A collaborative visualization tool that captures what a user says, thinks, does, and feels in a given context. Empathy maps help teams build a shared understanding of user needs and pain points, often as a precursor to persona creation.
Common contexts
- Synthesizing interview findings into a shared artifact before a team ideation session
- Onboarding a new product manager to the user's perspective without walking them through raw research transcripts
- Facilitating a stakeholder workshop to build user understanding in teams that have no direct user contact
Use when
After completing a round of user interviews or contextual research, when the team needs to synthesize findings into a shared format before proceeding to problem definition or ideation. Most effective when built collaboratively as a workshop activity.
Avoid when
Don't treat an empathy map as a substitute for actual research — building one from assumptions rather than observed user data produces a document that reinforces existing bias rather than challenging it.
The 'thinks' and 'feels' quadrants of an empathy map are where the real research value lives — most teams populate 'says' and 'does' from notes easily, but the inferred internal states reveal the deeper needs that drive behavior.
Real-world examples
- XPLANE (now part of Mural) developed the original empathy map canvas, which has been adopted by companies like IBM and SAP to align cross-functional teams around user understanding early in projects.
- Spotify's design teams use empathy maps during research synthesis to consolidate interview findings into a shared understanding of listener feelings, motivations, and pain points.
- The Stanford d.school teaches empathy mapping as a core tool, and organizations like the Cleveland Clinic have used it to better understand patient emotional experiences during hospital stays.