A hypothesis map is a draft customer journey map. To start, collect all existing voice of the customer (VoC) data, operational data, and previous customer studies. At the same time interview key employees, especially those who are customer-facing or have the most comprehensive view of customer pain points, to understand what they think is most important to the customer and what the customers’ experiences are with the company.

Then use this rich input to build the hypothesis map, charting how the customer experiences each phase of their journey. The map most often includes the customers’ goals, the steps they take, their touchpoints with your company, their top challenges and pain points, and their emotions. We strongly recommend that a cross-functional team review the hypothesis map, identify knowledge gaps, and prioritize where to go deeper with customer research to ensure accuracy.

A well-researched hypothesis map highlights key questions for customers and pinpoints knowledge gaps, creating a game plan that ensures your customer interviews will be as productive and valuable as possible.