Mapping User Journeys: Charting the User Experience

User experience design insights and best practices to create digital products that users love.

Published on January 19, 2023

Mapping User Journeys: Understanding User Flow to Enhance Experiences

Mapping User Journeys (also known as User Flow or User Path) is the process of charting the various steps that a user goes through when interacting with your product or service. This includes everything from the first time a user encounters your product, to the end of their journey—whether it’s a purchase, registration, or another type of conversion.

The main goal of mapping user journeys is to understand the user’s experience and identify any pain points or areas of confusion. This information can then be used to improve the overall user experience, making it more efficient and intuitive.

Flowcharts

Flowcharts are a great way to visualise the different steps users go through when interacting with your product or service. They can be used to show various pages or screens, plus the actions that users can take at each step. By illustrating the progression of tasks and decision points, flowcharts help you spot bottlenecks or unnecessary complexity in the user’s path.

Example of a mind map flowchart illustrating different screens and decision points in a user journey — Mind map flowchart visualising user steps

Storyboards

Storyboards are a more visual, narrative approach to mapping user journeys. Similar to flowcharts, they use images and text to tell the story of a user’s experience. They can highlight the user’s emotions and thoughts at each stage, providing deeper insight into motivations and potential friction points along the journey.

Storyboard illustration showing a user’s emotional journey and key interactions over time — Storyboards illustrating user interactions and emotional responses

User Journey Maps

User Journey Maps combine several aspects of the user’s path into a single visual representation, including goals, pain points, and feedback. They often include touchpoints, channels, and devices that the user might use at different stages. By integrating multiple elements, journey maps help you see the bigger picture and plan cohesive, cross-channel experiences.

A sample user journey map indicating user goals, touchpoints, and emotions across various stages — Comprehensive user journey map with goals and touchpoints

User Scenarios

User Scenarios are narratives describing a user’s experience in a realistic, context-rich way. They can show each step a user goes through, along with potential thoughts and emotions. Unlike pure flowcharts, user scenarios aim to capture the human side—what’s the user trying to accomplish and how do they feel during the process? These insights often reveal deeper motivations and potential points of friction.

User scenario diagram detailing user actions and emotional states across different steps — Detailed user scenario highlighting actions and emotions

Testing and Validation

It’s crucial to test and validate user journeys with real people—through usability testing, user interviews, or surveys. By collecting direct feedback, you can spot pain points or areas of confusion and make targeted improvements to the overall user experience. Constant iteration ensures your product or service remains user-centered and efficient.

Conclusion

Mapping user journeys is an essential practice for creating a user-centered product or service. By visualising how users move from discovery to conversion (or any other key milestone), you can identify friction points and areas for improvement. Whether you use flowcharts, storyboards, journey maps, or user scenarios, each approach provides valuable insight into user needs, motivations, and potential pitfalls. Combining these methods with strong visuals—including illustrative images—helps stakeholders quickly understand the user experience and drives more effective, empathic design decisions.