Journey Mapping

A qualitative research and design method in which participants describe a trip, task, or experience step-by-step across sequential phases (e.g., pre-trip, in-trip, post-trip), identifying the tools they used, the cues they relied on, the decisions they made, and the points where plans changed or help was needed. In accessibility research, journey mapping is used to surface the everyday braiding of assistive tools, embodied skills, and human assistance, and to locate breakdowns that are invisible in usability tests focused on single applications.