Exercises

User scenarios narrate service interactions in specific contexts. They explain the envisioned experience through relevant user stories.

This exercise defines a problem from the user's perspective using a structured format. It creates an actionable problem statement based on real user r...

A system map visually represents all actors involved in a service and their connections. It clarifies how materials, energy, information, money, and d...

Pattern Library Mapping visually inventories UI patterns in your product. Before building a design system, understand existing patterns, their locatio...

Customers don't follow a straight path with your product. It's a series of interactions with your brand. Touchpoint Identification maps every interact...

Card sorting shows how people *actually* think about information. Not how you *assume* they do. Give participants cards with content or features. Ask ...

Use a screener to find the right research participants. It's a questionnaire or interview that helps you select people based on your study's needs.

Customer journeys are continuous, but teams need stages for analysis. Journey Stage Breakdown divides the journey. This helps focus improvement effort...

Prioritize ruthlessly using comparative evaluation and voting. Force the team to make tough calls, ranking items definitively. This highlights what tr...

Troika Consulting uses trios for quick peer coaching. One person presents a challenge. The other two offer advice in short, focused rounds. It's a fas...

Map every service interaction across channels and journey stages to get a bird's eye view of your service ecosystem. Use a matrix to spot gaps, overla...

Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) helps you understand why people "hire" products or services. It's about the progress people seek, not just their demographics. ...

Instead of dwelling on problems, build on successes. Use paired interviews to uncover peak experiences. Participants explore conditions that enable th...

Ecosystem mapping visualizes the context of a service or product. It reveals actors, relationships, and influences impacting the user experience beyon...

Make sense of chaos by finding patterns. Start with research findings, observations, or ideas. Let structure emerge instead of forcing it. Bottom-up o...

Tensions exist between speed and quality, innovation and reliability, user needs and business goals. This exercise surfaces those competing values. It...

A co-creation workshop unites stakeholders to design solutions. Participants become equal partners. They combine perspectives to generate innovative i...

Partner with real users throughout your project lifecycle. Sponsor users provide continuous feedback, ground your assumptions in reality, and help val...