coalesce-labs/journey-map

Journey Map Skill

Map user experiences and customer lifecycles. Use two modes: User-focused (touchpoints, emotions, pain points) and Business-focused (full lifecycle, revenue metrics, cross-functional).

When to Use This Skill

User Journey Mapping:

• Understanding how users experience your product
• Identifying friction points in user flows
• Designing better onboarding or core experiences
• Aligning team around user perspective

Customer Journey Mapping:

• Planning go-to-market strategy
• Optimizing sales and success processes
• Understanding full customer lifecycle (awareness → retention)
• Cross-functional alignment (marketing, sales, product, support)

Two Modes

Mode 1: User Journey Map

Focus: How users interact with your product Scope: Single feature or product experience Audience: Product, design, engineering teams Duration: Covers minutes to weeks

Mode 2: Customer Journey Map

Focus: How customers move through business relationship Scope: Full lifecycle from awareness to advocacy Audience: GTM teams (marketing, sales, CS) + product Duration: Covers months to years

Workflow

Step 1: Choose Mode

Ask the PM:

Which type of journey map do you need?

1. **User Journey Map**
   - Maps: Product experience (onboarding, key workflow, feature usage)
   - Focus: Touchpoints, emotions, pain points, opportunities
   - Example: "User onboarding journey" or "Checkout flow journey"

2. **Customer Journey Map**
   - Maps: Full business relationship (awareness → expansion)
   - Focus: Lifecycle stages, revenue metrics, cross-functional handoffs
   - Example: "Enterprise customer journey" or "Self-serve PLG journey"

Your choice: [1 or 2]

---

MODE 1: User Journey Map

Step 2A: Define Journey Scope

Journey Name: [e.g., "New user onboarding"]

User Persona: [Who is this journey for?]
- [Persona name/type]
- [Key characteristics]
- [Goals/motivations]

Journey Goal: [What is the user trying to accomplish?]
- [Primary goal]

Time Span: [How long does this journey take?]
- [Minutes/Hours/Days/Weeks]

Entry Point: [Where does journey start?]
- [Starting point]

Exit Point: [Where does journey end?]
- [Ending point - success state]

Step 3A: Map Journey Phases

Break journey into 3-7 phases:

## Journey Phases

1. **[Phase 1 Name]** (e.g., "Awareness")
   - Duration: [Time in this phase]
   - User goal: [What they're trying to do]

2. **[Phase 2 Name]** (e.g., "Signup")
   - Duration: [Time in this phase]
   - User goal: [What they're trying to do]

3. **[Phase 3 Name]** (e.g., "First Use")
   - Duration: [Time in this phase]
   - User goal: [What they're trying to do]

[Continue for all phases...]

Step 4A: Detail Each Phase

For each phase, document:

### Phase: [Phase Name]

#### Touchpoints
[Every interaction user has with product]
- [Touchpoint 1: e.g., "Landing page"]
- [Touchpoint 2: e.g., "Signup form"]
- [Touchpoint 3: e.g., "Email confirmation"]

#### User Actions
[What user does]
- [Action 1: e.g., "Clicks 'Sign Up'"]
- [Action 2: e.g., "Enters email and password"]
- [Action 3: e.g., "Checks email for confirmation"]

#### User Thoughts
[What they're thinking]
- "[Thought 1: e.g., 'Is this worth my time?']"
- "[Thought 2: e.g., 'Will this be complicated?']"

#### Emotions
[How they feel - use emoji + description]
- 😐 Neutral: [Description]
- 😟 Frustrated: [Description]
- 😊 Satisfied: [Description]

#### Pain Points
🔴 [Critical pain]: [Description]
🟡 [Moderate pain]: [Description]
🟢 [Minor annoyance]: [Description]

#### Opportunities
💡 [Improvement 1]: [What we could do better]
💡 [Improvement 2]: [What we could do better]

#### Metrics
- [Metric 1: e.g., "Conversion rate: 45%"]
- [Metric 2: e.g., "Time to complete: 3.2 minutes"]

Output Format (User Journey Map)

# User Journey Map: [Journey Name]

**Persona:** [User type]
**Goal:** [What they want to accomplish]
**Duration:** [Time span]

---

## Journey Overview

[Entry Point] → [Phase 1] → [Phase 2] → [Phase 3] → ... → [Success State]

---

## Phase 1: [Phase Name]

**Duration:** [Time] | **Goal:** [User objective]

| Element           | Details                                  |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Touchpoints**   | [List touchpoints]                       |
| **Actions**       | [User actions]                           |
| **Thoughts**      | [What they think]                        |
| **Emotions**      | 😐 Neutral → 😟 Frustrated               |
| **Pains**         | 🔴 [Critical pain]<br>🟡 [Moderate pain] |
| **Opportunities** | 💡 [Improvement 1]<br>💡 [Improvement 2] |
| **Metrics**       | [Key metrics for this phase]             |

---

[Repeat for each phase]

---

## Summary

### Biggest Pain Points

1. 🔴 [Critical pain 1] - In [Phase X]
2. 🔴 [Critical pain 2] - In [Phase Y]
3. 🟡 [Moderate pain 3] - In [Phase Z]

### Top Opportunities

1. 💡 [Opportunity 1] - Would improve [metric/experience]
2. 💡 [Opportunity 2] - Would improve [metric/experience]
3. 💡 [Opportunity 3] - Would improve [metric/experience]

### Emotional Journey

😊 Excited → 😐 Neutral → 😟 Frustrated → 🤔 Confused → 😊 Satisfied [Phase 1] [Phase 2] [Phase 3] [Phase 4] [Phase 5]

### Next Steps
- [ ] [Action 1: e.g., "Simplify signup form"]
- [ ] [Action 2: e.g., "Add progress indicator to onboarding"]
- [ ] [Action 3: e.g., "Reduce time to first value"]

---

MODE 2: Customer Journey Map

Step 2B: Define Customer Lifecycle

Customer Type: [e.g., "Enterprise B2B customer"]
- [Segment details]
- [Typical company size/industry]

Journey Scope: [Full lifecycle or specific segment?]
- [E.g., "Awareness through first renewal"]

Business Model: [How do customers buy/use product?]
- [Sales-led / Product-led / Hybrid]
- [Contract length: Monthly/Annual/Multi-year]

Revenue Model: [How do we make money?]
- [Subscription / Usage-based / Hybrid]

Step 3B: Map Lifecycle Stages

Typical B2B SaaS stages:

## Lifecycle Stages

1. **Awareness** (Pre-customer)
   - How they discover us

2. **Consideration** (Pre-customer)
   - Evaluating alternatives

3. **Purchase** (Conversion)
   - Becoming a customer

4. **Onboarding** (Early customer)
   - Getting set up

5. **Adoption** (Active customer)
   - Using product regularly

6. **Expansion** (Growth)
   - Upgrading, adding seats/features

7. **Renewal** (Retention)
   - Staying vs churning

8. **Advocacy** (Champion)
   - Referring others, case studies

Step 4B: Detail Each Stage

For each stage, document:

### Stage: [Stage Name]

#### Timeframe
[How long customers typically spend in this stage]
- Average: [X days/weeks/months]

#### Customer Goals
[What customer wants to achieve]
- [Goal 1]
- [Goal 2]

#### Company Goals
[What we want to achieve]
- [Goal 1: e.g., "Convert 30% to paid"]
- [Goal 2: e.g., "Time to value < 7 days"]

#### Key Touchpoints
[Every interaction customer has with company]
- [Touchpoint 1: e.g., "Website visit"]
- [Touchpoint 2: e.g., "Sales demo"]
- [Touchpoint 3: e.g., "Email nurture sequence"]

#### Responsible Teams
[Who owns this stage]
- Primary: [Team name]
- Supporting: [Other teams]

#### Key Activities
[What happens in this stage]
- [Activity 1]
- [Activity 2]
- [Activity 3]

#### Pain Points
🔴 [Critical friction]: [Description]
🟡 [Moderate friction]: [Description]

#### Success Metrics
- [Metric 1: e.g., "Trial-to-paid conversion: 25%"]
- [Metric 2: e.g., "Time to first value: 5 days"]

#### Revenue Impact
- MRR/ARR contribution: [$ or %]
- Conversion rate: [%]
- Churn risk: [High/Med/Low]

Step 5B: Map Cross-Functional Handoffs

Identify where responsibility transfers:

## Key Handoffs

**Marketing → Sales**
- Trigger: [When leads are qualified]
- Handoff process: [How it happens]
- Common issues: [What breaks]

**Sales → Customer Success**
- Trigger: [When deal closes]
- Handoff process: [How it happens]
- Common issues: [What breaks]

**Customer Success → Product**
- Trigger: [When customer is self-sufficient]
- Handoff process: [How it happens]
- Common issues: [What breaks]

Output Format (Customer Journey Map)

# Customer Journey Map: [Customer Type]

**Segment:** [Customer segment]
**Business Model:** [Sales-led/Product-led/Hybrid]
**Journey Duration:** [Typical customer lifecycle length]

---

## Lifecycle Overview

Awareness → Consideration → Purchase → Onboarding → Adoption → Expansion → Renewal → Advocacy [Marketing] [Marketing] [Sales] [CS] [CS/Product] [Sales/CS] [CS] [Marketing]

---

## Stage 1: [Stage Name]

**Timeframe:** [Duration] | **Owner:** [Primary team]

| Element | Details |
|---------|---------|
| **Customer Goals** | [What customer wants] |
| **Company Goals** | [What we want] |
| **Touchpoints** | [List all interactions] |
| **Key Activities** | [What happens] |
| **Pain Points** | 🔴 [Critical]<br>🟡 [Moderate] |
| **Metrics** | [Success metrics] |
| **Revenue Impact** | [MRR/ARR contribution] |

**Handoff to next stage:** [How/when transition happens]

---

[Repeat for each stage]

---

## Summary

### Conversion Funnel

| Stage | Volume | Conversion | Time | | ------------- | ------ | ---------- | ---------- | | Awareness | 10,000 | - | - | | Consideration | 1,000 | 10% | 2 weeks | | Purchase | 200 | 20% | 1 week | | Onboarding | 200 | 100% | 2 weeks | | Adoption | 150 | 75% | 1 month | | Expansion | 60 | 40% | 6 months | | Renewal | 180 | 90% | 12 months | | Advocacy | 30 | 17% | 18+ months |

### Critical Pain Points by Stage
1. **[Stage]:** 🔴 [Pain] - Causes [X% drop-off]
2. **[Stage]:** 🔴 [Pain] - Adds [X days to cycle]
3. **[Stage]:** 🟡 [Pain] - Reduces [satisfaction score]

### Revenue Optimization Opportunities
1. **[Opportunity 1]** - Could improve [metric] by [X%]
   - Stage impacted: [Stage]
   - Investment: [Low/Med/High]
   - Expected impact: [Revenue/retention gain]

2. **[Opportunity 2]** - Could improve [metric] by [X%]
   - Stage impacted: [Stage]
   - Investment: [Low/Med/High]
   - Expected impact: [Revenue/retention gain]

### Cross-Functional Issues
- **[Handoff 1]:** [Problem and impact]
- **[Handoff 2]:** [Problem and impact]

### Next Steps
- [ ] [Action 1: Owned by [Team]]
- [ ] [Action 2: Owned by [Team]]
- [ ] [Action 3: Owned by [Team]]

---

Visual Representation Tips

Journey maps are often visual. If creating slides/diagrams:

User Journey Map Visual:

Phase 1      Phase 2       Phase 3       Phase 4
────────────────────────────────────────────────
Actions:     [Icons/steps in each phase]
Emotions:    😊 → 😐 → 😟 → 😊 (line graph)
Touchpoints: [Product screens, emails, etc.]
Pains:       🔴🟡 markers at friction points
Ideas:       💡 markers for opportunities

Customer Journey Map Visual:

Timeline: [Months 1-12+]
Stages:   Awareness → Consideration → Purchase → ...
Teams:    Marketing → Sales → CS → Product
Metrics:  [Conversion rates between stages]
Revenue:  [MRR/ARR progression over time]

Pro Tips

1. Use real data: Don't guess - use analytics, interviews, support tickets
2. Emotion matters: The feeling is as important as the function
3. Quantify pain: "45% of users drop off here" > "users get stuck"
4. One persona at a time: Different users = different journeys
5. Update regularly: Journeys change as product evolves
6. Workshop format: Best created collaboratively with cross-functional team
7. Prioritize ruthlessly: Can't fix everything - focus on biggest impact

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Too many phases (10+ is overwhelming) ✅ 3-7 phases that map to real stages

❌ Company perspective only (what we want) ✅ Customer perspective first (what they experience)

❌ Happy path only (ignoring failures) ✅ Include drop-offs, errors, frustrations

❌ No metrics (purely qualitative) ✅ Quantify: conversion rates, time, sentiment scores

❌ One-time exercise (never referenced again) ✅ Living document, updated quarterly

Integration with Other Skills

Feeds into:

• /prd-draft - Inform feature specs with journey insights
• /write-prod-strategy - User/customer understanding in strategy
• /activation-analysis - Setup → Aha → Habit maps to journey phases
• /retention-analysis - Journey reveals retention drivers

Requires:

• User research (interviews, surveys)
• Analytics data (funnel metrics, behavior)
• Support data (common issues, friction points)

Questions to Ask Before Starting

1. Scope: Single feature flow or full customer lifecycle?
2. Persona: Which user/customer type are we mapping?
3. Data sources: What research/analytics inform this map?
4. Audience: Who will use this journey map?
5. Decisions: What product/business decisions will this inform?

Remember: Journey maps are tools for empathy and alignment. A good journey map makes the team feel what the customer feels - and act on it.

---

Context Routing Strategy

When the PM uses /journey-map, I automatically:

1. Pull User Research for Personas & Pain Points

Source: thoughts/shared/pm/research/, user research MCPs (research repository, UserTesting)

• What I look for: User personas, quotes, pain points, behavior patterns
• How I use it: Pre-populate persona sections with real research data
• Example: Auto-pull quotes from interviews: "I always get stuck at the checkout step"

2. Extract Relevant Metrics & Analytics

Source: PostHog, PostHog, Posthog (if connected), thoughts/shared/pm/metrics/

• What I look for: Conversion rates, drop-off points, time-in-flow metrics
• How I use it: Quantify pain points with actual data
• Example: "Phase 3 has a 45% drop-off rate (vs 12% in Phase 2)"

3. Align With Strategy & OKRs

Source: thoughts/shared/pm/frameworks/, PRDs

• What I look for: Current strategic focus, activation goals, retention goals
• How I use it: Suggest which journey phases matter most for strategy
• Example: "Since we're focused on retention, let's emphasize the habit-formation phase"

4. Cross-Reference Customer Lifecycle

Source: Sales/CS data, past customer journey maps in thoughts/shared/pm/

• What I look for: Typical customer progression, expansion patterns
• How I use it: Build customer journey map that aligns with business model
• Example: For PLG model, include activation → expansion → advocacy phases

5. Identify Cross-Functional Stakeholders

Source: thoughts/shared/pm/context/stakeholder-template.md

• What I look for: Who owns different journey phases (sales, product, CS, success)
• How I use it: Suggest who to involve in journey mapping workshop
• Example: "Phase 3 (onboarding) involves Product + CS, should workshop together"

6. Route for Action

Routing logic:

• User journey map: Feeds into /prd-draft and design decisions
• Customer journey map: Feeds into GTM strategy and /write-prod-strategy
• Activation journey: Maps to /activation-analysis framework
• Retention journey: Maps to /retention-analysis cohorts

---

Output Quality Self-Check

Before presenting output to the PM, verify:

• [ ] File saved to correct location: Output saved to thoughts/shared/pm/journey-maps/[journey-name]-[date].md
• [ ] Context routing table was checked: Reviewed thoughts/shared/pm/research/ for user research, interview transcripts, and persona data before building the map
• [ ] Every stage has all four elements: Each journey phase includes actions, thoughts, emotions, and pain points (no empty or missing sections)
• [ ] User quotes from research included: Where available, real user quotes from thoughts/shared/pm/research/ are embedded in relevant journey stages (not fabricated quotes)
• [ ] Opportunities linked to specific product improvements: Each opportunity names a concrete product change (e.g., "add progress bar to onboarding step 3"), not generic advice like "improve the experience"
• [ ] Emotional journey shows highs and lows: The emotional arc across stages is not flat; it includes at least one high point and one low point with explanations for the shifts