prd-v04-user-journey-mapping

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Map user missions from trigger to value moment, organizing features into coherent paths during PRD v0.4 User Journeys. Triggers on requests to map user journeys, define user flows, describe how users accomplish goals, or when user asks "map user journeys", "define user flows", "user missions", "how do users accomplish X?", "journey mapping", "what steps do users take?", "pain to value flow". Consumes PER- (Persona Definition), FEA- (Feature Value Planning), KPI- (Outcome Definition). Outputs UJ- entries with step flows, pain points, and value moments. Feeds v0.4 Screen Flow Definition.

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User Journey Mapping

Position in workflow: v0.4 Persona Definition → v0.4 User Journey Mapping → v0.4 Screen Flow Definition

User journeys transform features into paths. A journey answers: "How does [persona] go from [trigger] to [value moment] using [features]?"

Journey Types

Type	Purpose	Priority Signal	Example
Core	Primary value delivery	Must complete for activation	First report generated
Onboarding	First-time user setup	Blocks all other journeys	Account creation → first action
Recovery	Error handling, support	Retention protection	Password reset, billing issue
Power User	Advanced workflows	Expansion/upsell	Bulk operations, integrations

Rule: Define Onboarding first (it gates everything), then Core journeys (they deliver KPI-), then others.

Journey Anatomy

Every journey has:

Trigger — What causes the user to start? (Event, not "opens app")
Steps — Actions linked to FEA- features
Pain Points — Where friction exists (design around these)
Moment of Value — When user achieves goal (this drives KPI-)

Mapping Process

Pull PER- (personas) from Persona Definition
- Each journey belongs to a specific persona
Pull FEA- (features) and KPI- (outcomes) from v0.3
- Features are the building blocks of journey steps
- KPIs tell you which journeys matter most
Define trigger events
- What causes the user to start this journey?
- Be specific: "Receives calendar invite" not "opens app"
Map step flow using features
- Each step = an action the user takes
- Link each step to the FEA- that enables it
Identify pain points
- Where might the user get confused, frustrated, or blocked?
- These inform UX design decisions
Mark "moments of value"
- When does the user get the payoff?
- This should tie to KPI- measurement
Create UJ- entries with full traceability

UJ- Output Template

UJ-XXX: [Journey Title]
Persona: [PER-XXX]
Type: [Core | Onboarding | Recovery | Power User]
Trigger: [Event that initiates journey]
Goal: [What user wants to accomplish]

Steps:
  1. [Action] → FEA-XXX
  2. [Action] → FEA-XXX
  3. [Action] → FEA-XXX
  ...

Pain Points:
  - [Step X]: [Potential friction — e.g., "requires context switch"]
  - [Step Y]: [Potential friction]

Moment of Value: [When user achieves goal — be specific]
KPI Link: [KPI-XXX this journey drives]
Success Metric: [How we measure journey completion]
Dependencies: [BR-XXX constraints, API-XXX if known]

Example UJ- entry:

UJ-001: First Report Generation
Persona: PER-001 (Overwhelmed Ops Manager)
Type: Core
Trigger: User completes onboarding and sees empty dashboard
Goal: Generate first automated report to see time-saving value

Steps:
  1. Click "Create Report" → FEA-003 (one-click reports)
  2. Select data source → FEA-001 (auto-sync)
  3. Choose report template → FEA-008 (templates)
  4. Preview report → FEA-003
  5. Export/share report → FEA-009 (export)

Pain Points:
  - Step 2: User may not have connected data source yet (dependency on UJ-002)
  - Step 3: Template overload if too many choices

Moment of Value: Seeing the completed report with their actual data
KPI Link: KPI-002 (activation rate)
Success Metric: Time from "Create Report" click to export ≤ 5 minutes
Dependencies: BR-015 (data format rules), UJ-002 (data source connection)

Feature-to-Journey Validation

After mapping journeys, validate:

No orphaned features: Every FEA- appears in at least one UJ-
No journey gaps: Every step has a FEA- that enables it
KPI coverage: Core journeys tie to Tier 1/2 KPIs

If a FEA- isn't in any journey, either:

Add it to a journey (you missed a use case), or
Cut it from scope (it's not needed)

Journey Sequencing

Map dependencies between journeys:

UJ-000: Onboarding (gates all)
    ↓
UJ-001: First Report (Core) ← KPI-002 (activation)
    ↓
UJ-002: Data Source Connection (Core) ← KPI-003 (depth)
    ↓
UJ-003: Team Invite (Power User) ← KPI-004 (expansion)

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Anti-Pattern	Signal	Fix
Feature-first journeys	Steps = feature list dumped in order	Start with user goal, then map features to it
No trigger	"User opens app"	Define specific event: "receives notification"
No value moment	Journey ends without payoff	Each journey needs clear outcome
Orphaned features	FEA- not in any journey	Add to journey or cut from scope
Generic personas	"User does X"	Specify PER-: "PER-001 does X"
Happy path only	No pain points identified	Anticipate where users struggle
Mega-journeys	15+ steps	Split into sub-journeys

Quality Gates

Before proceeding to Screen Flow Definition:

Onboarding journey defined first
All Core journeys mapped to KPI-
Every FEA- appears in at least one journey
Every journey has a specific trigger (not "opens app")
Pain points identified for friction design
Journey dependencies documented

Downstream Connections

UJ- entries feed into:

Consumer	What It Uses	Example
v0.4 Screen Flow Definition	Steps become screens	UJ-001 Step 3 → SCR-005
v0.6 Technical Specification	Journeys inform API sequences	UJ-001 → API-001, API-002 flow
v0.7 Test Planning	Journeys become E2E tests	TEST-020 validates UJ-001
v0.9 GTM	Journey-based onboarding messaging	"Complete [UJ-001] in 5 minutes"

Detailed References

Journey mapping examples: See
```
references/examples.md
```
UJ- entry template: See
```
assets/uj.md
```
Journey sequencing guide: See
```
references/sequencing.md
```