Empathy Map Template

Empathy mapping is probably one of the first workshops you learn to host when learning UX design. They're quick and easy, with instant results and provide a clearer picture of your users in a relatively short period of time (around 30-60 minutes).

This free Figjam empathy map template is one of the best around, as it's well structured, simple and easy to understand, it also ticks off all of the requirements of an empathy map, that of; what is the user thinking, feeling, saying and doing, it also has an area for pain points and opportunities, we find the terms 'pains' and 'gains' a bit too unspecific and inaccurate so maybe reword those sections.

So how do you use this empathy map template in a workshop? Well it's easy! Simply gather everyone in a room or have a digital meeting online, discuss what your goal is (to empathise with your main users), then brainstorm a general description of your user e.g. Bill, 24 from Mumbai who loves restaurants.

After that, fill in each quarter by quarter of the Figjam board by either discussing out loud or in small groups or asking users to write down their answers over 2-4minutes for each of the 4 items and then add post-it-notes to the board. Once the 4 sections are filled in with post-it notes then have another discussion session and add what are the current pain points of the system and what opportunities could alleviate those pain points. It all sounds more complicated than it is in action. So why not give this workshop a try by yourself then test on friends and family before trying with a client. Best of luck!