What does the prototype stage focus on in the customer journey design process?

The prototype stage in the customer journey design process primarily emphasizes building a service representation and verifying the design. This crucial phase allows teams to take concepts and ideas that have emerged in earlier stages—such as understanding customer emotions and creating user personas—and translate them into tangible, draft representations of the service or product being designed.

During this stage, prototypes can take various forms, from simple sketches or wireframes to interactive models that simulate user interaction. The goal is to visualize how the proposed service will function in practice, identify potential issues, and gather feedback from users and stakeholders. By engaging in this hands-on iterative process, designers can refine and improve their ideas before finalizing the design, ensuring that it meets user needs effectively.

Verifying the design with actual users through prototypes is essential, as it provides insights into how well the concept addresses customer pain points and desires. This iterative testing and feedback process helps increase the likelihood of creating a valuable and user-friendly service that resonates with customers.