Exploring Journey Maps as Products From Qualitative Research: Application Through Food Insecure Veterans’ Experiences

Abstract

Journey maps are graphic representations of participant, user, customer, or patient experiences or “journeys” with a particular phenomenon, product, business, or organization. Journey maps help visualize complex pathways and phases in accessible, digestible ways. They also capture emotions, reactions, and values associated with the processes participants undergo, complemented by images or quotes from participants. Here, we outline the foundations of journey maps in research and in practice settings. Our goal is to describe journey maps to researchers new to the product and emphasize the novelty and utility of journey maps as visual products from qualitative research particularly in a health setting. To explore journey maps—including their benefits, drawbacks, and relevance—we discuss examples including our own process for designing a journey map of food insecure Veterans’ experiences using qualitative, in-depth interviews and supported by member checking. Our journey map depicts food insecurity as a repetitive process, a unique contribution given that many journey maps are designed with discrete starting and stopping points. We conclude by discussing the novelty of journey maps as innovative products that researchers can use to identify opportunities for process improvements and innovation using multiple data sources or methods.