The Toolkit / Research / The Simulator
Research · Tool 04 of 16
The Simulator
Test the journey before you build it.
Find out whether a journey would be valuable, first with synthetic personas, then with real people, before anything is built.
The board
Ten sections on one page
Print it, fill it in, and score each section from 1 to 5. Your score is out of 50.
How to use it
The ten sections of the Simulator
What to do in each section, and what a 1, a 3 and a 5 look like. Score yourself honestly; the low scores tell you where to work next.
- 1
The journey
Which journey from the Map.
Pick the journey from the Map you're testing.
- 1Started
- A loose idea.
- 3Good
- A journey from the Map.
- 5Excellent
- A journey from the Map, with its moments and what must be true.
- 2
The hero
Who it's for.
Name the hero from the Storyboard this journey is for.
- 1Started
- A type of person.
- 3Good
- A hero from the Storyboard.
- 5Excellent
- A hero from the Storyboard, with their words and their pain.
- 3
The personas
Synthetic people built from the hero.
Build synthetic personas from the hero's words, the trend's language and the owner's notes.
- 1Started
- One generic persona.
- 3Good
- A few personas, built from the hero.
- 5Excellent
- A panel of personas with clear behaviour guidelines from real words, so they can't just agree with us.
- 4
Panel votes
Valuable to me? Up or down.
Run the journey past each persona, moment by moment, and record their vote.
- 1Started
- A single vote.
- 3Good
- A vote from every persona.
- 5Excellent
- A vote from every persona, at every moment, with how sure they are.
- 5
Panel feedback
What the personas said.
Record what each persona said about the journey.
- 1Started
- A summary.
- 3Good
- Feedback from every persona.
- 5Excellent
- Specific feedback per moment, in the personas' words, with what they'd change.
- 6
Real people
Early adopters, shown the journey.
Show the journey to real early adopters as a simulation: “if you went here, then there…”. Never a product.
- 1Started
- Friends or colleagues.
- 3Good
- A few real early adopters.
- 5Excellent
- Real early adopters from the Compass, each shown the journey the same way.
- 7
Their votes
Valuable to me? Up or down.
Record each real person's vote.
- 1Started
- A single yes.
- 3Good
- A vote from every person.
- 5Excellent
- A vote from every person, with what they did next.
- 8
Their feedback
What real people said.
Record what each person said, in their words.
- 1Started
- A summary.
- 3Good
- Quotes from every person.
- 5Excellent
- Quotes from every person, sourced and dated, with what they'd change.
- 9
Verdict
Both agree, or back to the Map.
Decide: the panel and real people both find it valuable, or it goes back to the Map.
- 1Started
- A guess, without both sets of votes.
- 3Good
- A verdict.
- 5Excellent
- A verdict backed by both sets of votes and feedback, with the owner's decision and the date.
- 10
What we learned
What goes back to the Map.
Write what this test taught you, so the Map gets better either way.
- 1Started
- A vague impression.
- 3Good
- One or two lessons.
- 5Excellent
- Clear lessons for the Map and the Storyboard, written as changes to make.
How it works
- Made inStep 04 · PilotsSimulate each journey with synthetic personas and real people, before anything is built.
- What it's forFind out whether a journey would be valuable, first with synthetic personas, then with real people, before anything is built.
- It feedsThe SketchbookDraw it before you build it.
