Empathy Map
Structured user understanding: Think, Feel, Say, Do, Pains, Gains.
PURPOSE
Products and services often fail because the actual needs of users are not properly understood. The Empathy Map helps teams systematically adopt the perspective of their target audience. It uncovers hidden motivations and pain points that are often missed through superficial surveys.
HOW TO USE
You select a specific user persona or segment and fill in the six fields of the map together as a team. Insights from interviews, observations, or existing data are used to populate the fields. The completed map serves as a shared reference for design decisions and product development.
WHAT IT IS
The Empathy Map is a canvas developed by Dave Gray with six fields: Think and Feel, See, Hear, Say and Do, Pains, and Gains. It visualizes the perceptions, feelings, and actions of a target person on a single page. The tool is frequently used in Design Thinking and is available as an open-source canvas under CC BY-SA.
EXAMPLE
Example: You're developing a banking app for seniors and realize that your team only has assumptions about the target audience but has never spoken with actual users. With the Empathy Map, you structure the insights from user interviews: What do older people think, feel, say, and do when using online banking? This creates a deep understanding of their fears and needs.