Field guide
Know-Your-Users
Replace your assumptions about users with evidence
- When to use it
- Reach for this when you’re guessing about who your users are and want real evidence before you design for them.
- Time
- 2–3 weeks
- You walk away with
- Evidence-based insights and personas you can design from
How it runs
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Week 1
Frame what to learn
Write the discovery brief, then talk to 5 to 8 users with ready-made interview scripts.
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Week 2
Confirm and synthesize
Run a survey to confirm the patterns at scale, then cluster the findings into named themes.
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Week 3
Map the experience
Build an empathy map for each user type and a journey map of the end-to-end experience.
Worksheets
Fill them in here and they save in your browser, or print the PDF. Nothing you type leaves your device.
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Project Discovery Brief
Frame who you think you’re for and what you need to learn
About 1 hr 15 min PDF of Project Discovery Brief
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Interview Script Templates
Talk to stakeholders and users with ready-made scripts
About 45 min PDF of Interview Script Templates
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Survey Question Bank
Confirm the patterns you heard, at scale
About 1 hr PDF of Survey Question Bank
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Empathy Map Canvas
Synthesize one user type from what you gathered
About 45 min PDF of Empathy Map Canvas
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Affinity Mapping & Synthesis
Cluster all the findings into named themes
About 2 hr 30 min PDF of Affinity Mapping & Synthesis
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Journey Map & Service Blueprint
Map the end-to-end experience and where it breaks
About 1 hr 30 min PDF of Journey Map & Service Blueprint
Next field guide: Design Sprint Companion