Software Development

6 stupidly simple steps to mapping app user journeys

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1 April 2024
6 stupidly simple steps to mapping app user journeys

An app user journey: what is it?

App user journeys describe the steps users take to accomplish a certain goal when interacting with your app. They assist you in analyzing potential user behavior as they use your app and in identifying obstacles and pain spots that prevent users from reaching their objectives.

You may improve your app’s functionality and design to improve the user experience by taking advantage of the app user journey. By eliminating unnecessary elements, it not only facilitates the mapping of users’ needs but also optimizes their flow inside the application.

What is a user journey map for an app?

It’s not incorrect to refer to user journeys and user journey maps as one and the same, as you may have heard.

The user journey map, on the other hand, is a visual depiction of the journey, whereas the user journey is a conceptual understanding of the user experience.

A user journey map, to put it simply, is an organized visual aid that depicts the user path. It consists of:

  • Touchstones
  • Activities
  • Feelings and actions
  • Objectives

When should you create a user journey map for an app?

At the ideation stage, the very beginning of the app development process, user journey maps are made.

User stories cannot be created to begin the app development process until user journey maps have been created.

To put it simply, a user story is an explanation of an application’s capabilities that converts abstract concepts into workable strategies. A straightforward yet tasteful way to maintain the current course of events.

Consider user journeys as high-level requirements or epics that encapsulate the functions that an app must do, and consider user stories as the detailed, manageable plans within an epic.

Let’s take an example where you wish to develop a ride-sharing application. Here, you can depict the entire path a user will take using your app: signing up, finding a ride, following the arrival of the vehicle, coming to an end of the trip, making payments, and rating the driver.

You may now generate numerous user stories for each user journey. Similar to the user journey, user stories with the tag “book a ride” can be:

  • In order for me to select the most convenient choice, as a user, I want to view nearby drives and their anticipated arrival time.
  • In order for the app to connect me with a qualified driver, I, the user, want to submit my pickup location and destination.
  • I want to be able to track my transportation in real time as a user so that I can be at the pickup point on time.

Making an app that offers a flawless user experience requires first mapping user journeys and crafting user stories.

Even if user journey mapping is started early on, it is constantly improved upon.

User journeys' advantages for app developers

Your app’s full potential can be unlocked by mapping user journeys. This is because it gives you a thorough grasp of the operation and design of your app and makes it possible for you to optimize it.

1- Recognize the needs of the user

You can better understand your users’ wants and preferences by using user journeys.

You may pinpoint important touchpoints and happy or frustrating times by creating a user journey map.

For example, mapping user journeys in a supermarket app can assist you in determining whether or not your target customers experience overload when perusing a long list of products and how to improve the user experience.

2- Strengthen the process of development

The app development process remains user-focused thanks to user journeys. This implies that it guarantees the development team maintains a user-first mindset and never loses focus.

Decisions are made using this user-centric methodology, which spans departments. It makes sure that improving the user experience is the top priority in all area of the app, from design to app marketing.

3- Create stunning user interfaces

User journeys help direct the app design process by emphasizing the important touchpoints. In this manner, you may design user-friendly interfaces for these touchpoints that correspond with their actions.

Simultaneously, you can retain consistency in design aspects across the app and establish visual unity by comprehending journeys across various panels and interactions.

4- Determine opportunities and pain areas

You can find places of friction and bottlenecks in the app experience by analyzing the user journey.

These insightful observations give you chances to innovate and improve, let you solve user issues, and improve the user experience in general.

For example, mapping user journeys in a fitness app can reveal that users frequently have difficulty setting their exercise objectives. You may take it a step further and add functions like progress tracking and customized goal setting.

5- Boost retention and conversion

Understanding a user’s journey from beginning to end will help you optimize every area of your application. Features, designs, calls to action, and message as a whole may all be optimized.

It assists you in maintaining user engagement throughout the entire trip. Additionally, you can make improvements to any potential drop-offs to provide them a truly outstanding experience.

Users are more likely to continue with your app if it consistently gives value and is in line with their goals.

For example, you can simplify the signup process by making the form shorter if you see that users are leaving during that step.

What distinguishes the user journey from the user flow and the customer journey?

The user journey, customer journey, and user flow are all connected ideas in the larger scheme of giving users the greatest app experience.

They do, however, have diverse functions and concentrate on various facets of the user experience.

Customer versus user journeys

The customer journey concentrates on the larger relationship between the user and your brand—both inside and outside of your app—while the user journey describes the series of interactions and experiences a user has while interacting within your app.

The customer journey centers on how a consumer interacts with an app across all platforms, digital and physical. This covers customer service, sales, and marketing channels in addition to those found within the app.

If you have a social media app, for example, the user journey can involve actions like registering, making a profile, uploading material, reacting to other users’ posts, and logging out.

The customer journey map, on the other hand, will also include finding the app through different adverts, downloading and installing it, getting push alerts, getting in touch with customer care, and leaving reviews and ratings.

User flow versus user journey

User flow is a more concentrated and in-depth depiction of the sequential steps users take to accomplish a particular activity within the app, whereas an entire user journey map offers a comprehensive picture of the user’s total engagement with the app.

User flow basically emphasizes the functional elements of an application experience, such as emphasizing the screens, choices, and actions users make during a task.

Let’s use an example to better grasp this.

The user journey for an app that books flights consists of actions including starting the app, looking up flights, entering passenger information, finishing the payment process, and getting a booking confirmation.

The precise screens, input fields, and user actions are detailed in considerably greater depth in the user flow, though. The user flow will include instructions on how to do various tasks, such as choosing the “Book a Flight” option from the app’s homepage, inputting the cities of departure and destination, picking the dates of travel, and more.

Five stages to a solid user journey map for your app

Making an app user path map requires more than just hunches. It is imperative that you collaborate with the development team and adhere to these guidelines.

 

1-Be cognizant of your needs and goals

Prior to starting to create your user journey map, you must have a firm grasp on the purpose, user personas, and business objectives of your app. You will be able to match your business objectives with your user journey map as a result.

Try incorporating members of the finance, marketing, and product teams at this point to determine goals. These goals may include raising conversion rates, enhancing user retention, or raising user engagement, depending on your type of organization.

The better you are able to communicate your needs and user personas to the development team, the more polished the end product of your app will be.

 

 

2- Describe and define the features' scope.

The next step is to decide what features and functionality your app should have after you have a clear idea of the goals you hope to accomplish.

In order to ensure that each feature’s scope and purpose are in line with the needs of the user, you must first consider the viewpoint of the user.

Features must be ranked in order of significance for the user journey and company goals. Consider excluding features that aren’t very important. By removing unnecessary components and shortening development timeframes, this will help you save money on app development expenses.

3- Construct an advanced workflow

Currently, you must draw flow chart diagrams to illustrate the high-level process of your application. You can make use of several tools, such as Lucidchart, Mural, and Miro.

You must map each touchpoint where a user could interact with your app in order to accomplish this. Start with the user’s point of entry into the app and list the primary activities they’ll take to accomplish their objectives in order to make things simple.

This step’s primary goal is to illustrate how your software will assist users in solving their difficulties.

4-Incorporate features into user experiences

Integrate the elements and procedures listed above to create thorough user journeys that show the various routes users could take when using the app.

One trip name may be “assist users in signing up and logging in,” for example. Include all the functionality needed for users to create an account or log in here, such as:

  • Add a phone number when registering.
  • Register using your email address.
  • forgotten recovery password
  • Management of accounts
  • Privacy statement and terms of service
  • Verify your account by email or SMS.
  • Options for guest access and more.

As many user experiences as you can should be created, then enhanced with features.

5- Find bottlenecks and make adjustments

After all of your travels are in front of you, you must analyze them to find any bottlenecks and potential improvement areas.

Determine the points at which users might run into trouble or stop using the service entirely. Look for common problems that users encounter, such difficult navigation or drawn-out procedures, as these could impede their progress.

Actively listen to what your team members have to say, and prioritize improving the things that have the biggest influence on the user experience and business goals.

How user journeys are created using Builder.ai

You should be aware by now that developing user journeys requires a significant amount of labor. It entails having a conversation with developers face-to-face and guiding them through your idea in detail.

But this is also the point at which humanity becomes more noticeable. Many human factors come into play while creating user journeys, such as misinterpreting requirements, losing sight of users, and divergent perspectives on the desired outcome.

The final outcome greatly differs from the original app design due to these human aspects. In the end, this raises the price of developing apps and delays their release.

Builder.ai employs artificial intelligence (AI) to construct user experiences in order to overcome this obstacle.

Deep learning (DL) and natural language processing (NLP) are used by Natasha, the first AI-powered product manager in the world, to enable human-like discussions and process data to automatically construct user journeys.


This implies that there won’t be any differences between your original idea and the finished result, and it also allows us to significantly accelerate the development process.

In summary

Developing an app that users adore requires an optimized user experience. When developing an app from the ground up, your main goal should always be to provide a flawless user experience across the whole app’s user journey.

That is exactly what our AI-powered app builder allows you to do. Click the banner below to get started on your app project with us right now.

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