8 min read • Guide 826 of 877
Customer Journey Mapping for Development
Build what matters. GitScrum helps teams connect development work to customer journey stages, ensuring features address real user needs.
Journey Mapping Basics
What Journey Maps Show
ANATOMY OF A JOURNEY MAP:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ EXAMPLE: E-COMMERCE CHECKOUT JOURNEY │
│ │
│ STAGES: │
│ ────── │
│ [Awareness] → [Browse] → [Select] → [Cart] → [Checkout] │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ JOURNEY MAP: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ││
│ │ STAGE │ Browse │ Select │ Cart │ Checkout ││
│ │ ─────────┼───────────┼──────────┼─────────┼────────── ││
│ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ DOING │ Searching │ Comparing│ Adding │ Entering ││
│ │ │ Filtering │ Reading │ Adjusting│ payment ││
│ │ │ │ reviews │ quantity│ ││
│ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ THINKING │ "Is this │ "Which │ "Total │ "Is this ││
│ │ │ trustwor- │ is best? │ seems │ secure?" ││
│ │ │ thy?" │ │ high" │ ││
│ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ FEELING │ Curious │ Uncertain│ Concerned│ Anxious ││
│ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ EMOTION │ ────●──── │ ─────●── │ ──●──── │ ●──────── ││
│ │ │ Neutral │ Low │ Low │ Worried ││
│ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ PAIN │ Slow │ No │ No saved│ Too many ││
│ │ POINTS │ search │ comparison│ cart │ fields ││
│ │ │ │ view │ │ ││
│ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ OPPORT- │ Better │ Compare │ Persist │ 1-click ││
│ │ UNITIES │ filters │ feature │ cart │ checkout ││
│ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ INSIGHT: Checkout is high anxiety + high pain point │
│ → Prioritize checkout improvements │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Creating Journey Maps
Process
JOURNEY MAPPING PROCESS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ STEP 1: DEFINE SCOPE │
│ ──────────────────── │
│ • Which user persona? │
│ • Which journey? (signup, purchase, support, etc.) │
│ • What goal are they trying to achieve? │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ STEP 2: GATHER DATA │
│ ─────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ DATA SOURCES: ││
│ │ ││
│ │ • User interviews ││
│ │ • Analytics (where do users drop off?) ││
│ │ • Support tickets (common complaints) ││
│ │ • Session recordings ││
│ │ • Surveys ││
│ │ • Usability tests ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ STEP 3: MAP THE JOURNEY │
│ ─────────────────────── │
│ For each stage: │
│ • What is the user doing? │
│ • What are they thinking? │
│ • What are they feeling? │
│ • What touchpoints are involved? │
│ • What pain points exist? │
│ • What opportunities do we see? │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ STEP 4: PRIORITIZE OPPORTUNITIES │
│ ──────────────────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ OPPORTUNITY STAGE PAIN IMPACT PRIO ││
│ │ ─────────── ───── ──── ────── ──── ││
│ │ 1-click checkout Checkout High High P1 ││
│ │ Compare feature Select Med High P2 ││
│ │ Better filters Browse Low Medium P3 ││
│ │ ││
│ │ High pain + High impact = Priority ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Connecting to Development
From Journey to Backlog
JOURNEY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ LINKING JOURNEY TO WORK: │
│ ──────────────────────── │
│ │
│ JOURNEY INSIGHT: │
│ "Users abandon checkout when asked for shipping info" │
│ │
│ ↓ │
│ │
│ EPIC: │
│ "Streamline checkout experience" │
│ │
│ ↓ │
│ │
│ USER STORIES: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ STORY: Auto-fill shipping from saved addresses ││
│ │ JOURNEY STAGE: Checkout ││
│ │ PAIN ADDRESSED: Typing address repeatedly ││
│ │ IMPACT: Reduce checkout abandonment 15% ││
│ │ ││
│ │ STORY: Guest checkout option ││
│ │ JOURNEY STAGE: Checkout ││
│ │ PAIN ADDRESSED: Forced account creation ││
│ │ IMPACT: Capture 20% more first-time buyers ││
│ │ ││
│ │ STORY: Progress indicator in checkout ││
│ │ JOURNEY STAGE: Checkout ││
│ │ PAIN ADDRESSED: "How many steps left?" ││
│ │ IMPACT: Reduce anxiety, improve completion ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ BACKLOG TAGGING: │
│ ──────────────── │
│ [Story] + [Journey Stage] + [Pain Point] │
│ │
│ Enables filtering backlog by journey stage │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Prioritization
Using Journey for Priority
JOURNEY-BASED PRIORITIZATION:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ FRAMEWORK: │
│ ────────── │
│ │
│ HIGH PRIORITY: │
│ • High-traffic journey stages │
│ • Severe pain points (causing abandonment) │
│ • Emotional lows (frustrated users) │
│ • Critical path (can't achieve goal without it) │
│ │
│ LOWER PRIORITY: │
│ • Edge case journeys │
│ • Minor irritations │
│ • Non-critical stages │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ PRIORITY MATRIX: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ││
│ │ HIGH TRAFFIC LOW TRAFFIC ││
│ │ ┌────────────────┬────────────────┐ ││
│ │ SEVERE │ P1 │ P2 │ ││
│ │ PAIN │ Fix first! │ Important │ ││
│ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ ├────────────────┼────────────────┤ ││
│ │ MINOR │ P2 │ P3 │ ││
│ │ FRICTION │ Good to fix │ Nice to have │ ││
│ │ │ │ │ ││
│ │ └────────────────┴────────────────┘ ││
│ │ ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ EXAMPLE PRIORITIZATION: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ FEATURE TRAFFIC PAIN PRIORITY ││
│ │ ─────── ─────── ──── ──────── ││
│ │ Checkout speed High Severe P1 ││
│ │ Search improvements High Minor P2 ││
│ │ Admin reports Low Severe P2 ││
│ │ Dark mode Low Minor P4 ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Measuring Impact
Journey Metrics
JOURNEY-BASED METRICS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ MEASURE BY STAGE: │
│ ───────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ CHECKOUT JOURNEY METRICS ││
│ │ ││
│ │ STAGE METRIC BEFORE AFTER ││
│ │ ───── ────── ────── ───── ││
│ │ Cart Cart abandonment 70% 55% ✅ ││
│ │ Shipping Field completion 82% 95% ✅ ││
│ │ Payment Payment success 88% 94% ✅ ││
│ │ Confirm Confirmation rate 75% 85% ✅ ││
│ │ ││
│ │ OVERALL: ││
│ │ Start-to-purchase conversion: 12% → 19% (+58%) ││
│ │ ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ FEATURE IMPACT ON JOURNEY: │
│ ────────────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ FEATURE: Auto-fill shipping ││
│ │ ││
│ │ JOURNEY STAGE: Checkout - Shipping ││
│ │ ││
│ │ BEFORE: ││
│ │ • Avg time on shipping: 45 seconds ││
│ │ • Drop-off at shipping: 18% ││
│ │ ││
│ │ AFTER: ││
│ │ • Avg time on shipping: 12 seconds (-73%) ││
│ │ • Drop-off at shipping: 8% (-56%) ││
│ │ ││
│ │ IMPACT: Direct improvement at pain point ✅ ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ TIE RELEASES TO JOURNEY METRICS: │
│ What changed at each stage after deployment? │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Team Collaboration
Sharing Journey Context
KEEPING JOURNEY VISIBLE:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ JOURNEY MAP ON THE WALL: │
│ ──────────────────────── │
│ Physical or digital, always visible │
│ Team references during planning │
│ Updated as we learn more │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ IN SPRINT PLANNING: │
│ ─────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ STORY CONTEXT: ││
│ │ ││
│ │ STORY: Improve password reset flow ││
│ │ ││
│ │ JOURNEY: Account recovery ││
│ │ STAGE: Authentication ││
│ │ PAIN: "I can't remember which email I used" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ USER CONTEXT: ││
│ │ • Returning after months away ││
│ │ • Already frustrated (forgot password) ││
│ │ • Multiple email addresses ││
│ │ ││
│ │ GOAL: Make recovery feel helpful, not punishing ││
│ │ ││
│ │ This context shapes HOW we implement ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ IN RETROSPECTIVES: │
│ ────────────────── │
│ "Did we improve the user journey?" │
│ "What did we learn about our users?" │
│ "Should we update the journey map?" │
│ │
│ JOURNEY MAP IS LIVING DOCUMENT: │
│ Update as you learn, validate with data │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘