User Path Map
1) What is a User Path Map (CJM) and why is it needed
CJM (Customer Journey Map) is a visual model of the user's experience in achieving a goal: stages, steps, emotions, expectations, barriers, contact points and backstage processes.
What for:- Common understanding of the context between product, design, marketing, support and risk/compliance.
- Prioritization of improvements: we see where we lose conversion/satisfaction.
- Link with metrics: each pain → hypothesis → experiment → KPI uplift.
- Managing expectations: Step transparency reduces anxiety and churn.
2) CJM Key Elements
Person/segment: clearly defined profile (behavior, goals, limitations).
The goal of the path: "what wants to achieve" (registration, purchase, re-transaction, return).
Stages: awareness → research → choice → action → post-experience/retention.
Steps: Atomic actions/screen states within each stage.
Touchpoints: website, application, e-mail, chat, offline, KYC, payments, etc.
Emotion and cognitive load: mood/confidence curve.
Pain and risks: where it slows down, where it gets confused, where it throws.
Opportunities: improvement ideas, tips, automation, content/copyright.
Backstage/service blueprint: processes, SLA, manual checks, limits, rules.
Metrics: CR by stage, TTV/TTR, error rate, NPS/CSAT, cost-to-serve.
3) Preparation: from data to map
1. Research: Interviews, contextual observations, diaries, ticket and chat analysis.
2. Behavior: funnels, clicks, heatmaps, recording sessions, search queries, traffic segments.
3. Segmentation: select 2-4 key persons (frequency, device, motivation, risk).
4. Path boundaries: starting event and success criterion (including "almost success").
5. Artifacts: rough user-flow, list of screens/states, backstage-SLA.
4) CJM template (copy to wiki)
User Path Map - [Path Name]
Person/Segment:...
User Target:...
Context: (device, channel, environment, constraints)
Path boundaries: (from... before...)
Success criteria:...
Stages and steps
Stage Step Contact point Intention Expectation Fact/what sees Emotion (− 2... + 2) Pain/risk Opportunity Metrics
-------- ----- ----------------- ----------- ---------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------- ------------- ---------
Awareness...........................
Study...........................
Selection...........................
Action...........................
Post-experience...........................
Backstage/Service Blueprint
Front-stage: (UI, content, hints, validation)
Back-stage: (CCM/checks, payment gateways, anti-fraud, queues)
Support: (channels, macros, response SLO)
SLA/step time:...
Telemetry and Data
События: [start], [step_view], [field_error], [retry], [success], [cancel]
Attributes: person, channel, device, network, version, reason for failure
Metrics: CR by stage, TTV/TTR, error rate, CSAT/NPS, cost-to-serve
Improvement Priorities (ICE/RICE)
Idea → Impact/Confidence/Effort → Score → ETA → Owner → Status5) CJM Mini Example (fragment)
Path: "Registration and first depot"
Persona: 'Circumspect beginner, mobile, unstable network'
Success criteria: completed registration + successful payment ≤ 5 minutes
6) CJM Building Process - 8 Steps
1. Define the purpose of the path and the person. Without this, the map will blur.
2. Mark the stages and steps. Do not mix rare branches into the main stream.
3. Collect the actual screen flow. Screenshots, error texts, empty states.
4. Apply emotion/confidence. According to interviews/observations, not according to the feelings of the team.
5. Identify pain and opportunity. Show reasons: language, time, network, rules, cognitive load.
6. Add backstage. Where SLA "breaks," manual checks, queues, limits.
7. Link telemetry and KPIs. Step events + target metrics for each stage.
8. Form a plan of experiments. ICE/RICE, hypotheses, design variants, A/B.
7) CJM metrics and how to read them
CR by stage/step: funnel with attribution to person and channel.
Time to Value (TTV) and Time to Resolve (TTR): time to value/problem resolution.
Error Rate and Recovery Rate: percentage of errors and successful auto-restores.
Drop-off Heat: Elimination map by step and cause.
CSAT/NPS by segment: satisfaction of the target person.
Cost-to-Serve: cases/escalations per 1k users by steps.
Uplift A/B: Increases in key metrics after improvements are implemented.
8) Instrumentation and analytics events (example)
event: journey_start { persona, channel, device, locale }
event: stage_view { stage_id }
event: step_view { step_id, latency_expected }
event: field_error { step_id, field, error_code }
event: help_opened { step_id, article_id }
event: retry { step_id, reason }
event: stage_success { stage_id, ttr_ms }
event: journey_success { ttv_ms, payment_method, kyc_path }
event: journey_cancel { stage_id, reason, network, time_spent_ms }Recommendations: log both UI states (loader, empty, timeout) and the causes of failures (PSP code, KYC solution) in order to treat the root of the problem, not the symptom.
9) CJM Options
End-to-end CJM: all the way from awareness to loyalty.
Micro-journey: one critical scenario (for example, "access recovery").
Omnichannel CJM: with transitions between web/mobile/e-mail/chat/offline.
Service Blueprint CJM: focus on backstage processes and dependencies.
10) CJM Quality Checklist
- Person and path target identified and covers ≥60 -80% of target traffic/revenue
- Stages and steps are clearly distinguishable, rare branches are placed separately
- Noted emotion/confidence and cognitive load at each step
- Text for prompts, errors, and empty states
- Added backstage-SLAs/limits and support channels
- There is an event map and metrics by steps (funnel + time + errors)
- For pain formulated hypotheses and plan A/B with owners and ETA
- Audit cycle defined (quarterly or after major releases)
11) Typical errors
"Too general." Mixing different persons/motivations in one card.
No data. CJM by opinion rather than interview and telemetry.
Ignore empty/error states. It is there that trust is lost.
No backstage. You cannot repair the front without seeing bottlenecks in the processes.
No metrics and no owners. The map turns into a poster, not a tool.
One-time artifact. CJM becomes obsolete - update from data and feedback cycles.
12) Workshop for 2 hours (step by step)
1. 10 min: track target, person, KPI (CR, TTV, CSAT).
2. 25 min: collecting steps and screenflows (as-is), fixing pain/errors.
3. 20 min: Emotions, cognitive load, reasons for dropouts.
4. 25 min: backstage: rules, KYC, payments, queues, SLO/limits.
5. 20 min: improvement hypotheses, ICE/RICE prioritization.
6. 20 min: Plan of experiments and telemetry, appointment of owners.
Output artifact: CJM table + service blueprint + backlog of hypotheses with metrics.
13) Connection with team processes
Discovery: CJM gives problem areas and ideas.
Delivery: each feature → epic/story with KPIs and events.
Analytics: dashboards by stage/person, alerts by SLA step.
Compliance/risk: control of limits, KYC, sanctions at the appropriate steps.
Support/content: updating macros, FAQs, empty states on CJM pains.
14) Accessibility and inclusivity at CJM
Mark steps with increased cognitive load - provide simple speech, icons, tips.
Consider contrast, fonts, locales, screensaver support, keyboard navigation.
Work through slow/unstable network scenarios, offline behavior, and secure retrays.
15) The bottom line
The user path map is not a poster, but a working system: it connects the real experience of the client, internal processes and product metrics. Do CJM on data, note emotions and backstage, link to telemetry and A/B experiments - and turn insights into measurable improvements.
Quick Inserts (Templates)
Markdown-table of stages/steps:
Stage Step Contact point Intention Expectation Fact Emotion Pain Opportunity Metrics
-------- ----- ----------------- ----------- ---------- ------ -------- ------ ------------- ---------
Hypothesis Impact Confidence Effort Score Owner ETA Status
--------- -------- ------------ -------- ------- ---------- ----- -------
... 3 0. 7 2 1. 05 PM/UX......