Want to speed up design? Use Experience maps to streamline the design process.

Why a Miro Experience Map Could Have Saved Us from 15 Hours of Meetings, 20+ Design Revisions, and 100+ Messages and Emails

Ever been in projects that start off great and then get stuck in the mud? The feel-good cadence replaced with endless meetings, review cycles, and EMAIL AVALANCHE!

Making seemingly endless design decisions in meetings. Chopping and changing as new requirements come to light.

That’s what happens when you use UX design specifically visual design to ‘gather requirements’.

Iteration is all good, but there’s a better way. Say hello to experience maps, using tools like Miro or Figjam.

Experience Maps Explained

I think of user experience maps like a treasure map, but for user journeys.

It lays out the big steps a user takes. It shows where to go, and where NOT to go.

But what’s the treasure?

**Internally **- getting all the requirements that the business wants, but couldn’t articulate in meetings. Plural.

**Externally **- smooth, seamless interactions for the users and product growth.

Experience maps get **everyone **on your team on the same page.
By everyone I mean Business owners, Product managers, Creatives and the random bystander who wandered into the wrong room – all aligned on one clear vision.

Why I use simple experience maps

There are three reasons why User experience maps save time for me.

• Efficient Requirement Gathering: Helps me nail down requirements that simplify the downstream design and update process.
• Optimal User and Business Process Flows: The primary, secondary and edge cases are exposed far quicker – and with less friction.
• Focus on Best User Experience: The design phase focuses on actual design – not process solving. Imagine that.

Try it yourself. Your current clunky workflow will feel like dial-up internet days of yore.

Ground Rules for Effective Experience Mapping

Here’s how I run my sessions – to maximize efficiency.

• Start with the 90% Use Case: Start with what most users will do.
• Solve Simple use cases first
• Map complex, but still primary huse
• Address Secondary cases next
• Finish with the edge cases

This makes sure you hit the big issues upfront. And if it takes multiple sessions – then you’re making concrete progress in each session without getting bogged down.

Structure of Experience Mapping Sessions

But how do you get from here to there?
Here’s how I structure my sessions.

• Session 1: Current State Analysis

  • Walk through the current flow.
  • Spot what works. Flag what doesn’t.
  • Understand current unmet needs
    

• Session 2: Future State Mapping

  • Map out the perfect, simplest case.
  • Example: In one session, the new streamlined approach was a hit. The business team loved it. They even called it “the best meeting ever.” And yes, they were excited to come back for more.

• Session 3: Complex Case Mapping

  •  Map a common but tricky case.
  • Find edge cases. Don’t solve them just yet.
  • Note extra requirements. The deeper the dive, the more you uncover.
  • Fun fact: We found out some ‘requirements’ were just old habits. Who knew?
    
• Session 4: Draft User Flows and Feature Prioritization
  • Show draft user flows.
  • Reviewing wireframes turns ideas into real things. Discussions get sharper and more focused.
  • More requirements pop up. Designs get better, step by step.

Smoothen out your UX Design phase

The switch from experience mapping to UX design? It should feel smooth. Like butter.

By creating solid experience maps, you avoid the pain most teams suffer through in the long and torturous design phase.

Conclusion

Imagine fewer painful meetings, fewer revisions, and way fewer emails. Sounds like a dream, right?
Simple experience maps get everyone on the same page. Early. No more confusion. Just clear, aligned visions from the start.
And it leads to better user experiences. With less friction. Inside and out in the digital-first world.

Need Help?

Want to save time? Reduce friction? Create amazing user experiences? But have questions?
Hit me up. Happy to help.
I’ll help you plan ahead with experience maps – and turn chaos into smooth execution.

Best of all, I’ll help you lighten your inbox and your mental load. Just a tad.