Understanding and framing the right problem
Step 1 / 4·Personas and the employee journey map
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Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Build employee personas from real data
- Map the journey and find the moments that matter
- Restate problems as 'How might we…'
Personas and the employee journey map
See the organisation through insiders' eyes.
A PERSONA is a composite portrait of a typical employee group — built from real interviews and data, not imagination. It lets the design team talk about 'Lan, a night-shift operator, 38, who uses a phone not a computer' instead of a generic 'employee'.
A JOURNEY MAP lays out the sequence that persona goes through, with the emotions, difficulties and touchpoints at each step.
The four rows of a journey map
| Row | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Steps | What the person actually does, in order |
| Touchpoints | Who they interact with, which systems, which forms |
| Emotions | High to low: excited, confused, frustrated, relieved |
| Pain points | Where it's slow, unclear, repetitive, or leaves them to figure it out alone |
Finding the 'moments that matter'
Not every step in the journey carries equal weight. A few moments have far greater emotional impact: the first day, the first negative feedback, when a family situation needs the company's support, being promoted or passed over. Improving those few moments does more than improving every step evenly.
Key takeaway: Personas built from real data; journey maps cover steps – touchpoints – emotions – pain points; focus on moments that matter.