Empathy Mapping

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Map observable behaviors and inferred internal states of a target user to align team understanding before designing solutions.

Use it when: Use before designing a product, service, or policy when a team needs a shared reference point grounded in real qualitative user data.

Skip it when: Skip when the team lacks direct user research, when mapping a generic demographic without a defined scenario, or when performing quantitative market sizing.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 4 to 6 people at separate canvas stations. For group counts that do not divide evenly, form tables of 3 to 5 (for example, 7 splits into 3 and 4; 13 into 4, 4, and 5; 17 into 4, 4, 4, and 5; 23 into 4, 4, 5, and 5) or assign an extra person as a station scribe.

Timing: UWT 60-minute structured adaptation of the 45 to 90 minute range reported in the source.

Materials and tools

• 1 A1-size Empathy Map canvas or large sheet of paper per subgroup
• 1 photo or printed persona card per subgroup canvas
• 3 pads of 3x3 inch sticky notes in different colors per subgroup
• 1 broad-tip marker per participant
• 1 sheet of adhesive dot stickers per subgroup
• 1 roll of masking tape
• 1 printed user research packet or interview summary per station
• 1 main room flipchart with markers for capturing team actions
• 1 timer

Before participants arrive

1. Mount an A1 paper canvas at each station with a center circle surrounded by four outer quadrants labeled See, Hear, Say, and Do, an inner area labeled Think & Feel, and two bottom sections labeled Pains and Gains.
2. Affix the target persona profile and photo into the center circle of every canvas.
3. Distribute sticky notes, broad-tip markers, dot stickers, and research packets to all subgroup stations.
4. Position the main flipchart at the front of the room labeled Action Steps and Ideas.

Say this to open

Today we are mapping one specific person in a defined situation, not a generic customer. We will document what they see, hear, say, and do before inferring what they think and feel. Write one observation per note using their perspective. Keep notes concise and legible from three steps away.

How to run it

1. Frame the persona and scenario 5 minutes

   Read the opening script. Introduce the exact persona, context, and scenario. For example: Priya, a regional sales manager testing a newly launched CRM during week one, rather than all sales managers in general. Confirm all tables share this reference before writing begins.

2. Populate observable outer sections 20 minutes

   Run four consecutive 4-minute silent rounds for See, Hear, Say, and Do. Participants review their research packets and write one specific observation per sticky note in first-person voice. Spend the final 1 minute of each round clustering duplicate notes on that quadrant.

3. Infer internal thoughts and feelings 10 minutes

   Direct attention to the central Think & Feel area. Participants spend 5 minutes working silently to write sticky notes describing what the person might worry about, hope for, or conceal based strictly on the outer quadrant evidence. Spend 5 minutes discussing clusters within each subgroup.

4. Identify pains and gains 10 minutes

   Each person silently writes up to two concrete frustrations under Pains and two desired positive outcomes under Gains. Teams cluster related items. Each person then places one adhesive dot sticker on the single most critical pain and one on the most significant gain.

5. Extract insights and next steps 15 minutes

   Ask teams to take three steps back from their charts. Each subgroup identifies one major contradiction between what the person says and does. One spokesperson per subgroup shares their top tension and prioritized pain with the room (up to 6 reports, 1 minute each). The facilitator guides discussion using the debrief questions and records agreed action steps on the main flipchart.

Debrief questions

• Where did your group spot a clear contradiction between what this person says and what they actually do?
• Which inferred thought or feeling surprised the team most once grounded in the research notes?
• What is the single most urgent pain point that our next design iteration must resolve?

Finished output: A completed multi-section empathy canvas per subgroup with clustered observations, prioritized pain and gain dots, and a central list of agreed action steps.

Remote

Set up a shared digital whiteboard with an empathy map layout per breakout room of 4 to 6 people. Run timers visibly on screen. Subgroups generate digital sticky notes silently for the outer sections, unmute to discuss Think and Feel, vote with digital dot stamps on pains and gains, and paste their top insight into the main room chat during debrief.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with remote members using an assigned digital scribe per station who copies physical sticky notes onto a mirrored online whiteboard, or run all remote attendees in their own dedicated digital breakout team while physical tables work on paper, bringing both together for the whole-room insight share.

Access and participation choices

• Participants can contribute by writing sticky notes, dictating ideas to a peer scribe, or sorting and clustering existing notes on the board.
• Anyone may pass on speaking during subgroup or room debriefs without explanation, or elect to review research materials quietly.

If the session gets stuck

Participants post generic corporate complaints that could apply to any user.

Prompt them: What specific moment or quote in the research data shows this persona having that reaction?

Groups immediately design product features instead of describing the persona's lived reality.

Direct them to post the solution on the main room flipchart under Ideas and refocus their canvas notes on the user's immediate experience.

Terms used here

• Persona: A realistic profile representing a specific user group in a concrete, defined situation.
• Pains and Gains: Pains are frustrations, risks, and obstacles; gains are desired positive outcomes, aspirations, and measures of success.