Journey Map Guidelines

The Journey Map tool provides a graphic and structured visualization about all the factors that can
influence the User Experience, directly constructed from the user's perspective. Basically it is a schematization of the user path, crossing different service touchpoints1, as the user starts to use a
service until some goals are achieved. Into the user journey also the emotional aspects that affect
the quality of the user experience and its level of satisfaction are considered. 
Graphically the Journey Map is a matrix composed by columns and rows. 
The columns, from left to right, show all the steps that form the user journey, a timeline that
provides a sequential and chronological disposition of each stage for further details.
In horizontal are displayed several rows, representing the research areas of interests (eg. Where
the action takes place, the touchpoints involved in the context considered, the unexpressed needs
of the user, his/her level of confidence to technology, etc…). 
All these elements together usually have different impacts along the journey steps; in this way
the Journey Map can better track them and represent and identify these changes that interact
with the user experience.  
In this specific occasion, the Journey Map will be used with the purpose to extrapolate qualitative
and quantitative data about the User Experience of children with T1DM aged 8-10 in using the
first prototype of the MyPAL app , as a graphical facilitator for an interactive discussion. 
In order to obtain reliable proofs of children’s experience, the Journey Map activity will be
exploited with a co-creation methodological approach, where interactivity is essential and
represents a great tool to collect insights in a playful and stimulating environment.  
In fact, this activity will involve directly our users (children) by mapping his/her experience and
telling indirectly to us his/her feedbacks and expectations. This tool allows both individual and
choral sessions and participatory techniques between deductive and analytical thinking.
In this context, the Journey Map will be used as an individual explorative tool of investigation (one
child per time).