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Saga's Trigger Mapping Guide

When to load: During Phase 2 (Trigger Mapping) or when analyzing user psychology

Core Principle

Connect business goals to user psychology through Trigger Mapping.

Discover not just WHO your users are, but WHY they act and WHAT triggers their decisions.

What is Trigger Mapping?

Trigger Mapping is WDS's adaptation of Impact/Effect Mapping that focuses on user psychology.

Key differences from generic Impact Mapping:

✅ Removes solutions from the map (solutions designed against map, not on it)
✅ Adds negative driving forces (fears, frustrations) alongside positive ones
✅ Focuses on smaller, targeted maps (3-4 user groups max)
✅ Integrates explicit prioritization for driving forces

Result: Longer shelf life, deeper psychology, clearer focus.

The Trigger Map Structure

Business Goals (SMART + Vision)
    ↓
Target Groups (connected to specific goals)
    ↓
Detailed Personas (psychological depth)
    ↓
Usage Goals / Driving Forces
    ├── Positive (wishes, desires, aspirations)
    └── Negative (fears, frustrations, anxieties)

Business Goals Layer

Vision Goals (Directional)

"Where are we going?"

Build the most trusted proposal platform
Become the industry standard for consultants
Revolutionize how professionals communicate value

Characteristics:

Inspirational, not measurable
Provides direction and purpose
Guides strategic decisions

SMART Goals (Measurable)

"How do we know we're making progress?"

1,000 registered users in 12 months
500 premium signups in 18 months
$50K MRR by end of year 2
80% activation rate (signup → first proposal)

Characteristics:

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
Can be tracked objectively
Tied to business success

Target Groups Layer

Connect each target group to specific business goals they serve.

Example

Business Goal: 1,000 registered users
    ↓
Target Groups:
├── Independent consultants (high volume)
├── Small consulting firms (medium volume)
└── Freelance designers (adjacent market)

Why connect: Shows which users matter most for which goals.

Detailed Personas

Go beyond demographics → psychological depth

Wrong (Shallow)

"Sarah, 35, consultant, lives in London"

Why bad: Doesn't help design decisions

Right (Deep)

Harriet the Hairdresser

Owns a salon, 15 years experience, ambitious. Wants to be seen as the "queen of beauty" in her town - not just another hairdresser, but THE expert everyone comes to. Fears falling behind competitors who have better online presence. Frustrated by not knowing how to market herself effectively. In her salon context, she's confident. In the digital marketing context, she feels like a beginner.

Why better: You can design for her psychology

Usage Goals vs User Goals

Critical distinction:

User Goals (Life Context)

What they want in general life:

Be a successful consultant
Provide for family
Be respected in industry

Usage Goals (Product Context)

What they want when using your product:

Feel prepared for client meeting
Look professional to prospects
Save time on formatting

Design for usage goals, informed by user goals.

Context-Dependent Goals

The Dubai Golf Course Example:

A golfer using a booking form has specific usage goals in that moment:

Book a tee time quickly
See availability clearly
Feel confident about the booking

What they do at the resort restaurant later is a different context with different usage goals. Don't conflate them!

The Harriet Example:

When booking beauty product supplier:

Active goal: "Compare prices efficiently"
Not active: "Feel like queen of beauty" (that's in salon context)

When marketing her salon online:

Active goal: "Feel like queen of beauty"
Not active: "Compare supplier prices" (different context)

Design for the active goals in THIS usage context.

Driving Forces (The Psychology)

Positive Driving Forces (Wishes/Desires)

What pulls them forward?

Want to feel prepared
Want to look professional
Want to impress clients
Want to save time
Want to be seen as expert

Trigger these through your design and content.

Negative Driving Forces (Fears/Frustrations)

What pushes them away from current state?

Fear looking unprofessional
Fear losing clients to competitors
Frustrated by wasted time on formatting
Anxious about making mistakes
Worried about missing deadlines

Address these through reassurance and solutions.

The Power of Both

Same goal, different messaging:

Positive framing: "Feel confident and prepared"
Negative framing: "Stop worrying about embarrassing mistakes"

Both are valid! Often negative triggers action faster (pain > pleasure).

Feature Impact Analysis

Once map is complete, prioritize driving forces:

Scoring System (1-5 scale)

Frequency: How often does this trigger matter?
Intensity: How strongly do they feel this?
Fit: How well can our solution address this?

Example:

"Want to look professional to clients"
├── Frequency: 5 (every proposal)
├── Intensity: 5 (critical to business)
├── Fit: 5 (we solve this directly)
└── Score: 15/15 (HIGH PRIORITY)

"Want to collaborate with team members"
├── Frequency: 2 (solo consultants rarely need this)
├── Intensity: 3 (nice to have)
├── Fit: 3 (requires complex features)
└── Score: 8/15 (LOWER PRIORITY)

Use scores to prioritize features and design decisions.

Customer Awareness Integration

Every scenario should move users through awareness stages:

Trigger Map shows:
└── User + Driving Forces

Scenario adds:
├── Starting Awareness: Problem Aware (knows proposals are weak)
└── Target Awareness: Product Aware (knows our solution helps)

Example:

Start: "I know my proposals lose clients" (Problem Aware)
Through scenario: Experience our solution working
End: "This tool makes my proposals professional" (Product Aware)

Common Trigger Mapping Mistakes

❌ Too Many Target Groups

"Let's map 10 different user types..."

Why bad: Dilutes focus, overwhelming, unused

Instead: 3-4 groups max, deeply understood

❌ Shallow Personas

"John, 32, works in consulting..."

Why bad: Doesn't inform design

Instead: Deep psychology, usage context, active goals

❌ Only Positive Forces

"Users want to save time and be efficient..."

Why bad: Missing powerful negative triggers

Instead: Positive AND negative (fears drive action!)

❌ Solutions on the Map

"They need a template library and e-signature..."

Why bad: Locks in solutions too early, map ages quickly

Instead: Map psychology, design solutions against it

❌ Generic Goals

"Want a better experience..."

Why bad: Too vague to design for

Instead: Specific, contextual: "Want to feel prepared before client meeting"

Trigger Map → VTC Connection

VTC is extracted from Trigger Map:

Trigger Map (Comprehensive):
├── 3 business goals
├── 4 target groups
├── 12 detailed personas
└── 40+ driving forces

VTC (Focused):
├── 1 business goal
├── 1 user/persona
├── 1 solution context
└── 3-5 key driving forces

VTC is the "working copy" for a specific design task.

Visual Mermaid Diagrams

Create visual trigger maps using Mermaid syntax:

graph TD
    BG1[1000 Users] --> TG1[Independent Consultants]
    BG1 --> TG2[Small Firms]
    
    TG1 --> P1[Harriet - Solo Consultant]
    
    P1 --> DF1[+ Feel professional]
    P1 --> DF2[+ Save time]
    P1 --> DF3[- Fear losing clients]
    P1 --> DF4[- Frustrated by formatting]

See: ../../workflows/2-trigger-mapping/mermaid-diagram/

Workshop Process

Trigger Mapping is collaborative:

Define business goals (Vision + SMART)
Identify target groups (connect to goals)
Create personas (psychological depth)
Discover driving forces (positive + negative)
Prioritize forces (Feature Impact Analysis)
Generate visual map (Mermaid diagram)
Document findings (structured markdown)

See: ../../workflows/2-trigger-mapping/workshops/

When to Update Trigger Map

Trigger Maps evolve:

✅ New user research reveals different psychology
✅ Business goals change
✅ New target groups emerge
✅ Priorities shift based on data

Process:

Create new version (v2)
Document what changed and why
Update any VTCs derived from map
Keep old version for reference

Phase 2 Workflow: ../../workflows/2-trigger-mapping/
Impact/Effect Mapping Model: ../../docs/models/impact-effect-mapping.md
VTC Guide: ../../docs/method/value-trigger-chain-guide.md
Customer Awareness Cycle: ../../docs/models/customer-awareness-cycle.md
Feature Impact Analysis: Prioritization method based on Impact Mapping

Trigger Mapping connects business goals to user psychology. It's the strategic foundation that makes design purposeful.

9.2 KiB Raw Blame History