Principle
Define the decision boundary
Keep the map small enough to support a real next move rather than a broad synthesis artifact.
Reading Room
Learning path
Move from stronger evidence into journey, service, and action artifacts that change what the team does next.
Teams that already have useful discovery inputs but need a sharper service-level picture and a clearer action path.
Capability outcome
A shared end-to-end view that exposes dependencies, supports prioritisation, and turns synthesis into an action path.
Principle
Keep the map small enough to support a real next move rather than a broad synthesis artifact.
Engagement pattern
Bring operational dependencies and ownership strain into view before the room starts prioritising.
Technique
Use the operational picture to shape what should change, where coordination is required, and what gets prioritised.
Use this path when the team can describe the pain point but still cannot see the service changes required behind it.
Method
A collaborative map of the customer path across stages, touchpoints, pain points, emotions, and backstage processes.
Method
A map that links customer actions to frontstage interactions, backstage activities, support systems, and policies.
Method
A side-by-side map of current-state reality and target future-state outcomes.
Principle
Journey and service maps are worth doing only when they sharpen a real decision, not when they merely create a polished artifact.
Journey artifacts become decorative when the decision boundary, scope, and intended use are vague. This principle keeps mapping work tied to operational and strategic consequences.
Principle
Good discovery artifacts make the invisible operational dependencies legible, not just the customer-facing pain points.
Teams often agree on customer pain while disagreeing on what is causing it. Making the backstage visible sharpens alignment, planning, and action quality.
Engagement pattern
Tighten interview evidence before expanding to an end-to-end map so the artifact becomes a decision tool instead of a polished guess.
Commit to a behavior-first interview pass before running the mapping session.