Create a User Journey Map

What is this recipe?

A user journey map is a visual story of a resident’s experience as they interact with a council service to achieve a specific goal. It maps out, step-by-step, every action a person takes and every touchpoint they have with the council—whether that’s using the website, making a phone call, receiving a letter, or visiting an office in person.

Crucially, it goes beyond just the process steps. A good journey map also captures what the user is thinking and feeling (their emotions, frustrations, and moments of delight) at each stage.

The purpose is to see the service from the outside-in, from the resident’s perspective. It helps teams across different council departments to build a shared understanding of the complete user experience, rather than just seeing their own small part of the process. This allows you to pinpoint ‘pain points’ and identify the best opportunities for improvement.

When is it good to use?

This is a brilliant recipe for understanding the bigger picture of a service, especially one that isn’t just a simple online form.

To understand a complex, multi-channel service, like the process of applying for a social care needs assessment, which might involve online forms, phone calls, and home visits.
When you need to get different teams (e.g., Customer Services, Digital, Waste Management) in a room to agree on what the real problems are with a service.
To visualise how online and offline services connect, such as booking a slot at the household waste recycling centre online and then experiencing the check-in and visit.
Before starting a project to redesign a service, to ensure you’re focusing on the biggest problems for residents.
When you want to understand why a service is causing a high number of complaints or follow-up calls.

How does it work?

Creating a user journey map is a team sport. You’ll need a big wall or online whiteboard, sticky notes, and evidence from user research (like interviews).

Choose Your User and Scenario: Be specific. Don’t just map “a resident.” Choose a specific persona and a clear goal. For example, “Priya, a new parent, wants to find and register her baby’s birth.”
Define the Stages: Break the journey into high-level phases from the user’s perspective. For registering a birth, these might be: Finding Information, Booking an Appointment, Preparing Documents, Attending the Appointment, and Receiving the Certificate.
Map the Actions & Touchpoints: For each stage, list every action the user takes on separate sticky notes. What are they actually doing? (e.g., ‘Googles “register birth [council name]”‘, ‘Tries to find appointment times’, ‘Calls the council’). Note the touchpoint for each action (Website, Phone, Register Office).
Map their Thoughts & Feelings: This is the most important part. Underneath the actions, add what the user is thinking and feeling. You can use an ’emotional lane’ with a line that goes up for positive emotions and down for negative ones. (e.g., At the ‘Booking’ stage, they might be feeling ‘Anxious’ and thinking “What if I can’t get an appointment in time?”).
Identify Pain Points & Opportunities: Look at the completed map. Where does the emotion line dip? Where are the negative thoughts? These are your pain points. For every pain point, your team should brainstorm an opportunity to make things better.

An example

A council wants to improve the experience of applying for a resident’s parking permit. They map the journey of “David, who has just moved into the area.”

The map reveals several major pain points:

Action: David tries to apply online but needs to upload a proof of address, like a council tax bill.
Thought: “But I haven’t got a council tax bill yet, I only moved in yesterday! How can I prove where I live?”
Feeling: Stuck and Frustrated. 😡
Action: He abandons the online form and calls the council. After a 15-minute wait, he’s told to email his tenancy agreement to a generic email address.
Thought: “Has anyone even received my email? Will I get a parking ticket while I wait?”
Feeling: Anxious and Uncertain. 😟

The better outcome: The journey map makes it obvious to everyone that the service is failing new residents. The “pain points” create clear opportunities. The team redesigns the service to:

Allow other forms of ID (like a tenancy agreement or solicitor’s letter) to be uploaded directly into the online form.
Send an automatic email confirmation with a reference number and an estimated response time.
Issue a temporary 14-day permit instantly upon application.

This turns a frustrating, channel-shifting experience into a smooth and reassuring one, reducing calls and improving resident satisfaction.

What is this recipe?

When is it good to use?

How does it work?

An example

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