User Journeys and Goals

When creating a user journey, the various needs of the users should be taken into consideration. What is the user trying to do when they access the site, what is their main objective for that particular time that the user is accessing the site? Just because the user is on an airline site does not mean that they are there to buy airline tickets, sometimes they are there to check to see if the airline covers the flight path they wish to take, another time they could be there comparing the cost of the flights against competitors, yet again they may be there to check the checkin time of flights so that they can decide what time to be at the airport for before getting their flight. In each of these instances the user has a goal that the wish to complete, none of which actually involves the buying of a plane ticket.

User journeys can also be broken down into primary and secondary (and sometimes tertiary) goals. The user may be coming to the site to check if the airline covers that flight path, but while they are there, if the flight path is covered they may check if the airline flies on the required dates, and if they do at what times/cost. These are additional goals that can also be achieved during a journey, but cannot be completed if the primary goal is not completed first. Other times that the user comes to the site, these secondary goals may become the primary goals.

Although they are called ‘user journeys’ the journeys must also fulfil the business need of the site, not simply the need of the user, otherwise the site will not create revenue. Therefore both the user needs and the business needs need to be considered when creating user journeys so that both are satisfied.