UNM At A Glance

User Needs Mapping (UNM) offers a clear, practical way to align teams around what really matters: the outcomes your users are trying to achieve. If you’re looking for a concise, workshop-friendly overview of the process — something you can print, share, or keep at your desk — this downloadable guide gives you everything you need in one place.

This one-page summary distils the core steps of the UNM approach into a simple, accessible format that teams can reference before, during, and after a mapping session.

What’s inside the PDF

This short guide walks you through the 7 core steps of User Needs Mapping:

  • Define the purpose – anchor your session around a clear, strategic intent.

  • Identify users – understand who you’re mapping for and why.

  • Define user needs – articulate outcome-based needs that drive meaningful progress.

  • Map capabilities – uncover the enabling abilities your organisation must provide.

  • Analyse dependencies – reveal bottlenecks, blockers, and cognitive-load hotspots.

  • Define team boundaries – shape responsibilities that support faster, more focused flow.

  • Iterate & scale – keep your map alive as users, systems, and teams evolve.

Ideal for:

  • Workshop facilitation

    Print and hand it out to participants so they can follow the steps during a session.

  • Team onboarding

    Share it with new joiners or teams who want a quick introduction before diving deeper.

  • Quick reference during delivery

    Keep the steps visible in your workspace to guide discussions and decisions.

  • Leadership briefings

    Use it to explain the technique to sponsors, senior leaders, or stakeholders.

  • Lightweight self-study

    Perfect for people who want to understand UNM without reading the full book (yet).

Diagram illustrating connections between symptoms, underlying causes, and real problems in a problem-solving process, with four cartoon characters and speech bubbles.

  • It also includes:

  • A brief explanation of why UNM matters

  • How UNM bridges strategy and execution

  • Who benefits from using the technique

  • A visual overview of the flow from user → need → capability → team boundary

Download The PDF

Want to go Deeper?

If you’re interested in learning how to apply User Needs Mapping inside your organisation — or want help running your first session — explore:

Talk To Us About UNM