Each and every person has a different life experience, but one thing everybody has in common is that their days are full of critical interactions, decisions, emotions, and so forth. Experience Diagramming is an effective way to visualize your event-based research. It helps you consider the impact of each and every element of an experience. It is a great way to document the extent to which you understand the current state of a particular situation.

A useful diagram reveals more than just an overview of the action. Rather, it pinpoints key decisions, highlights when and how specific tools were employed, and identifies others who were part of the experience. In addition, Experience Diagramming can also bring to light important qualities of the experience, showing the complexity or difficulty people faced and how they struggled, adapted, or overcame.

• Summarizes the current state of a situation.
• Deepens your empathy for others.
• Documents critical touch points.
• Informs subsequent design activities.

• Identify a body of research to inform your work.
• Select an experience to document in detail.
• Hone in on a few key tasks.
• Decide which individuals or personas to represent.
• List the people, places, and things they encounter.
• Determine a format (e.g., flow chart, map, timeline).
• Illustrate a series of typical experiences.
• Highlight the critical waypoints in their journey.

• Focus this effort on documenting existing situations.
• Use the diagram to mark typical break points.
• Study the behavioral patterns for potential insights.