# Journey Map

> Map the full user and customer lifecycle from trigger and discovery through onboarding, aha, conversion, retention, expansion, and advocacy

- Skill: `georgeqle/journey-map-5` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add georgeqle/journey-map-5`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/georgeqle/journey-map-5/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Product & Planning
- Author: GeorgeQLe (https://skillmd.com/u/georgeqle)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/georgeqle/journey-map-5

---


## Pack Availability Guard

Before telling the user to run a skill from another project-local pack, check `.agents/project.json.enabled_packs`. If the target pack is not enabled, recommend `$pack install <pack>` instead of the target skill. Global skills are always valid. Skills from this same pack are valid because the current skill is already running from that pack.

# Journey Map — Lifecycle Overview

Invoke as `$journey-map`.

Create or update the canonical lifecycle overview. This is the top-level map for user task journeys and the customer relationship lifecycle; deeper stage docs belong in `$onboarding-map`, `$conversion-map`, `$transaction-map`, `$retention-map`, `$expansion-map`, and `$lifecycle-metrics`.

## Prerequisites

- `research/icp.md` (or `research/{app}/icp.md` in monorepo mode) must exist — run `$icp` first.
- Specs, competitive analysis, enterprise ICP, customer feedback, and codebase evidence are supporting context when present.

## Workflow

0. **App scope resolution**: If `$ARGUMENTS` names a subdirectory of `research/`, use `research/{app}/` and `specs/{app}/`. If `research/` has multiple app subdirectories and no app is specified, ask the user to choose. If one app subdirectory exists, use it automatically. Otherwise use flat `research/` and `specs/`.
1. **Load context**: Read ICP, competitive analysis, enterprise ICP, customer feedback, existing lifecycle docs, specs, README/AGENTS/CLAUDE, and relevant source files when they clarify real product surfaces.
2. **Map user journeys**: For each key persona, identify 3-5 core use cases, entry points, task steps, decision points, happy path, failure modes, outputs, and delta from current state.
3. **Map customer lifecycle**: Cover trigger, discovery, evaluation, onboarding, aha moment, conversion, transaction, retention, expansion, advocacy, churn, and recovery.
4. **Identify critical moments**: Name the 3-5 moments where the product wins or loses the user/customer, with evidence and success criteria.
5. **Present before writing**: Summarize the lifecycle, evidence, open assumptions, and stage docs that should be split out. Ask what needs correction or product-specific context. Continue until validated.
6. **Write only after validation**, archiving existing canonical files first when replacing them.

## Deliverables

- `research/journey-map.md` (or `research/{app}/journey-map.md`) — canonical lifecycle overview with links or references to deeper stage docs when they exist.
- `research/journey-map-interview.md` (or `research/{app}/journey-map-interview.md`) — raw interview log and decisions.

The output file must end with `## Next Steps` using "Pick one:" framing. Follow the Next-Step Routing contract below to decide the recommendation.

## Next-Step Routing

Priority-ordered decision tree — recommend the **first** match:

1. **Positioning missing** (`research/positioning.md` does not exist) → check `.agents/project.json.enabled_packs` for `business-discovery` — if `business-discovery` is not enabled, recommend `$pack install business-discovery` first; if `business-discovery` is enabled, recommend `$positioning` — Positioning needs ICP, competitive analysis, and journey evidence, so it is the natural next step.
2. **Positioning done, UX variations missing** → check `.agents/project.json.enabled_packs` for `product-design` — if `product-design` is not enabled, recommend `$pack install product-design` first; if `product-design` is enabled, recommend `$ux-variations` — Explore experience directions before production specification.
3. **Specific stage risk** — the overview exposed a lifecycle-stage risk that must be resolved before positioning or UX work can proceed → recommend the relevant lifecycle map (`$onboarding-map`, `$conversion-map`, `$transaction-map`, `$retention-map`, `$expansion-map`, or `$lifecycle-metrics`). Cite the risk and explain why it blocks the next AFPS step.
4. **Never** recommend `$spec-interview` from this skill — it is many steps downstream in the AFPS chain.

## Output Shape

```markdown
# Journey Map

> Based on: research/icp.md[, other evidence]
> Date: YYYY-MM-DD

## Summary
## User Journeys
## Customer Lifecycle
## Critical Moments
## Stage Detail Index
## Journey Gaps
## Next Steps
```

## Alignment Page

Follow the shared Alignment Page convention in CLAUDE.md. Output: `alignment/journey-map-{topic}.html`.

## Constraints

- Keep this file as the overview; put step-level stage detail in the focused lifecycle skills.
- Ground every important step in ICP, research, specs, feedback, or codebase evidence.
- Do not prescribe UI or architecture.
- Present findings before writing.
- Follow the archive-first replacement policy for canonical research/spec documents.