User Journey Maps visualise the steps a user must take to complete a task with your product or service. They allow a clear picture of how an experience will play out and can facilitate thinking through each step in more detail, refining the journey and improving the experience.
As part of the work I completed for the pitch presentation, I created a user journey map of the current adult autism diagnosis pathway. This was to provide context to those I was presenting to, so they could understand the issues within the current system and see where my proposed solution could help. This journey map gave me an opportunity to look more deeply at the current process and see where I could make the most impact. It also allowed me to see the parts of the process that would need to stay the same, so I could incorporate those into my proposed user journey.
This was my first opportunity to take the ideas I had been developing over the last few weeks and put them on paper. I could then subject them to scrutiny to see if they stood up and could offer the improvements to the service I was hoping for.
I decided to create a fairly detailed User Journey Map. This was because I was considering this project a service with both digital and human elements. I wanted to investigate where the handover between the two would occur, so I could consider any design requirements to ensure this handover happened smoothly. I also wanted to uncover the points at which a user would need to make decisions, as these would be key parts of the user experience that would require consideration. Another important aspect I wanted to investigate was where artificial intelligence would be utilised within my product. I wanted to harness the power of this technology, although I am wary of simply including it because I can, so I wanted to ensure it was used where it would provide tangible user benefits.
Both the current and proposed User Journey Maps are key artefacts as I begin to develop my project idea. They will provide me with an artefact I can refer back to and use to plan the next stages of the work I need to do. They will also offer me the opportunity to verify the ideas I have had so far as I can show people this proposal and gather feedback.
There is no doubt that, as I conduct further research, this journey map will need refinement and updating as the project continues. However, having this strong foundation to build upon gives me a great start and allows me to move on to refining and verifying my ideas.