# Customer journey map

Five rows, one per stage of the journey. Fill left to right per stage before moving to the next one -- it keeps the map honest rather than aspirational.

Fill in each section below. Delete the guidance text once you've written your own answer.

## Stages

Guidance: The distinct phases of the journey, in order. Usually 4-6. Name them from the user's perspective, not the system's.



## Actions

Guidance: What the user actually does at each stage. One or two concrete actions per stage.



## Thoughts

Guidance: What is going through their head at that point -- questions, assumptions, uncertainty.



## Emotions

Guidance: One word or a short phrase per stage, plus a rough high/neutral/low so the pattern is visible at a glance.



## Opportunities

Guidance: One design opportunity per low point. Specific enough to hand to a designer, not "improve the experience".



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## Worked example

This is a filled-in example, not a template to copy -- it shows what "good" looks like for each field above.

**Stages:** 1. Receipt arrives -> 2. Decide when to submit -> 3. Fill in the claim -> 4. Wait for approval -> 5. Get reimbursed (or find out why not).

**Actions:** Stage 3: Opens the app, photographs or uploads the receipt, types in the amount and category, guesses which cost centre to charge it to, submits.

**Thoughts:** Stage 3: "Is this the right category? I don't actually know what cost centre my team uses for this." Stage 4: "Did that even go through? There's no confirmation."

**Emotions:** Stage 1: neutral. Stage 3: mild anxiety (uncertain about categorisation). Stage 4: low -- anxious, no visibility. Stage 5: relief if paid, frustration if not.

**Opportunities:** Stage 3: auto-suggest cost centre from the employee's team, editable. Stage 4: add a status indicator (submitted / in review / approved) so people stop re-checking or re-submitting.

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