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Leveraging Customer Journey, User Flows and Service Blueprints
Using tools and diagrams to visualise complex problems and interactions in a business
Intern: “What’s the difference between a customer journey map and a user flow diagram?”
Colleague: “It’s the scale.”
I overheard this exchange in my office the other day when my colleague assigned work to his intern. He explained about the diagrams, but by that time, my mind has drifted elsewhere to think of an answer to the question.
Customer journeys (or user journeys) and user flows are two tools commonly used in product or service design processes. Some people think they are the same, while others, like my colleague, think the user journeys cover a wider range than user flows. To add to the confusion, a service blueprint is also similar (it’s the scale!?)!
Defining its scale
User flows detail a product or service process. For instance, this includes the nitty-gritty details of an interaction of a button on an interface. It could also be an action or decision that triggers an activity online and offline.
Customer journey maps focus on the user experience design of the entire process. This includes processes before, during, and after using a product or a service. Some of these processes may not be addressed by the current product or service offerings. A journey map typically has a high-level overview of the user flows.
Service blueprints cover the entire process of using a product or service. It includes the front stage, backstage, and support activities that facilitate the process. For example, this includes the logistics of ordering ingredients at a restaurant or a retriever of data…
