Empathy Map

Goal: Understand What Your Stakeholders Want From Your Business In an ideal world, you could perfectly understand what the stakeholders in your company want from your product or service. Unfortunately, this is difficult to fully accomplish, as the expectations of those integral to your business are often not apparent until a change has already been made – for better or for worse. You can collaborate with your stakeholders or your own internal team – taking the perspective of your customers or business partners – to strategically analyze the desires and needs of those important to your company, and to uncover ways to improve your product or service.

The Game

Begin the game by creating an empathy map on a large white board or poster. Draw the profile of a head with physical features such as eyes, ears, a mouth, and a nose; this will help players identify with the character and project themselves into it to form more accurate ideas.

Divide the map into five sections, portraying what the targeted persona sees, thinks/feels, hears, gains, and is challenged by. Throughout the game, have your players write their ideas about the character’s experiences on sticky notes, which they will then stick onto the respective section of the empathy map. Ask them to look into the mind of the targeted persona and think about the sensory experiences of the character. Consider what the figure is observing from your company. Is it hearing good things from external sources? What does it want to gain from your services?

This game works best when players genuinely work to uncover the impactful sensory information your stakeholders process. Project yourself into the persona and empathize with it to understand how you can improve your product or service. Once the chart is complete, work as a team to analyze your empathy map and to think of how to apply the results to your product.

Why it Works

The Empathy Map is applicable to any business, as it provides insight into key players who are necessary for your company’s success. Learn how to provide a better user experience by viewing the perspective of your stakeholders and identifying how to improve what they see, hear, think, gain, and are challenged by. Through the extensive collaboration and visual organization involved in this game, players are able to form a deeper understanding about what customers and business partners truly want from your company.