3 The Empathy Mapping Process
The Empathy Mapping Process
Empathy Mapping, what we sometimes call the ‘Think-Feel’ approach, is the process of capturing in a visual format an individual’s answers to empathic questions on a specific topic. These questions will usually be framed around a specific problem, opportunity, product or service. The core questions focus on what people think, feel, hear, see, say and do. When you really want to understand what it is that your user wants to do and you need to know more about the why and the circumstances, empathy mapping is a great place to start.
The Empathy Map is a single page outcome of this process. An Empathy Map can also be used to represent a group of people when individual responses can be all put together as one.
This tells us about the ‘state’ of the use or potential in the process you are proposing. We also need to know what the user is doing, or ideally wants to do, to achieve their goals and needs. How do we find out about their actions?
What is an Empathy map?
Here is an image of the main areas of focus of an empathy map. 
Here is a short video that will help to explain the concept and how to go about using it.
Empathy maps are a very useful tool to systematically unpack a market segment’s psyche. The Empathy Map Canvas is an investigation device which asks the right questions to help dig deeper into people’s drivers to really understand ‘why’ they do what they do and behave and react as they do.
Why use the tool?
Empathy is an essential skill we need to be able to create innovations, especially those that involve people. . It can however be difficult to connect with all research subjects. This tool is a great hand-holder to ensure you ask the right questions and get the right information. It is a little bit of structure at a point that is critical to delivering a Human Centred outcome.
Here is an example of a simple empathy map.
Adapted from Liedtka, J., & Ogilvie, T. (2019). The designing for growth field book: A step-by-step project guide. Columbia University Press.
How to use it?
The Empathy map could be as simple as asking what do the subject group of people see, say, hear, do, think and feel. The Empathy Map Canvas goes a step further to create a staged process to follow. This is a very useful tool to use during qualitative research to build personas and Journey maps. It can also be used with many other qualitative research scenarios.
Since most of our work in your work is about people, for people, and by people, how do we go about exploring what we need to know about those people? Of course, we use the empathy map as part of the process. We also need to know what it is that our user wants to achieve, why they want to do this, and what are their frustrations with the current ways of doing things. To do this we use Journey Maps and Jobs to be Done techniques.
When is a good time to use Empathy Mapping
Of course, in the development stages, changing the direction and focus of a project proposal might be relatively straightforward. One way to understand the attributes desired and the challenges that an end-user faces, is to use the empathy mapping process. Even if you don’t have access to actual potential users, you can approximately and develop ‘hunches’. These we call ‘proxy’ simulations.
The empathy mapping process is best developed in conjunction with a careful review and exploration of the project context, and the stakeholder landscape is a crucial component of context.
Linking the Stakeholder Landscape with Empathy Mapping
The Empathy Map is typically a single-page outcome for an individual or group you are exploring. An Empathy Map can also be used to represent a group of people when individual responses can be all put together as one, as you would for a stakeholder group.
It can help us understand what the stakeholder wants in the situation.
Applying the empathy mapping process to understanding key elements of a stakeholder landscape means that you will choose the specific stakeholder group you want to explore. You will apply the questioning process and gather insights and observations that are relevant to you.
When we are using this process for other purposes such as designing a new process or way of doing things we would most likely directly interrogate the person or group.
When you use it as a landscape exploration tool it is more likely that you will be able to research and figure out enough information and detail to be able to understand enough. Another trusted source might be someone such as a mentor or close team member. You don’t have to do a major research project in most cases. You just don’t want to be caught out or get an unwelcome surprise because you don’t know the ‘battlefield’.
Empathy Mapping the Stakeholder Landscape
Activity
Have your WPP in mind as you progress with this activity.
Choose at least two of the stakeholder groups from your Stakeholder Landscape.
Multiple Stakeholders in the Empathy Mapping Process
We often use this image of a set of empathy maps to remind ourselves that there are be more than one stakeholder or stakeholder group that you may wish to map. There will often also be interactions among the stakeholder groups.
Apply the empathy mapping process by standing in the place of the stakeholder or stakeholder group. Systematically work your way through the questions.
Here are some tips for you.
The easier parts are what the stakeholder or stakeholders might be hearing, saying, seeing, and doing. More challenging is to figure out or imagine what they might be thinking and feeling. However, by carefully working on the map from their point of view you can make a good guestimate. Most challenging is to figure out their pains and gains.
For stakeholders, pains might be those things they are fearful of, what they might lose, or have to do that they don’t want to do, or perhaps a loss of influence or power. You have some good clues in your analyses from the previous lesson. Gains might be that they can possibly stop something they don’t want to happen, or get an outcome they really believe in.
Here is an example. Coal seam gas exploration and extraction is a complex process and is one that divides communities and people. A careful plan of the stakeholders is a typical part of the process. Many companies set out to manage stakeholders, usually for their own benefit. Sometimes this works and other times it leads to poor outcomes. Part of the reason is that the business doesn’t really understand the deep motivations and thinking of the groups. Often a stakeholder might be allocated to perhaps a ‘dangerous’ category in a diagnosis and the action is to try to shut them out. What is really going on?
Very often companies have little or no understanding of minority groups. Attributions are made and mistakes are made.
Exploring deeply into the mindset and actions of a stakeholder can really help you to put it all together.
To wrap up this part of the exercise, put together all the pieces of evidence.
Revisit all the pieces of your stakeholder landscape analyses.
You are now Stakeholder landscape ready!
Liedtka, J., & Ogilvie, T. (2019). The designing for growth field book: A step-by-step project guide. Columbia University Press.