Map today's journey to find what to fix

Warm-up

From last time. Does each person belong in the office banker group, who pay for the team and chase the money?

1. Anna pays for 11 colleagues and keeps a notebook of who owes her.

   Office banker Different group

   Right, it's an office banker. She pays for everyone, then chases the money.

   Not quite. It's an office banker. She pays for everyone, then chases the money.

2. Ray's bank pays for lunch.

   Office banker Different group

   Right, it's in a different group. Nobody owes anyone. His problem is paperwork.

   Not quite. It's in a different group. Nobody owes anyone. His problem is paperwork.

3. Sara sends payment requests, and everyone pays within the hour.

   Office banker Different group

   Right, it's in a different group. Her money is already solved.

   Not quite. It's in a different group. Her money is already solved.

Last time, you built a persona that can decide something: the office banker. Now Mia wants to see one office banker’s day, stage by stage, to choose what to fix first.

She maps Anna’s day, from the menu at 10:15 to the money days later.

Think first

Anna’s lunch day, in five stages:

1. Share the menu, around 10:15. Forwards it to the group chat.
2. Collect orders, until about 11. Two people don’t reply.
3. Place the order, by 11. Ten minutes on the phone.
4. Hand out lunch, at 1. Checks Ben’s box for peanuts.
5. Get paid back, the rest of the week. $157 short this month.

Which stage should Tiffin fix first? What’s your strongest evidence?

Your answer Hint: name the stage, then give a number and a quote. For a gym, you might write: Booking. It takes members 6 taps, and one said she gives up most weeks.

Lock in my answer Skip, show me

You

Which of these is closest to your answer?

Collecting orders. People reply late, and Sean misses lunch.

Shirish

It’s real, and it costs Anna time. But how often does it go wrong, and how much does it cost her?

Which stage costs her the most, in time and money?

Getting paid back. Anna is $157 short, and Dana stopped ordering because of it.

Shirish

Yes. A number, and the strongest sign in the research: someone gave up.

Is there a stage you’d be wrong to ignore, even though it’s not the one to fix?

Placing the order. That's what Peter asked for.

Shirish

It’s what Peter asked for. But it takes Anna ten minutes.

What does the map say takes her the longest?

Your reply

Continue Skip

You

What this means

Fix getting paid back first. The evidence: three of five managers are owed money. Anna is $157 short this month. And Dana stopped ordering for her team because of it.

But don’t stop reading at the stage you’ll fix. Look at stage 4.

Reset

Here’s Mia’s map, with every stage traced to Anna’s own words.

1. 1 Share the menu 10:15

   Forwards the sandwich place's menu to the office group chat.

   I just forward it. Anna

2. 2 Collect orders 10:15 to 11:00

   Writes each order in her notebook. Tags the people who don't reply, then walks to their desks.

   The developers have headphones on all day. Anna

3. 3 Place the order By 11:00

   Calls the place and reads out the list. About ten minutes.

   The ordering takes ten minutes. Anna

4. 4 Hand out lunch 1:00

   Puts the boxes on the big table. Opens Ben's box to check for peanuts.

   It's scary, honestly. I'm the one who has to remember. Anna

   Don't lose this

5. 5 Get paid back The rest of the week

   Screenshots payments, keeps cash in an envelope, ticks the notebook, sends reminders.

   The money takes my whole week. Anna

   Fix this first

The case that doesn’t fit

Stage 4 is easy to miss. Ben, one of Anna’s colleagues, is allergic to peanuts. Once, the salad place put peanut dressing in his box. He noticed before he ate it. Since then, Anna opens his box before she hands it over.

It happened once, to one person. A map built on what happens most would leave it out. But it’s serious, and nothing Tiffin plans would fix it. It lives in Anna’s head.

A case like this is an edge case: a real person whose story doesn’t fit the pattern. Keep it, and name it. Rare and serious beats common and mild.

A thought experiment: the map as big as the land

Thought experiment

The map as big as the land

Jorge Luis Borges, On Exactitude in Science, 1946

In a very short story, Borges imagines an empire whose mapmakers wanted a perfect map. Each map they drew was more detailed than the last. In the end, they drew a map the same size as the empire, matching it point for point.

It was useless. Nobody could carry it or read it. The next generation left it to rot in the desert.

Think first

Mia could map every minute of Anna’s day. Every message, every tap, every walk to a desk.

How much detail should the map have?

You

Pick the answer closest to yours.

As much as possible. More detail is more true.

Shirish

More true, maybe. But would more detail about forwarding the menu change what Tiffin builds?

Where would more detail change the decision?

Lots of detail where the decision is, and one line everywhere else.

Shirish

Yes. Getting paid back gets the detail: who pays when, how many reminders, how much is still owed. Sharing the menu can stay one line.

And when do you stop adding detail?

Draw the day as it will be after the fix, without the money stage.

Shirish

That’s a picture of the future, not today. And the money stage is your evidence. Delete it, and the reason for the fix is gone.

Where does the fix belong, if not on the map?

Your reply

Continue Skip

You

What this means

Put detail where the decision is, and stop when more detail wouldn’t change what you do.

And keep today’s map about today. I learned this from my own answer to this question. I said:

I guess I would add a reminder, and leave out get paid back, as the new solution would not have this problem.

That deleted the evidence for the fix before anyone had tested it. A fix like add a reminder belongs in a test, not on the map.

Reset

A map is for a decision

A journey map that doesn’t lead to a decision is decoration. I’ve seen what happens when one does.

Words from this lesson

Journey map

The stages of someone’s experience over time, used to choose what to fix. In this lessonAnna's day: share the menu, collect orders, place the order, hand out lunch, get paid back.

Edge case

A real person or moment that doesn’t fit the pattern. Keep it, especially if it’s serious. In this lessonBen's peanut allergy, checked by Anna at hand-out.

Back to your first answer

Your first answer

Your answer

Your answer will show here after you write one at the top of this page.

You skipped this at the top. Answer it now, with what you've learned.

You've read the lesson. Would you change your answer?

I'd keep it I'd change it

Good. Which part of this lesson backs your answer?

Anna's map, stage by stage Ben's box at hand-out The map as big as the land My onboarding map Something else

Why? One line is enough. (optional) What would you say now?

Your bet: did the redesign work?

Your bet

Nora Kim, the growth manager, sends good news. Tiffin’s new checkout went live on 1 September.

Nora, growth manager, to the team: Conversion went from 20% to 26.4%. Same 2,000 visits, 128 more orders.

Did the new checkout work? Make your bet, and say how sure you are.

Your guess

Yes. Conversion went up from 20% to 26.4%. Can't tell yet. Look at phones and computers separately. No. The numbers must be wrong.

How sure are you?

50% 70% 90%

You'll find the answer in Lesson 4.4: Read the numbers before you trust them.

Try this during the week: map one small journey you know, like buying a coffee, in four or five stages. Then ask: which one decision could this map help me make?

Sources

• Jorge Luis Borges, On Exactitude in Science, 1946. A one-paragraph story.
• Jim Kalbach, Mapping Experiences, second edition, 2020. On journey maps and what they’re for.
• The onboarding map is from my own work. Tiffin, Anna and Ben are made up for this course.