![]() ![]() What is the problem space you want to map? This will be the title and scope of your map.To create an ecosystem map, there are 3 simple steps. ![]() It can highlight major actors that need to be researched and reveal how complex the problem space is. This map can be constructed with stakeholders and subject-matter experts within a discovery kick-off workshop. For example, maybe you’re working with a new client or on a new project and you know nothing about the domain. The buyer is surrounded by many people, organizations, and service-providers with whom they may interact while purchasing a new home.Įcosystem maps are useful at the beginning of a discovery, when there are many unknowns. Ecosystem maps are not linear or chronological, although you can use the clockwise format to add a time element if you want.Īn example of an ecosystem map of the home-purchase experience. People who have more influence or interact with the user for longer periods of time are closer to the nucleus, while people who interact with the user only indirectly or briefly lie further away in the structure. Either format can be used, and both demonstrate the metaphorical distance between a person or thing and the user. This article focuses on maps for visualizing insights, rather than analyzing user-research data (such as affinity mapping.) Ecosystem Mapsĭefinition: An ecosystem map is a visual representation of the people, organizations, products, and services that a user may interact with during a particular experience.Įcosystem maps usually have a hub-and-spoke design - where people and things are connected to a central user (the hub) through lines of different lengths - or a ripple-like design, made up of concentric circles. The following maps can clarify the problem space: See our mapping-methods study guide for plenty of mapping methods to choose from. Of course, there are many, many maps that designers can use in discovery! This article focuses on 3 commonly used types of maps, but feel free to choose another mapping method that suits the problem you’re exploring. Exposing gaps and unknowns: Mapping forces creators to ask questions such as: What happens after this? What’s the process here? How does this event affect users or our business? These questions can expose important unknowns that a team needs to learn before it can move forward with making key decisions.When people come together to map out what they’ve learned about the problem domain or user experience, the artifact becomes a shared representation in everybody’s minds. Creating alignment: Mapping can easily be done with others.Making insights more memorable: People remember and retain information better when it’s presented in a visual format (rather than in a text-based format) due to the picture-superiority effect, a well-established psychological phenomenon.Mapping also highlights key actors, causal links, and root causes of large complex problems. Managing complexity: Large problems become easier to tackle when they’re broken down into small chunks.In discovery, maps provide many benefits. In addition to supporting wayfinding, maps have been used to orient people in their surroundings, manage complexity, and create a shared understanding of a terrain, whether physical or conceptual. ![]() Humans have been mapping things for thousands of years. It can be challenging to manage the amount of new information and make it actionable. During discovery, many new things are learned about the problem space at a fast pace. Discoveries can be messy because there are many unknowns, which often necessitate the use of exploratory research methods, such as field studies, interviews, and diary studies. ![]()
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