An Exploratory Investigation of Cognitive Mapping for Analyzing Needs in UX Design

Needs analysis is a major concern in innovation projects both for organizations pursuing business objectives and for the users whose needs should be satisfied. Different needs analysis methods can be used, depending on the scope and complexity of the project. However, not all the existing methods provide efficient decision-making support for designers whose task is to categorize and prioritize the needs. The aim of this article is to explore the application of cognitive mapping as a needs analysis method that will more efficiently analyze the nature of the needs and their interrelations. This analysis will provide a different perspective for understanding needs and, thus, contribute to decision making and prioritization. To this end, the proposed method was tested with the UX team of a large established North American transportation company. The feedback from the multiple groups involved in needs analysis indicated that the need mapping technique was perceived as useful and could be applied as a decision support.