empathy Mapping vs Jobs to Be Done
Jobs to Be Done reveals underlying motivations and goals; Empathy Mapping captures current emotions and context. JTBD is strategic; Empathy Mapping is tactical. Use Empathy Mapping for quick alignment, JTBD for deep innovation.
Empathy Mapping vs User Personas
User Personas are detailed profiles with demographics; Empathy Maps show user psychology and emotions. Personas describe who; maps show how they think and feel. Use Personas for understanding segments, Empathy Mapping for understanding motivations.
Empathy Mapping vs Customer Journey Mapping
Customer Journey Mapping captures experience across touchpoints; Empathy Mapping captures user mindset at a moment. Journey maps show process flow; Empathy maps show psychological state. Use Empathy Mapping for understanding motivations, Journey Mapping for identifying opportunities.