Assessing Your Starting Point

Why Assessment Matters

Before implementing Journeys Management, you must understand your current state. This assessment identifies existing capabilities to leverage, gaps to address, and organizational dynamics that will shape your implementation approach.

An honest assessment prevents false starts and helps you sequence implementation steps appropriately for your context.

The Internal Audit Framework

Conduct a systematic audit across five dimensions:

1. Current User Understanding

Evaluate what your organization already knows about user experiences:

Knowledge Inventory

1. What research exists about user needs, behaviors, and pain points?

2. How current and accessible is this knowledge?

3. Where are the significant gaps in understanding?

4. What user segments or journey phases are least understood?

Insight Distribution

1. How is user knowledge shared across teams?

2. Do silos prevent holistic understanding?

3. What happens to research after projects end?

2. Existing Measurement Systems

Assess current ability to measure experience performance:

Available Metrics

1. What quantitative data exists about user interactions?

2. Can you track users across touchpoints and channels?

3. What satisfaction or sentiment data is collected?

4. How are drop-offs and incomplete paths measured?

Measurement Gaps

1. Where does visibility break down in the user journey?

2. What user emotions and struggles are unmeasured?

3. Which journey phases lack performance tracking?

3. Organizational Structure & Culture

Understand the people and systems context:

Team Structures

1. How are teams organized? By product, function, channel?

2. Who currently owns user experience?

3. What cross-functional collaboration already exists?

4. Where do handoffs create friction?

Cultural Dynamics

1. How data-driven are current decisions?

2. Is user research valued and resourced?

3. What's the appetite for change and new practices?

4. Where does resistance to journey-thinking exist?

4. Current Service Delivery Challenges

Document known pain points in existing operations:

Stakeholder Pain Points

1. What frustrations do operational teams express?

2. Where do manual interventions indicate broken processes?

3. What user complaints recur consistently?

4. Which services have poor performance metrics?

System Limitations

1. What technical constraints affect user experience?

2. Where do legacy systems create friction?

3. What integration gaps exist between channels?

5. Strategic Priorities & Constraints

Understand the business context shaping implementation:

Business Priorities

1. What are current strategic goals and KPIs?

2. Which user segments or markets are priorities?

3. What growth or efficiency targets exist?

4. How does user experience factor into strategy?

Constraints & Requirements

1. What regulatory or compliance requirements exist?

2. What resource limitations will shape implementation?

3. What political dynamics must be navigated?

4. What is the timeline pressure or urgency?

Conducting Stakeholder Interviews

The audit is not just document review—it requires conversations with key stakeholders across the organization.

Who to Interview

1. Executive sponsors and leaders

2. Product and service owners

3. Operations and customer service managers

4. Design and research teams

5. Data and analytics professionals

6. Technology and engineering leaders

7. Front-line staff who interact with users

Key Interview Questions

1. How do you currently understand user needs and experiences?

2. What frustrates you most about current service delivery?

3. What user pain points do you hear about repeatedly?

4. How do you measure success today?

5. What would make your work easier or more effective?

6. What barriers exist to improving user experience?

7. What would you want from a journey management practice?

Document both explicit responses and implicit themes. Stakeholder perspectives reveal organizational readiness and potential resistance points.

Synthesizing Assessment Findings

After completing the audit, synthesize findings into a clear picture:

Strengths to Leverage

1. Existing research or data capabilities

2. Champions and allies across teams

3. Cultural openness to user-centric thinking

4. Technical infrastructure already in place

Gaps to Address

1. Missing measurement capabilities

2. Knowledge silos and fragmentation

3. Skills or resource limitations

4. Cultural resistance to change

Critical Priorities

1. Journeys or user segments with most impact potential

2. Pain points causing highest user or business costs

3. Strategic initiatives that would benefit from journey approach

4. Quick wins that could demonstrate value early

Success Criteria for This Chapter

After completing your assessment, you should have:

• Documented inventory of current user knowledge and measurement capabilities

• Clear understanding of organizational structure, culture, and dynamics

• Identified stakeholder pain points and perceived barriers

• List of strengths to leverage and gaps to address

• Prioritized focus areas for implementation