What do empathy maps, personas, and user journey maps help create?

Empathy maps, personas, and user journey maps are fundamental tools in user experience design that contribute to the creation of a problem statement. These tools are designed to help designers and researchers understand users' needs, motivations, pain points, and experiences.

Empathy maps focus on capturing what users say, think, do, and feel, providing insights into their emotional landscape. Personas represent fictional characters based on user research, embodying characteristics of real users to guide design decisions. User journey maps visualize the steps users take to achieve a goal, highlighting interactions and experiences throughout the process.

Together, these tools enable designers to synthesize user insights effectively, leading to a clear articulation of the problem that needs to be solved. The problem statement serves as a foundation for developing solutions that truly address user needs, ensuring that the design process is grounded in a deep understanding of the target audience. This culminates in creating products or services that resonate with users, making the problem statement a crucial anchor point in the design process.