"Mapping Experiences with Alignment Diagrams" workshop presented by Jim Kalbach of Mural.ly at UX STRAT USA 2015

1. Mapping Experiences
with Alignment Diagrams
@JimKalbach
Jim.Kalbach@Gmail.com

2. @JimKalbach
MURAL

3. Agenda
9:00 Alignment
9:15 Initiate
10:00 Investigate
10:15 Illustrate
10:45 Break
11:00 Exercise
11:45 Align
12:15 Strategy
12:30 End

4. Alignment Diagrams

5. INDIVIDUALS
ORGANIZATION
Value
Value-Centered Design

6. “Value-centered design starts a story about
an ideal interaction between an
individual and an organization and the
benefits each realizes from that interaction.”
Jess McMullin, “Searching For The Center of Design,“ Boxes and Arrows

7. Customer Journey Maps
Experience Maps
Service Blueprints
Mental Model Diagrams
Spatial Maps
Alignment Diagrams

8. Customer
Business
Touchpoints
Customer Journey Map

9. Individual
Organization
Interactions
Experience Map

10. Service Blueprints

11. Mental Models
Customer
Business
Touchpoints

12. Isometric Maps
Paul
Kahn,
“Informa/on
Architecture
for
the
Web:
Applied
IA“ h:p://www.slideshare.net/pauldavidkahn/04-­‐appled-­‐ia

13. STORY INTERACTION INDIVIDUALS ORGANIZATION
Experience Map Chronological Interactions Goals, actions,
thoughts, feelings,
pain points
Physical, artifacts,
opportunities,
recommendations
Customer Journey Map Chronological Touchpoints Actions, thoughts,
feelings, moments of
truth, pain points
Customer facing
artifacts and roles,
opportunities
Service Blueprint Chronological Line of Interaction Stages, artefacts Front-line services,
back-office systems,
gaps
Mental Model Hierarchical Center Line Tasks, intent,
feelings, philosophy
Support, features,
gaps
Isometric Map Spatial Overlays Content usage,
categories
Data systems,
departments,
workflow

14. 1. Initiate
2. Investigate
General Process
3. Illustrate
4. Align

15. 1. Initiate

16. What is the difference between:
Customer Journey Map
Experience Map
Service Blueprint

21. 1. Frame the effort
– Point of view – whose experiences? unit of analysis?
– Scope – where do you begin and end?
– Focus – which aspects are highlighted?
– Structure – how will you arrange elements?
– Use – what will you do with the diagram?
2. Align with business goals
Initiate

22. Customer Value Chain
Relationships

23. Customer Value Chain
Relationships

24. The Athens Tourism Office (ATO) would like to improve the overall experience guests have
when visiting the city, particularly holiday travelers. They already have some ideas what to do,
but need to see the big picture in order to prioritize funding and to focus on areas that will have
the most impact.
First, the ATO is planning to significantly overhaul its website. The site has grown organically
over the past decade, and there are many complaints about finding information. In particular,
the federated reservations system for hotels is incomplete, outdated and hard to use.
Second, the ATO wants to offer mobile services and apps for travelers. With so many options in
the mobile arena, they are not sure where the best place to start would be.
Finally, ATO believes partnering with key service providers would improve the travel
experience of visitors. ATO already has information kiosks in tourist areas, but they are looking
to integrate more with partner services.
You work for a research agency specializing in experience mapping. The ATO has hired you to
investigate and identify the most salient ways to bring the most value to visitors. They are also
looking for new opportunities previously overlooked. The insight they hope to gain will help
structure a multi-year program for improvement.
SCENARIO

25. PART 1
In groups, draw a model of the value chain around travel to Athens.
EXERCISE 1 – VALUE CHAIN (20 MINUTES)
PART 2
What type of diagram would you recommend to start with?

26. 2. Investigate

27. 1. Gather existing reports and studies
• Qualitative & quantitative
2. Conduct internal interviews
• Sketch experience
• Identify gaps in knowledge
3. Conduct external interviews
• Contextual interviews
• Surveys or quantitative data
2. Investigate

28. Who might you want to interview?
Internal interview participants External interview participants
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
INTERVIEWS

29. What themes or topics might you include in a guide for interviews
internally at the ATO and externally with travellers?
Internal interview themes External interview themes
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
DISCUSSION GUIDE

30. 3. Illustrate

31. Analyze Data
Interviews (texts) Clusters & Patterns Flow & Experience

32. Text coding software, e.g., MaxQDA
Analyze – The LongWay

33. Analyze – The Short Way
• Create a spreadsheet with phases and information types
• Fill out the diagram from notes
• Adjust structure as you go

34. Analyze – The Short Way
• Cluster and discuss themes on a whiteboard

35. Guideline Example 1 Example 2
Start with insights Research cluster 1: People indicated they
sometimes hesitate and reconsider during the
customer acquisition phase because of our
premium pricing model
Research cluster 2: There is a clear pain
point around deploying the solution,
primarily due to lack of necessary technical
knowledge.
Use natural
language
People reconsider when making a purchase
because they may be nervous or anxious about
the high cost
Users struggle to install the software for the
first time if they don’t have the required
technical skills
Keep voice
consistent
I reconsider when making a purchase because
I’m anxious and nervous about the high cost
I struggle to install the software for the first
time because I don’t have the necessary
technical skills.
Omit pronouns
and articles
Reconsider when making purchase due to
anxiousness and nervousness over high cost
Struggle to install software for first time
without the necessary technical skills.
Focus on the root
cause
Feel anxious and nervous when making
purchase due to high cost, and then
reconsider
Struggle during installation due to lack of
necessary technical skills
Be concise Feel anxious during purchase about cost, and
then reconsider
Struggle due to lack technical skills during
installation
Use abbreviations
sparingly
“” Struggle due to lack of tech skills during
installation
Rely on context of
map
anxious about cost
(In the cell for the column for “purchase” and
row for “feelings”)
Reconsider
(In the cell of a column for “purchase” and a
row for “actions”)
Struggle due to lack of tech skills
OR
Lack tech skills
(assuming a column for “installation” and a
row for “pain points”)

36. Consider different layouts

37. Startbucks

39. Phases in Middle
Adam Richardson, in HBR Blog

41. Process Lines and Icons
by nForm (CA)

42. Curved Lines

44. Circular

45. Network

46. Circular with Key
www.businessmodelcreativity.net

48. Spatial Maps
Emirates Journey Mapping Case Study: http://www.kendeo.com/industry/airline/emirates-study

49. Table
Wheel
Timeline “Chutes and Ladders” Spider
Circles Spatial Map Tower

50. Strive for Visual Clarity

51. Representation
• Fit to space
• Font selection
• Color coding
• Icons and shapes

52. Format Text
• Actions: Start each with a verb,
• Thoughts: Phrase as a question
• Feelings: Use adjectives
• Pain points: start each with a gerund
• Touchpoints: Use nouns
• Opportunities: Begin each with a verb that shows
change, e.g., increase the ease of installation,
eliminate unnecessary steps.

53. Chronology

54. EXERCISE 3 – SKETCH OUTLINE FOR
DIAGRAM (20 MINS)
In groups, create a draft diagram for the ATO scenario
How will you tell the story of interaction?
Use the following phases
• Plan Trip
• Travel to Athens
• Arrive in Athens
• Stay in Athens
• Depart
• Return Home
• Visit Again
Include the following aspects
• Customer
• Actions
• Thoughts
• Feelings
• Pain points
• Touchpoints
• ATO
• Support
• Goals

55. 4. Align

56. Collaborate
• Hold extended workshop (included in proposal!)
• Invite diverse group
• Diagnose performance
• Engage in creative exercises
Empathize

57. Collaborate
Discuss

58. Envision
Evaluate

61. b. Align for value
Look for
1. GAPS
2. WEAKNESSES
3. EFFICIENCIES
4. COMPETITORS

62. Author Involvement Levels
Example: “Author Experience Map“

63. The Ask

64. circa 1886
Scientific American Supplement, No. 530, February 27, 1886
“A NEW PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS”
This apparatus consists of a box containing a camera, A, and a frame,
C, containing the desired number of plates, each held in a small
frame of black Bristol board. The camera contains a mirror, M,
which pivots upon an axis and is maneuvered by the extreme
bottom, B. This mirror stops at an angle of 45°, and sends the image
coming from the objective to the horizontal plate, D, at the upper
part of the camera. The image thus reflected is righted upon this
plate.
As the objective is of short focus, every object situated beyond a
distance of three yards from the apparatus is in focus. In exceptional
cases, where the operator might be nearer the object to be
photographed, the focusing would be done by means of the rack of
the objective. The latter can also slide up and down, so that the
apparatus need not be inclined when buildings or high trees are
being photographed. The door, E, performs the role of a shade.
When the apparatus has been fixed upon its tripod and properly
directed, all the operator has to do is to close the door, P, and raise
the mirror, M, by turning the button, B, and then expose the plate.
The sensitized plates are introduced into the apparatus through the
door, I, and are always brought automatically to the focus of the
objective through the pressure of the springs, R. The shutter of the
frame, B, opens through a hook, H, with in the pocket, N. After
exposure, each plate is lifted by means of the extractor, K, into the
pocket, whence it is taken by hand and introduced through a slit, S,
behind the springs, R, and the other plates that the frame contains.
All these operations are performed in the interior of the pocket, N,
through the impermeable, triple fabric of which no light can enter.
An automatic marker shows the number of plates exposed. When the
operations are finished, the objective is put back in the interior of the
camera, the doors, P and E, are closed, and the pocket is rolled up.
The apparatus is thus hermetically closed, and, containing all the
accessories, forms one of the most practical of systems for the
itinerant photographer.—La Nature.

66. [EASTMAN] recognized that his
roll film could lead to a
revolution if he focused on the
experience he wanted to deliver,
an experience captured in his
advertising slogan, “You press
the button, we do the rest.”

67. Photographers

68. The Ask
Solutions that merely please, serve, meet
the needs/specs, or delight customers don’t
go far enough. They represent yesterday’s
marketing and design paradigms. They
misunderstand innovation’s real impact –
transforming customers.

70. Entrepreneurs

71. Who does Google ask us to become?

72. Kodak = Camera > Photographers
eBay = Trading Platform > Entrepreneurs
Google = Search Engine > Expert Researchers

74. Wierdo

75. Supersize
Unhealthy

76. Kodak = Camera > Photographers
eBay = Trading Platform > Entrepreneurs
Google = Search Engine > Expert Researchers
but…
Segway = New Vehicle > Weirdo on Scooter
Super Size = Value for Money > Unhealthy person

77. Using "The Ask" with Alignment Diagrams
1. At each phase ask: Who do we want our
customers to become?
2. Use metaphors. These are often experts of
some kind.
3. Reframe the solution space to transform users
based on the transformations.

78. CitizenExplorer
Documentary
Filmmaker
Activist Reporter

79. EXERCISE
In groups, discuss who you want your customers to become

80. Strategy Myopia

81. You've got to start with
the customer experience
and work back toward
the technology –
not the other
way around.
1997

82. An industry begins with the customer and
his needs, not with a patent, a raw material,
or a selling skill. Given the customer’s needs,
the industry develops backwards, first
concerning itself with the physical delivery
of customer satisfaction. Then it moves back
further to creating the things by which these
satisfactions are in part achieved. How these
materials are created is a matter of
indifference to the customer, hence the
particular form of manufacturing,
processing, or what-have-you cannot be
considered as vital aspects of the industry.
1960

83. Growth slows not because industries stop
growing, but because companies fail to continue
to meet ever-expanding customer needs.

84. Why did Kodak fail?

85. • From the end of World War II until the late 1970s, a retain-and-
reinvest approach to resource allocation prevailed at major U.S.
corporations.
• This pattern began to break down in the late 1970s, giving way to
a downsize-and-distribute regime of reducing costs and then
distributing the freed-up cash to shareholders.
• By favoring value extraction over value creation, this approach has
contributed to employment instability and income inequality.
Profits Without Prosperity
WILLIAM LAZONICK, “Profits without Prosperity,“ HBR Sept 2014

86. Companies … remain trapped in an
outdated approach to value creation.
They continue to view value creation
narrowly, optimizing short-term
financial performance in a bubble
while missing the most important
customer needs.
Shared Value
MICHAEL PORTER. “Creating Shared Value.” HBR (Jan 2011)

87. Figure out what your product is and
what your value chain is. Understand
where those things touch important
social needs and problems. If you’re
in financial services, let’s think about
‘saving’ or ‘buying a home’ - but in a
way that actually works for the
consumer.
Shared Value
MICHAEL PORTER. “Creating Shared Value.” HBR (Jan 2011)

89. What business is the ATO really in?
How can they create shared value?

90. Danke schön!
@JimKalbach
Jim.Kalbach@Gmail.com
www.experiencinginformation.com