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Working with journey scenarios

Learn how to work with multiple Journey scenarios or alternative paths in TheyDo.


When mapping a Journey, you might discover that it can go in two or more different directions. This can be the result of multiple possible outcomes of a step, or different initial scenarios that might result in different routes through the steps in a journey. This guide explores several options on how to deal with that in TheyDo.

For example: Imagine a journey where you make an insurance claim. This journey might always start in the same way, but could take very different paths depending on the type of claim you’re making.


1. Simplify by focusing on the journey most customers will experience

As a general principle, always try to map the journey that ‘most’ customers experience. From that point on, you can then systematically explore the possible ‘edge cases’ or ‘alternative routes’ that might happen as a result of different outcomes or scenarios. This might help you decide which of these alternative routes are worth mapping at all. You might even discover that you already cover enough of the experience by only mapping the most occurring Journey.

Tip: Customer journeys always involve some level of simplification of reality. In reality there might be endless possible routes you can take through certain journeys or journey steps, but the point of journeys is not to make a perfect representation of reality; it’s to map reality good enough to discover the most important opportunities for improvement. So before mapping all possible options, ask yourself if that’s really necessary.


2. Use personas to indicate how different people experience steps differently

When the order or ‘paths’ people can take through steps are similar, but the experience of those steps is different, Personas can also help. Simply add multiple personas to a journey to highlight how different personas experience steps differently. If you add actions as Insights, you can even tag what actions are taken by which Personas – this can already help to show how different Personas act differently for each step, or what steps certain personas might skip altogether.


3. Using tags or text lanes to indicate steps that might be skipped

Sometimes in a journey, different paths can happen simply because certain steps can be skipped by certain users in certain scenarios. You can use a text lane or tag lane to provide more information on what steps might be skipped, and by whom or in what scenario.


4. Using step links to indicate alternative paths


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By adding a step link lane, you can link to other steps in any other journey. You can use this feature to indicate when certain users might jump to a different journey, or even when they have to repeat a certain step in the journey you’re working in. Add a comment on top of a step link to explain in more detail who and for what reason people might jump to a different journey step.


5. Linking Journeys to indicate extra steps

If only some users have to go through extra steps, you can also add these extra steps as part of a separate journey, and then link that separate Journey to the step where it might take place.

For example, if you have an account creation Journey with an ID verification flow that can be skipped in most cases, it makes sense to map the account creation Journey without the ID verification part since that’s the Journey most people will experience. To indicate that some might have to go through the ID verification however, you can create a separate journey for the ID verification part, and then add it as a linked journey to the step where some people might have to go through it. You can add details on when that is necessary as a comment on top of the linked Journey, or in the ID verification Journey details.


6. Duplicate the journey, one for each scenario


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When a journey has a very different structure depending on a scenario or outcome of a step, it could also be useful to simply duplicate it for each scenario. Start with the most occurring scenario first, then duplicate it and change it into the next most experienced scenario, etc. This can result in some double work later on, for example when a change has to be updated across all scenarios. The amount can be limited however; because Insights, Opportunities, and Solutions are all linked, updating an element in one Journey means it’s also updated everywhere else.


7. Split up a journey into smaller parts


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Lastly, in cases where part of a Journey is the same for everyone, but certain parts are different, you could also consider splitting up a Journey into smaller parts and mapping them in the framework.


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You can even use tags to tag the different routes people can take through these Journeys.