Empathy Mapping: Understand User Needs in 2025

What is Empathy Mapping?

Dave Gray developed the technique known as empathy mapping, which involves examining the ideas, feelings, and experiences of your target audience in order to better understand them. To learn about users' needs and concerns, it asks them questions like "What are users thinking and feeling?" and "What do they hear from friends and family?" 

By gathering information through research and interviews, companies develop a user persona that captures the true feelings and viewpoints of their clients. As a result, businesses are better able to provide goods and services that appeal to consumers.

Empathy Chart Format

Apart from understanding what empathy mapping is, let's explore the format. The empathy chart is split into four key sections:

• Says

This part reflects what the user verbally expresses during interviews or user studies. These are the exact words users use, like "I want it to be easier" or "I don’t know how to use this feature."

• Thinks

Here, we capture what’s going on in the user's mind, even if they don't speak it out loud. It's about understanding their internal dialogue, like "Am I doing this right?" or "I hope this doesn’t cost too much." These thoughts are often more personal and may not be shared directly with others.

• Does

This focuses on the actions the user takes during their experience. It includes their behavior, like "Clicks on every link to compare prices" or "Refreshes the page when it doesn’t load." It shows how they interact with your product or service.

• Feels

Last but not least, the "Feels" quadrant examines the user's emotional condition. Do they feel glad, perplexed, excited, or frustrated? For instance, it captures feelings such as "excited about the new feature" or "frustrated by long load times." This enables you to comprehend the user's feelings during the experience in addition to what they are performing.

Did You Know?

32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience. In Latin America, 49% say they’d walk away from a brand after one bad experience.

This highlights the importance of understanding and addressing user needs through empathy mapping.

One User vs. Multiple-Users Empathy Maps

Empathy maps can be created for a single user or for multiple users, depending on the goals of the research. When focusing on a single user, the map is typically based on detailed insights from interviews or personal data, like those collected in a diary study. 

In contrast, the empathy map provides a more comprehensive picture of user behaviors and emotions when numerous users are involved by combining data from a wider group. This method identifies common patterns or problems among many users and points out areas that might require additional data in order to comprehend the target audience completely.

Aggregated Empathy Maps

Aggregate empathy maps concentrate on a group of users as opposed to a single person. These maps are produced by merging many distinct empathy maps from users who exhibit comparable behaviors and fit into a single segment. An aggregated empathy map might be a useful place to start when developing personas by combining common themes among these consumers. Empathy maps offer a structured and compassionate method of visualizing the information that is known about a group of users, but they cannot replace personas. 

Additionally, aggregate empathy maps can summarize other qualitative data, such as surveys and field studies, and can even replace traditional persona formats. As more research is gathered, the map can be updated with new insights or adjusted based on changes in user behavior.

Become a Certified UI UX Expert in Just 5 Months!

With The Best-in-class UI UX ProgramExplore Program

How to Create an Empathy Map?

 Here's how to go about creating a meaningful empathy map:

• Define Scope 

Before you get started, it’s important to set the stage. Think about who you’re mapping. Are you focusing on a single user or an entire group? If you’re just starting, it’s best to work with one user at a time. You might have several different user personas, so each should have its own empathy map. 

Also, make sure you know why you're doing this. Are you mapping to get your team aligned on what your users need, or are you analyzing specific feedback from interviews or surveys? Knowing your purpose will help guide the whole process.

"You can't improve what you can't measure." - Peter Drucker

• Gather Materials

After you've established your goals, collect the required materials. Bring markers, sticky notes, and a large whiteboard if you're working in a group. These are perfect for generating ideas and documenting everyone's contributions. Internet programs like Google Docs or Miro are great choices for working alone. Sharing, editing, and reviewing the process should be easy, especially if you plan to go back and examine the map later as you learn more.

• Collect Research

Empathy maps are built on real user data, so it’s time to gather the insights you need. This could come from interviews, surveys, or any other form of qualitative research. For example, if you're working on a website redesign, you might pull insights from user testing sessions or feedback from customer service teams. The more detailed and relevant your research, the more accurate your map will be.

• Write Sticky Notes

Now it’s time to break down your research into the four key sections of the empathy map: Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels. Each team member should look over the data and write sticky notes for each category. For example, in the "Says" section, you might write direct quotes from users, like "I can’t find the contact form anywhere." In "Thinks," you’d capture their thoughts, like "I’m worried this website will be hard to navigate." "Does" would capture the actions they take, such as "Clicks on the help icon repeatedly." And "Feels" would represent the emotions behind their actions, maybe they’re "Frustrated" because they can’t find what they need quickly.

• Converge to Cluster and Synthesize

Collaborate to organize related insights into themes after everyone has written their sticky notes. For example, you might see that a number of people are complaining about "confusing navigation," so you would make a theme for that. This stage guarantees that everyone is in agreement and aids with data organization. It also allows you to determine whether there are any trends or areas in your knowledge that require more research.

• Polish and Plan

Lastly, make your empathy map better. Here, you can include any other information or categories that may be useful, such as "Goals" if you want to keep track of the objectives your users are attempting to meet. Additionally, note any unanswered questions or presumptions and give important information such as the date and map version. Go over the map again and make any necessary updates as you gain more knowledge over time. This empathy map will help your team stay focused on the needs of the user and will be a useful point of reference for future design decisions.

Boost Your Career with UI/UX Design Expertise

With Our In-demand Design ProgramExplore Program

Best Practices to Create an Empathy Map

Now that you know how to create an empathy map, here are some best practices to make sure it’s as effective as possible:

• Keep the Focus Clear

It's simple to become preoccupied with every tiny detail in an empathy mapping exercise. But maintaining focus on your goals is essential to creating a great empathy map. When you start, think about what you want to learn about the user and how that aligns with your broader goals. 

For example, if you're trying to understand why users abandon their shopping carts, every data point you collect, whether it’s something the user says, feels, or does, should directly relate to that concern. Staying aligned with your goals helps filter out irrelevant information, so you only capture what truly matters to your team.

• Be Flexible with the Map’s Structure

Every user is different, and so is the way they experience your product or service. The empathy map should evolve as you uncover new insights. While it’s helpful to start with a standard structure (like the four quadrants of "Says," "Thinks," "Does," and "Feels"), don't be afraid to change it if you discover something unique. 

For instance, if a user mentions a particular issue that doesn't neatly fit into one of the quadrants, create a new category to capture it. This flexibility is crucial because it helps the map remain relevant and useful for different types of users, and ensures that you’re capturing the nuances of their experience.

• Encourage Open Categorization

Since empathy mapping exercises are frequently team-based, it's possible that various team members will perceive user feelings and behaviors differently. That's quite typical. The secret is to allow each individual to classify their thoughts on their own before gathering as a group to talk and coordinate. This enables a range of viewpoints and also reveals patterns that you might have overlooked.

• Refine and Evolve the Map

Empathy mapping is a continuous process. Your map should change as you gather additional user data. Spend some time reviewing and improving your original empathy map as fresh information becomes available. 

Update the map, for instance, if you discover something important during a follow-up interview or via user feedback. Your empathy map maker will continue to be a dynamic document that reflects your users' most recent understanding thanks to this continuous improvement.

Become a Certified UI UX Expert in Just 5 Months!

With The Best-in-class UI UX ProgramExplore Program

Benefits of Empathy Mapping

Let's now look at the benefits of empathy mapping and how it can significantly enhance your UX process:

• Understanding the User

Empathy mapping helps bring together all your knowledge about the user into one place. It’s a great way to organize qualitative research, like interview transcripts, survey answers, and notes from user studies. By sorting this information, you can see patterns more clearly and identify where more research is needed. 

If your map feels incomplete, it’s a signal that you might need to gather more insights. Empathy maps can also help in creating user personas by grouping together insights from users who share similar behaviors.

• Helping the Team Stay Aligned

Once you have your empathy map in place, the team as a whole may easily access it. Throughout the project, it keeps everyone in agreement by clearly highlighting user attitudes, actions, and emotions. The map guarantees that decisions are founded on actual user data and shields the team from prejudices or presumptions. To remain current and represent the needs of consumers, the map should be updated frequently as you compile additional research.

• Gathering Direct User Insights

Direct user insights can also be obtained via empathy maps. The map generates an understandable synopsis of users' experiences, emotions, and ideas based on their input. The mapping technique can occasionally even uncover information that users may not have mentioned in an interview. Making better design decisions is facilitated by gaining a deeper understanding of the user by including these insights into the map.

Become a Certified UI UX Expert in Just 5 Months!

With The Best-in-class UI UX ProgramExplore Program

Drawbacks of Empathy Mapping

Empathy mapping, while highly useful, also comes with its drawbacks:

• Narrow Focus

Empathy maps have the drawback of frequently concentrating solely on a single group. For example, you may overlook the requirements and worries of other significant groups, like suppliers or employees, if you're mapping out a customer's perspective. Thus, even while the map can provide you with useful information about the user experience, it might not fully depict the situation with regard to other business stakeholders.

• Based on Assumptions

An additional disadvantage is that empathy maps frequently make assumptions. You may draw conclusions that are either incomplete or erroneous because the facts you use to generate them may not always be reliable or comprehensive. It may result in distorted perceptions of user demands if the research used to create the map is not entirely representative.

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." - Steve Jobs

• Lack of Clear Solutions

While empathy maps do a great job of helping us understand user emotions and behaviors, they don't always provide clear, actionable insights. You might identify key problems or desires, but the map itself won’t tell you exactly how to fix them. This can leave teams struggling to figure out the next steps after gathering all that valuable information.

• Time and Resources

Last but not least, empathy map creators may require resources and time. Coordinating with several team members and gathering qualitative data from various sources frequently costs money and time. Smaller teams or those with tighter finances may find this difficult.

Crack Your Next UI UX Interview in One Go

By Mastering Key UI UX Concepts and Tools With UsStart Learning

Difference Between a Journey Map and an Empathy Map

Empathy maps and journey maps are both crucial tools for product development, but they focus on different aspects of the user experience. Empathy maps help teams understand the deeper emotions, thoughts, and motivations of users, offering a more personal, emotional snapshot of their needs. They gather insights from qualitative data, like interviews and surveys, to highlight what users are feeling or thinking at specific moments.

Journey maps, however, take a step back and offer a more comprehensive view of the entire customer experience, tracking users through each stage of their interaction with a product or service. They map out the sequence of touchpoints, showing both positive and negative experiences along the way. While empathy maps provide rich emotional context, journey maps show the practical steps users take from start to finish.

"The most important thing is to really care about the people you're designing for." - Don Norman

Tips for an Empathy Mapping Session

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind during an empathy mapping session:

• Don't stress about perfect categorization

It’s natural to want to place information in the “right” quadrant, but don’t get caught up in it. The goal isn’t to perfectly classify every bit of data, but to truly connect with the user. When multiple teams are working on the same user’s map, there will be slight differences in how they categorize certain aspects. This variation is completely fine and helps capture a fuller picture of the user.

• Stick to what's relevant to the project

Recording every little detail of a user's feelings or actions is not the goal of this activity. Rather, the key is to concentrate on the elements of the user experience that are important to your project. Maintaining focus on the most essential insights can help you stay on course and make sure the session is fruitful.

• Tailor the map to your needs

The empathy map can be modified to fit your unique circumstances. The map can be more pertinent and helpful for your objectives if you change the categories or simplify some parts. Some emotions might not be as important, for instance, if you're mapping a B2B buying manager. Adjust the map to provide the most important insights for your project.

Master All the UI/UX Development Stages!

Advanced Certification in UI UX DesignExplore Program

Examples of Empathy Mapping

Let’s take a look at a few empathy map examples and how it can be applied in different contexts:

• Vegan Milk Business

Imagine you’re running a small business that sells vegan milk. After talking to some customers, you might map out that they think vegan milk is healthier and better for the environment. They hear buzz around plant-based diets on social media and see influencers talking about it. 

Customers might mention they love the taste but worry about the price. Their pain point could be finding it at local stores, and their gain is supporting ethical, sustainable products.

• Launching a New Tablet

Now imagine that your business is introducing a tablet that is ideal for students who must take notes during class. Students often consider how this tablet could help them keep organized after you collect feedback. They see it on tech blogs or hear about it from friends. They might be excited, but they might also be worried about the price or battery life. The tablet's high cost may be their source of anguish, but the ease and effectiveness it offers them in their studies may be their benefit.

• Nature Tour Guide Business

Let’s consider a small nature tour guide business. After chatting with clients, you’d learn that people think about escaping from their busy lives and connecting with nature. They might hear about your tours from friends or see beautiful nature photos online. They could say they’re excited but also wonder if the tour is suitable for beginners. Their pain points could include worries about physical difficulty or the cost, while their gain is enjoying a peaceful experience in nature.

Conclusion

To sum up, empathy mapping is a powerful tool that helps you gain deeper insights into your users' thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. By using empathy maps, you can create more meaningful products and services that truly meet the needs of your target audience. Whether you're designing a product, service, or experience, understanding your users' perspective is key to success.

If you want to deepen your understanding of user experience design, consider enrolling in our top-notch Caltech - UI/UX Bootcamp. You will learn valuable skills that will help you excel in creating user-centered designs and mapping out impactful user journeys, and so much more. Explore and enrol today! 

Additionally, you should explore our diverse product and design courses to boost your career, shift into product management, or refine your design capabilities. Get started today!

FAQs

1. What are the four parts of an empathy map?

A customer empathy map consists of four sections: "Think and Feel," "Hear," "See," and "Say and Do." These help you understand a user's emotions, thoughts, actions, and how they engage with the world.

2. What is empathy map vs persona map?

An empathy map focuses on capturing the emotional experience and pain points of a user, while a persona map creates a more detailed profile, including demographics and behaviors, to guide design decisions.

3. What are the 4 A's of empathy?

The 4 A's of empathy stand for Attention, Acceptance, Affection, and Authenticity. These elements help build genuine connections by showing you care and understand the other person's feelings.

4. What is an empathy diagram?

An empathy diagram is a visual tool that organizes a user’s thoughts, feelings, actions, and challenges. It helps teams better understand user experiences to create more relevant solutions.

5. What is the purpose of empathy?

Empathy is about understanding and connecting with others by recognizing their emotions and perspectives. It’s crucial for designing products or services that truly address users’ needs and experiences.