TRANSITION e-Mag #2 | Page 14

_13 Tool #2: Empathy Mapping By Greg Winfield - The Young Foundation For social innovations at any stage of development it is key to have a clear and in-depth understanding of the primary beneficiary – the person they are trying to help through their activity. Empathy mapping is a flexible visual tool that breaks down key areas of understanding (or lack of) about the beneficiary which can then be referred to when designing a product or service to address their needs. An empathy map can be drawn in different ways, but generally keeps a representation of an example individual at the centre of the page, with sections stemming from them relating to areas such as: • what they see around them in their local environment • what their hear their family and friends saying • what makes them happy • what makes them sad/concerned. By drawing out this map before you speak to real beneficiaries you identify assumptions. These can then be tested against a conversation with a beneficiary or with people who work with them on a regular basis. The empathy map can then be updated to form a reference tool for use throughout an innovation design process by asking “would person X like this/benefit from this/use this” etc. Reference: TRANSITION London, The Young Foundation, Social Innovation Workbook #2