Mapping Experiences, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4. Map Types in Review

The map is not the territory.

—Alfred Korzybski

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Overview of map types
• Customer journey maps, service blueprints, experience maps
• Other types of diagrams

Alignment is the goal: first outside-in, then inside-across. But alignment isn’t one-size-fits-all. The fundamental dimensions of mapping—perspective, scope, focus, structure, and use—can be combined in different ways depending on what you’re trying to achieve. And different combinations demand different diagram types.

This book is about possibilities. It doesn’t prescribe any one approach. Instead, the burden is on you, the mapmaker, to determine the goals of the effort and the experiences to diagram, then pair that with an appropriate map type. Know your options. Don’t rule out any technique in advance.

Once you understand the organization’s objectives and the experiences you want to map, you can select the diagram type that’s most appropriate. To do so, consider the primary elements of mapping discussed in Chapter 3.

This chapter reviews key diagram types used for mapping experiences, describing each one’s structure, typical uses, strengths, and weaknesses. Use this as a reference when selecting the right approach for your situation.

Comparison of Diagram Types

The big three diagram types that have emerged over the past decade are customer journey maps, service blueprints, and experience maps. Others include ecosystem models, mental model diagrams, job maps, ...