User Journey Creator
A skill for designing bespoke, high-quality user journeys grounded in product craft principles.
Core Philosophy
Every journey decision must be evaluated against these 11 principles. They are non-negotiable product quality bars, not suggestions.
The 11 Principles
Bespoke to persona — The journey must be tailored to who the user actually is. A B2B enterprise buyer and a solo developer need radically different paths. Generic journeys fail.
Minimal time to value — The user should experience a meaningful "win" as fast as possible. Every step that doesn't accelerate value delivery is a candidate for removal.
Interactive guidance — Don't dump instructions on the user. Guide them as they do. Tooltips, contextual hints, inline walkthroughs — the journey teaches through doing.
Predictable — Users should always know what's happening, what happens next, and how to reverse course. Surprise is the enemy of trust.
Near-zero learning curve — If someone needs to "figure it out", the design has failed. The interface should communicate its own usage.
Progressive disclosure — Surface only what the user needs right now. Complexity is revealed as they're ready for it — never front-loaded.
Repeatable value — The journey doesn't end at activation. It must be designed so value compounds with each return visit. The loop, not the landing.
Low cognitive load — Minimize decisions per screen. Minimize reading. Minimize thinking. One screen, one job. Every extra choice is friction.
Forgiving errors — Users will make mistakes. The product must forgive gracefully: clear error states, easy undo, confirmation before destructive actions. Design for human imperfection.
Satisfying task completion — Completing an action should feel good. Micro-animations, success states, confirmation moments. The emotional punctuation of UX.
Eliminate anxiety — Proactively answer the questions users haven't asked yet: "Is this saving?", "Did that work?", "What does this do?", "Can I undo this?" Silence creates doubt.
Workflow
Step 1: Define the Persona & Context
Before designing anything, extract:
- Who is the user? (role, technical sophistication, motivation)
- What are they trying to accomplish? (job-to-be-done, not feature usage)
- What's the product? (type, stage, primary value prop)
- What's the entry point? (direct link, organic discovery, referred, etc.)
- What does success look like? (the "aha moment" — the moment they get the value)
Ask the user for these if not provided. Don't proceed with a generic persona.
Step 2: Map the Journey
Structure the journey as a sequence of stages, each with:
Stage Name
├── User Goal (what they're trying to do)
├── Product Action (what the product does / shows)
├── Principle Check (which of the 11 principles apply here)
├── Friction Points (what could go wrong or confuse)
└── Delight Opportunity (where to exceed expectations)
Standard Journey Stages (adapt as needed):
- Discovery / Entry — First encounter with the product
- Sign-up / Onboarding Gate — Account creation or access
- First-Run Experience — The first meaningful interaction
- Aha Moment — The specific action that delivers the core value
- Habit Formation — First return visit / repeated use
- Power Usage — Advanced features unlocked progressively
- Advocacy / Expansion — Sharing, upgrading, inviting others
Not every product has all stages. Trim to what's relevant.
Step 3: Apply the 11-Principle Audit
After mapping, audit each stage against the 11 principles. For each stage, ask:
- Does this minimize time to value?
- Is there any unnecessary cognitive load?
- What happens when the user makes a mistake here?
- Is there a moment of delight we're missing?
- Are we disclosing too much, too soon?
- Does the user know what happens next?
- Have we pre-answered any anxiety-causing questions?
Flag every violation clearly. Don't paper over problems.
Step 4: Output Format
Deliver the journey as a structured document with:
- Persona Summary (2–3 sentences)
- Aha Moment Definition (the north star of the journey)
- Journey Map (stage-by-stage, using the format above)
- Principle Audit (per-stage violations and recommendations)
- Priority Fixes (top 3–5 highest-leverage improvements, ranked)
- Open Questions (unresolved decisions the PM needs to make)
If asked for a visual flow, produce a clear text-based flow diagram or suggest building one.
Design Heuristics (Quick Reference)
On cognitive load:
- One primary action per screen
- Labels over icons (unless icons are universally understood)
- Default values wherever possible
- Smart defaults beat blank states
On anxiety elimination:
- Auto-save with visible confirmation
- Progress indicators for multi-step flows
- Inline validation (not post-submit errors)
- Tooltips on hover for anything ambiguous
- Optimistic UI for fast-feeling interactions
On error recovery:
- Never dead-end the user
- Undo > confirm dialogs (when reversible)
- Confirm dialogs with plain-English consequences for destructive actions
- Empty states are onboarding opportunities, not failures
On delight:
- Completion animations (subtle, purposeful)
- First-success celebration (the first win deserves acknowledgment)
- Progress bars that feel satisfying to fill
- Personalization cues early ("Hi [name], here's where you left off")
On progressive disclosure:
- Start with the 20% of features that deliver 80% of value
- Lock advanced settings behind "Advanced" toggles
- Introduce features contextually (when the user needs them, not before)
- Tooltips and empty states are the onboarding layer — not a separate tour
Anti-Patterns to Call Out
When reviewing a user's existing journey, explicitly flag these:
| Anti-Pattern |
Why It Fails |
| Feature dump on first run |
Overwhelms, causes decision paralysis |
| Required tutorial before use |
High drop-off, patronizing to experienced users |
| Irreversible actions without confirm |
Destroys trust permanently |
| Blank empty states |
Missed opportunity to guide and activate |
| Success states that don't exist |
Value delivered without acknowledgment = no emotional anchor |
| Multi-field forms upfront |
Kills conversion at the top of the funnel |
| Error messages that don't explain what to do |
Users abandon instead of fixing |
| Passive waiting (no loading state) |
Anxiety-inducing, feels broken |
| Features hidden behind discovery |
Value locked away from the user |
Sample Output Skeleton
## User Journey: [Product Name] — [Persona Name]
### Persona
[2–3 sentence description of who this user is, what they want, and their sophistication level]
### Aha Moment
[One clear sentence: "The user feels the product's value when they first ___"]
---
### Stage 1: [Stage Name]
**User Goal:** ...
**Product Action:** ...
**Principles Applied:** [list relevant ones]
**Friction Risks:** ...
**Delight Opportunity:** ...
[Repeat for each stage]
---
### Principle Audit Summary
[Table or list of violations found per stage]
### Priority Fixes
1. [Highest leverage fix] — [Why]
2. ...
### Open Questions
- [Decision that needs to be made before implementation]
Notes for Claude
- Always push back if the persona is vague. A journey designed for "users" is a journey designed for no one.
- If the user gives you an existing flow to review, start with the Principle Audit before suggesting anything new.
- Flag when a journey is trying to do too much too fast — this is the #1 mistake in early-stage products.
- When in doubt, recommend removing a step rather than adding one.
- Prioritize ruthlessly. Not every fix matters equally. Rank by user impact, not implementation effort.
1---2name: user-journey-creator3description: Design and document bespoke, high-quality user journeys for digital products. Use this skill whenever the user wants to map out, critique, redesign, or create a user journey, onboarding flow, feature walkthrough, or any end-to-end experience within an app or product. Trigger on phrases like "design the user journey", "map out the onboarding", "how should the user flow work", "create a journey for", "user journey for [feature/persona]", "review my onboarding flow", "what's the ideal journey for", or any time a user wants to think through how a person moves through a product — from first touch to repeated value. Also trigger when the user is working on retention flows, activation steps, aha moments, or progressive disclosure design.4---56# User Journey Creator78A skill for designing bespoke, high-quality user journeys grounded in product craft principles.910---1112## Core Philosophy1314Every journey decision must be evaluated against these 11 principles. They are **non-negotiable product quality bars**, not suggestions.1516### The 11 Principles17181. **Bespoke to persona** — The journey must be tailored to who the user actually is. A B2B enterprise buyer and a solo developer need radically different paths. Generic journeys fail.19202. **Minimal time to value** — The user should experience a meaningful "win" as fast as possible. Every step that doesn't accelerate value delivery is a candidate for removal.21223. **Interactive guidance** — Don't dump instructions on the user. Guide them *as they do*. Tooltips, contextual hints, inline walkthroughs — the journey teaches through doing.23244. **Predictable** — Users should always know what's happening, what happens next, and how to reverse course. Surprise is the enemy of trust.25265. **Near-zero learning curve** — If someone needs to "figure it out", the design has failed. The interface should communicate its own usage.27286. **Progressive disclosure** — Surface only what the user needs right now. Complexity is revealed as they're ready for it — never front-loaded.29307. **Repeatable value** — The journey doesn't end at activation. It must be designed so value compounds with each return visit. The loop, not the landing.31328. **Low cognitive load** — Minimize decisions per screen. Minimize reading. Minimize thinking. One screen, one job. Every extra choice is friction.33349. **Forgiving errors** — Users will make mistakes. The product must forgive gracefully: clear error states, easy undo, confirmation before destructive actions. Design for human imperfection.353610. **Satisfying task completion** — Completing an action should *feel* good. Micro-animations, success states, confirmation moments. The emotional punctuation of UX.373811. **Eliminate anxiety** — Proactively answer the questions users haven't asked yet: "Is this saving?", "Did that work?", "What does this do?", "Can I undo this?" Silence creates doubt.3940---4142## Workflow4344### Step 1: Define the Persona & Context4546Before designing anything, extract:4748- **Who is the user?** (role, technical sophistication, motivation)49- **What are they trying to accomplish?** (job-to-be-done, not feature usage)50- **What's the product?** (type, stage, primary value prop)51- **What's the entry point?** (direct link, organic discovery, referred, etc.)52- **What does success look like?** (the "aha moment" — the moment they *get* the value)5354Ask the user for these if not provided. Don't proceed with a generic persona.5556---5758### Step 2: Map the Journey5960Structure the journey as a sequence of **stages**, each with:6162```63Stage Name64├── User Goal (what they're trying to do)65├── Product Action (what the product does / shows)66├── Principle Check (which of the 11 principles apply here)67├── Friction Points (what could go wrong or confuse)68└── Delight Opportunity (where to exceed expectations)69```7071**Standard Journey Stages** (adapt as needed):72731. **Discovery / Entry** — First encounter with the product742. **Sign-up / Onboarding Gate** — Account creation or access753. **First-Run Experience** — The first meaningful interaction764. **Aha Moment** — The specific action that delivers the core value775. **Habit Formation** — First return visit / repeated use786. **Power Usage** — Advanced features unlocked progressively797. **Advocacy / Expansion** — Sharing, upgrading, inviting others8081Not every product has all stages. Trim to what's relevant.8283---8485### Step 3: Apply the 11-Principle Audit8687After mapping, audit each stage against the 11 principles. For each stage, ask:8889- Does this minimize time to value?90- Is there any unnecessary cognitive load?91- What happens when the user makes a mistake here?92- Is there a moment of delight we're missing?93- Are we disclosing too much, too soon?94- Does the user know what happens next?95- Have we pre-answered any anxiety-causing questions?9697Flag every violation clearly. Don't paper over problems.9899---100101### Step 4: Output Format102103Deliver the journey as a **structured document** with:1041051. **Persona Summary** (2–3 sentences)1062. **Aha Moment Definition** (the north star of the journey)1073. **Journey Map** (stage-by-stage, using the format above)1084. **Principle Audit** (per-stage violations and recommendations)1095. **Priority Fixes** (top 3–5 highest-leverage improvements, ranked)1106. **Open Questions** (unresolved decisions the PM needs to make)111112If asked for a visual flow, produce a clear text-based flow diagram or suggest building one.113114---115116## Design Heuristics (Quick Reference)117118**On cognitive load:**119- One primary action per screen120- Labels over icons (unless icons are universally understood)121- Default values wherever possible122- Smart defaults beat blank states123124**On anxiety elimination:**125- Auto-save with visible confirmation126- Progress indicators for multi-step flows127- Inline validation (not post-submit errors)128- Tooltips on hover for anything ambiguous129- Optimistic UI for fast-feeling interactions130131**On error recovery:**132- Never dead-end the user133- Undo > confirm dialogs (when reversible)134- Confirm dialogs with plain-English consequences for destructive actions135- Empty states are onboarding opportunities, not failures136137**On delight:**138- Completion animations (subtle, purposeful)139- First-success celebration (the first win deserves acknowledgment)140- Progress bars that feel satisfying to fill141- Personalization cues early ("Hi [name], here's where you left off")142143**On progressive disclosure:**144- Start with the 20% of features that deliver 80% of value145- Lock advanced settings behind "Advanced" toggles146- Introduce features contextually (when the user needs them, not before)147- Tooltips and empty states are the onboarding layer — not a separate tour148149---150151## Anti-Patterns to Call Out152153When reviewing a user's existing journey, explicitly flag these:154155| Anti-Pattern | Why It Fails |156|---|---|157| Feature dump on first run | Overwhelms, causes decision paralysis |158| Required tutorial before use | High drop-off, patronizing to experienced users |159| Irreversible actions without confirm | Destroys trust permanently |160| Blank empty states | Missed opportunity to guide and activate |161| Success states that don't exist | Value delivered without acknowledgment = no emotional anchor |162| Multi-field forms upfront | Kills conversion at the top of the funnel |163| Error messages that don't explain what to do | Users abandon instead of fixing |164| Passive waiting (no loading state) | Anxiety-inducing, feels broken |165| Features hidden behind discovery | Value locked away from the user |166167---168169## Sample Output Skeleton170171```172## User Journey: [Product Name] — [Persona Name]173174### Persona175[2–3 sentence description of who this user is, what they want, and their sophistication level]176177### Aha Moment178[One clear sentence: "The user feels the product's value when they first ___"]179180---181182### Stage 1: [Stage Name]183**User Goal:** ...184**Product Action:** ...185**Principles Applied:** [list relevant ones]186**Friction Risks:** ...187**Delight Opportunity:** ...188189[Repeat for each stage]190191---192193### Principle Audit Summary194[Table or list of violations found per stage]195196### Priority Fixes1971. [Highest leverage fix] — [Why]1982. ...199200### Open Questions201- [Decision that needs to be made before implementation]202```203204---205206## Notes for Claude207208- Always push back if the persona is vague. A journey designed for "users" is a journey designed for no one.209- If the user gives you an existing flow to review, start with the Principle Audit before suggesting anything new.210- Flag when a journey is trying to do too much too fast — this is the #1 mistake in early-stage products.211- When in doubt, recommend *removing* a step rather than adding one.212- Prioritize ruthlessly. Not every fix matters equally. Rank by user impact, not implementation effort.
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