An empathy map is a diagram that captures knowledge about a user's behaviors and attitudes. It provides a glance into who a user is as a whole and is not chronological or sequential. Empathy maps help design teams create a shared understanding of user needs and aid in decision-making.

Traditional empathy maps are split into 4 quadrants: Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels. In the middle, we place the name of the user or user persona — depending on whether it reflects a particular user or an aggregation of multiple users.

One-user empathy maps are usually based on a user interview or a user's log from a diary study. Aggregated empathy maps represent segments of users who exhibit similar behaviors, and they can be a first step in creating personas.