User Journey Mapping

Position in workflow: v0.4 Persona Definition → v0.4 User Journey Mapping → v0.4 Screen Flow Definition

User journeys transform features into paths. A journey answers: "How does [persona] go from [trigger] to [value moment] using [features]?"

Consumes

This skill requires prior work from v0.3-v0.4:

• PER-* persona entries (from v0.4 Persona Definition) — Behavioral profiles that journeys are built around; each journey belongs to a specific persona

• FEA-* feature entries (from v0.3 Features Value Planning) — Feature list that becomes journey steps; validates that journeys use only MVP-scoped features

• KPI-* outcome definitions (from v0.3 Outcome Definition) — Success metrics that journeys drive; Core journeys must tie to Tier 1/2 KPIs

• MVP-SCOPE artifact (from v0.3 Features Value Planning) — Explicit feature boundary; journeys must use only features in MVP-SCOPE, no backlog features

• BR-* business rules (from v0.3 Commercial Model) — Constraints that affect journey design (pricing tiers affect onboarding paths, moat rules affect targeting journeys, etc.)

This skill assumes v0.4 Persona Definition is complete.

Produces

This skill creates/updates:

• UJ-* entries (user journeys, confidence 2-3/5) — Paths from trigger through steps to value moment, tied to PER-/FEA-/KPI- with pain point identification

• Journey sequencing artifact — Dependency map showing which journeys gate which (Onboarding gates Core; Core gates Power User)

All UJ- entries should include:

• confidence: 2-3/5 (based on design validation and feature implementation certainty)

• Evidence source citations (PER-ID, FEA-ID, KPI-ID references)

• Forward target: "Would move to 4/5 if validated in beta with actual persona users"

Example UJ- entry with confidence:

UJ-001: First Report Generation Persona: PER-001 (Overwhelmed Ops Manager) Type: Core Trigger: User completes onboarding and sees empty dashboard Goal: Generate first automated report to see time-saving value Confidence: 2/5 (source: design-validation + feature-status-in-development; KPI-002 links to conversion)

Steps:

1. Click "Create Report" → FEA-003 (one-click reports) [In MVP-SCOPE]
2. Select data source → FEA-001 (auto-sync) [In MVP-SCOPE]
3. Choose report template → FEA-008 (templates) [In MVP-SCOPE]
4. Preview report → FEA-003 [In MVP-SCOPE]
5. Export/share report → FEA-009 (export) [In MVP-SCOPE]

Pain Points:

• Step 2: User may not have connected data source yet (dependency on UJ-002)
• Step 3: Template overload if too many choices (design concern; recommend 3-5 templates max)

Moment of Value: Seeing the completed report with their actual data KPI Link: KPI-002 (activation rate — user completes first valuable action) Success Metric: Time from "Create Report" click to export ≤ 5 minutes Dependencies: BR-015 (data format rules), UJ-002 (data source connection must precede)

Next Target: "Would move to 4/5 if 5+ beta users complete this journey in ≤5 minutes and report value"

Journey Types

Type Purpose Priority Signal Example

Core Primary value delivery Must complete for activation First report generated

Onboarding First-time user setup Blocks all other journeys Account creation → first action

Recovery Error handling, support Retention protection Password reset, billing issue

Power User Advanced workflows Expansion/upsell Bulk operations, integrations

Rule: Define Onboarding first (it gates everything), then Core journeys (they deliver KPI-), then others.

Journey Anatomy

Every journey has:

• Trigger — What causes the user to start? (Event, not "opens app")

• Steps — Actions linked to FEA- features

• Pain Points — Where friction exists (design around these)

• Moment of Value — When user achieves goal (this drives KPI-)

Mapping Process

Pull PER- (personas) from Persona Definition

• Each journey belongs to a specific persona

Pull FEA- (features) and KPI- (outcomes) from v0.3

• Features are the building blocks of journey steps

• KPIs tell you which journeys matter most

Define trigger events

• What causes the user to start this journey?

• Be specific: "Receives calendar invite" not "opens app"

Map step flow using features

• Each step = an action the user takes

• Link each step to the FEA- that enables it

Identify pain points

• Where might the user get confused, frustrated, or blocked?

• These inform UX design decisions

Mark "moments of value"

• When does the user get the payoff?

• This should tie to KPI- measurement

Create UJ- entries with full traceability

UJ- Output Template

UJ-XXX: [Journey Title] Persona: [PER-XXX] Type: [Core | Onboarding | Recovery | Power User] Trigger: [Event that initiates journey] Goal: [What user wants to accomplish]

Steps:

1. [Action] → FEA-XXX
2. [Action] → FEA-XXX
3. [Action] → FEA-XXX ...

Pain Points:

• [Step X]: [Potential friction — e.g., "requires context switch"]
• [Step Y]: [Potential friction]

Moment of Value: [When user achieves goal — be specific] KPI Link: [KPI-XXX this journey drives] Success Metric: [How we measure journey completion] Dependencies: [BR-XXX constraints, API-XXX if known]

Example UJ- entry:

UJ-001: First Report Generation Persona: PER-001 (Overwhelmed Ops Manager) Type: Core Trigger: User completes onboarding and sees empty dashboard Goal: Generate first automated report to see time-saving value

Steps:

1. Click "Create Report" → FEA-003 (one-click reports)
2. Select data source → FEA-001 (auto-sync)
3. Choose report template → FEA-008 (templates)
4. Preview report → FEA-003
5. Export/share report → FEA-009 (export)

Pain Points:

• Step 2: User may not have connected data source yet (dependency on UJ-002)
• Step 3: Template overload if too many choices

Moment of Value: Seeing the completed report with their actual data KPI Link: KPI-002 (activation rate) Success Metric: Time from "Create Report" click to export ≤ 5 minutes Dependencies: BR-015 (data format rules), UJ-002 (data source connection)

Feature-to-Journey Validation

After mapping journeys, validate:

• No orphaned features: Every FEA- appears in at least one UJ-

• No journey gaps: Every step has a FEA- that enables it

• KPI coverage: Core journeys tie to Tier 1/2 KPIs

If a FEA- isn't in any journey, either:

• Add it to a journey (you missed a use case), or

• Cut it from scope (it's not needed)

Journey Sequencing

Map dependencies between journeys:

UJ-000: Onboarding (gates all) ↓ UJ-001: First Report (Core) ← KPI-002 (activation) ↓ UJ-002: Data Source Connection (Core) ← KPI-003 (depth) ↓ UJ-003: Team Invite (Power User) ← KPI-004 (expansion)

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Anti-Pattern Signal Fix

Feature-first journeys Steps = feature list dumped in order Start with user goal, then map features to it

No trigger "User opens app" Define specific event: "receives notification"

No value moment Journey ends without payoff Each journey needs clear outcome

Orphaned features FEA- not in any journey Add to journey or cut from scope

Generic personas "User does X" Specify PER-: "PER-001 does X"

Happy path only No pain points identified Anticipate where users struggle

Mega-journeys 15+ steps Split into sub-journeys

Quality Gates

Before proceeding to Screen Flow Definition:

• Onboarding journey defined first

• All Core journeys mapped to KPI-

• Every FEA- appears in at least one journey

• Every journey has a specific trigger (not "opens app")

• Pain points identified for friction design

• Journey dependencies documented

Downstream Connections

UJ- entries feed into:

Consumer What It Uses Example

v0.4 Screen Flow Definition Steps become screens UJ-001 Step 3 → SCR-005

v0.6 Technical Specification Journeys inform API sequences UJ-001 → API-001, API-002 flow

v0.7 Test Planning Journeys become E2E tests TEST-020 validates UJ-001

v0.9 GTM Journey-based onboarding messaging "Complete [UJ-001] in 5 minutes"

Detailed References

• Journey mapping examples: See references/examples.md

• UJ- entry template: See assets/uj.md

• Journey sequencing guide: See references/sequencing.md