Journey Map and Research Context

Overview

In this assignment, you will create 3 current-state journey maps and a Research Context reflection that together explain:

• How experience unfolds for different people

• How context and scenario shape experience

• Why the problem space you are designing for matters

This assignment is not about designing solutions yet. It is about learning how to analyze experience as something that unfolds over time, across systems, expectations, and situations.

Your work here will directly inform:

• User Needs Statements

• Information Architecture & User Flows

• Concept Sketches

• Low-Fidelity Wireframes

It will also form the research foundation of your portfolio case study.

Learning Goal

By completing this assignment, you should demonstrate that you can:

• Model experience over time for multiple users

• Show how scenario and context change experience

• Compare experiences across personas

• Situate a design problem within a broader, research-informed context

• Communicate insights clearly and professionally

Part 1: Visual Journey Maps

(15 points total)

What You Are Creating

You will create three current-state journey maps, based on personas you developed earlier in the course:

• Persona 1 — Journey Map A (Scenario 1)

• Persona 1 — Journey Map B (Scenario 2)

• Persona 2 — Journey Map C (Scenario 1)

Each journey map must represent:

• One persona

• One explicit scenario

• One clear goal

• 4–6 stages over time

Why Multiple Journey Maps?

Creating multiple journey maps allows you to:

• See how the same person experiences a system differently in different situations

• Compare experiences across personas

• Avoid designing for a “generic user”

• Understand experience as situated, temporal, and produced

This is a core journey mapping skill.

Required Components (For Each Journey Map)

Each journey map must include:

1. Persona, Scenario, and Goal Clearly stated at the top of the map.

2. Stages (Experience Over Time)High-level phases that describe how the experience unfolds.Stages should describe what is happening, not UI screens.

3. Actions What the user is doing at each stage.

4. Thoughts & Emotions How the experience feels over time, including emotional highs and lows.

5. Pain Points Moments where experience breaks down, expectations are violated, or stress increases.

6. Opportunities Moments where experience could be improved (without proposing solutions yet).

7. Frontstage / Backstage (Light Touch) At least one acknowledgment of an invisible system, process, or constraint shaping the experience.

Scenarios (Important)

Each journey map must have an explicit scenario. A scenario should clearly describe:

• The situation the user is in

• Any relevant constraints (time, environment, stakes)

• Why this moment matters to the user

Examples (for illustration only):

• “Ordering food between classes with only 20 minutes available”

• “Using the app late at night when options are limited”

• “First-time use versus repeat use under time pressure”

The scenario should meaningfully affect how the journey unfolds.

Format & Fidelity

• Low-fidelity is expected

• Hand-drawn, photographed, or simple digital formats are all acceptable

• Visual polish is not the priority

What matters most is:

• Clear experience over time

• Thoughtful emotional and contextual insight

• Correct and intentional use of journey mapping concepts

Part 2: Research Context Reflection

(10 points)~300 words

What This Is

The Research Context is a short written explanation of the problem space your journey maps live within. It answers the question:

This is not a description of each journey map. It is a synthesis that helps a reader understand why these journeys matter and what makes the design challenge complex.

What to Address in Your Research Context

In approximately 300 words, address the following:

• Who are you designing for, and in what broader context?(Reference both personas.)

• How do scenarios and situational constraints shape experience?

Consider:

• Time pressure

• Environment

• Institutional or organizational rules

• Technology limitations

• Social or economic factors

• What differences or tensions emerge across personas or scenarios? What changes, and why?

• Why is this problem space worth designing for?What makes it meaningful, challenging, or impactful?

Tone & Audience

Write this as if it were:

• Supporting a portfolio case study

• Explaining the problem space to a design reviewer

Clarity, thoughtfulness, and grounding in research matter more than academic language.

Submission Requirements

Submit the following:

1. Three visual journey maps

   • Persona 1 — Scenario A

   • Persona 1 — Scenario B

   • Persona 2 — Scenario C

2. One Research Context reflection (~300 words)