Interview synthesis
Structure raw notes into shareable insight.
UX RESEARCH LAB
Empathy map canvas
An empathy map is a tool for deeper user understanding: it puts what they say, think, do, and feel side by side. It helps the team separate assumptions from real observations.
Name the person first, then add notes to the quadrants and the senses and value sections. Collect pains and gains last — they feed personas and ideation.
Who are we empathizing with?
A specific person — not “users”. Capture their role, situation, and the job they need to get done.
Four-quadrant map
Says
Real quotes from interviews or tests
Thinks
Beliefs, doubts, and inner dialogue
Does
Visible behavior, shortcuts, workarounds
Feels
Emotions: fear, excitement, fatigue, pride
Who?
—
Sees and hears
Sees
Environment, competitors, ads, screens in front of them
Hears
Friends, family, teachers, the market
Pains and gains
Pains
Obstacles, fear of failure, friction, cost
Gains
Desires, wins, and what would make it worth it
How to fill the map
An empathy map is for listening, not for inventing a user.
- Name a real someone. If you have several people, make a map for each.
- Keep quotes and observed behavior apart from inner thoughts and feelings. Mark guesses as assumptions.
- Collect pains and gains last — they feed personas, How Might We prompts, and the value proposition.
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Why you’ll love this
An empathy map separates user evidence from team assumptions. Sort observations into four quadrants, then pull pains and gains that feed journey work and ideation.
How to jump in
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Name the user or persona
Keep one subject per map so notes stay coherent.
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Fill the four quadrants
Capture Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels with evidence — not decorative guesses.
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Extract pains and gains
Convert quadrant notes into pains/gains for journey mapping or ideation.
What you walk away with
- Classic four-quadrant plus pains/gains
- On-device storage
- Built for UX research classes
- Links to persona and journey tools
Where it shines
Stakeholder workshops
Create one shared picture of the user experience.
Journey inputs
Prepare emotion and pain signals for each journey stage.
Quick answers
Before or after the persona?
Both work. With interviews, empathy first; with early hypotheses, start from a proto-persona.
How many maps per product?
One map per important segment usually beats one mixed map.
Where is data stored?
Locally in your browser only.