In this article, we dive into navigating branching scenarios on your journey maps, such as:
... Use hierarchies to represent journey branches across different channels. For instance, if a single step can be completed via a mobile app, kiosk, or face-to-face interaction, each variant can be mapped as a sub-journey, linked to the primary journey step. This helps clarify channel-specific processes, responsibilities, and pain points without cluttering a single map.
... Similarly, hierarchies can reflect geographical or organizational diversity. If the same service is experienced differently in New York, Berlin, or Tokyo, or managed by different departments in each region, a branching structure can help you contextualize those local adaptations, maintain consistency where needed, and explore variations in experience.
... Journey hierarchies can also differentiate user behavior types, visualized through personas. If one experience varies significantly based on user intent, digital savviness, emotional needs, or role in the service ecosystem, separate persona-driven journeys can be created as parallel branches stemming from the same step. This allows you to tailor experiences more precisely and surface insights that a one-size-fits-all view would obscure.
... Another common trigger for branching is the “What if?” scenario, which involves unexpected events or exceptions that disrupt the standard flow. These might include edge cases such as service failures, policy restrictions, or delays from third parties. Each exception scenario can be broken out into its sub-journey, clarifying how the organization responds under stress and identifying opportunities for service recovery.
... Consider temporal variations as a cause for branching. Some journeys evolve dramatically over time; consider the transition from new customers to long-term users, or from onboarding to renewal stages. While these may still be part of the exact service lifecycle, their emotional tone, goals, and expectations can differ significantly, making separate visualizations provide better insight and guidance.
... Lastly, there are role-based perspectives within an organization. A journey might look quite different to a frontline employee, a customer service agent, or a product owner, all of whom are involved in the same process but from various vantage points. Mapping these views side by side or in a stacked hierarchy helps build empathy internally and align cross-functional teams around shared challenges.
For complex and distinct variations: Leverage journey map hierarchies
When user behavior or external conditions introduce significant variation in an experience, journey branching as a hierarchy might be the best option. These variations might be driven by user intent, channel differences, service disruptions, or regional contexts, each leading to a distinct path through the service. To manage this complexity without overwhelming a single map, you can use a journey map hierarchy.
A hierarchy allows you to nest journeys. Breaking one journey into a system of related maps that reflect different levels of detail or perspective. Think of it like a set of nested geographic maps: the high-level view shows the entire country, but as you zoom in, you reveal the roads, buildings, and details of individual cities. This structure enables you to maintain clarity at each level, tailor insights for specific audiences, and link strategic oversight with operational detail. Whether you’re comparing service responses to edge cases or aligning teams across geographies, nested journeys help make branching both manageable and meaningful.
- Start with a minimal hierarchy and scale deliberately. Begin with just two levels: a high-level customer lifecycle map and a few detailed sub-journeys. This keeps the structure lean and manageable in the early stages. As complexity grows or new teams get involved, you can expand intentionally. Often, three levels are sufficient to avoid over-engineering while maintaining clarity across journeys.
- Use consistent structural logic when nesting maps. A detailed journey can be represented as a step or stage on a higher-level map. For example, a sub-journey detailing onboarding might become a single step in a broader enterprise customer lifecycle. The trick is to be consistent: decide whether sub-journeys become steps or stages and apply that rule systematically, until you encounter a reason to break it for clarity.
- Bridge project and management maps through hierarchy. Project-level maps typically focus on detailed flows and personas tied to a specific initiative, while management-level maps offer a strategic overview. Embedding project maps as sub-levels of management journeys ensures that strategic intent and operational detail stay connected, allowing for both zoomed-in action and zoomed-out alignment.
- Use journey portfolios to compare and prioritize branches. Visualize sub-journeys not only as steps but as a portfolio of opportunities, risks, or insights. Tagging branches with metadata, such as KPIs, pain points, or ownership, allows you to filter across journeys and prioritize where to act, turning your journey maps into dynamic decision-making tools.
- Align lateral journeys through overlapping stages or moments. Not all branches are vertical. Horizontal alignment, across departments, roles, or systems, can be achieved by identifying common moments across journeys. These intersections allow different teams to coordinate on shared challenges, even when they own different parts of the experience.
For similar experiences with minor differences: Streamline with in-map branching
Not all journey variations are complex enough to require a separate map. In many cases, the flow remains largely the same, with only subtle differences. One or two steps vary depending on the channel, user segment, or service feature. For these kinds of minor deviations, it’s more effective to stay within a single map and use in-map branching to maintain coherence in the experience.
- Use labeled alternatives or annotations within steps. Indicate branching options directly in the step description or through labeled routes (e.g., “Option A – Self-service,” “Option B – Assisted service”). This maintains the structure's coherence while acknowledging the differences in the experience, allowing for the filtering of different paths on one map.
- Apply swimlane mapping to separate parallel paths. When dealing with concurrent user actions or variations across channels, swimlanes allow you to lay out distinct paths side by side. This visual clarity helps teams grasp divergence without losing the overall context of the journey.
- Highlight the main path using tags or filters. To ensure focus and reduce cognitive load, designate one route as the primary or “default” experience. Tools like Smaply support tagging and filtering, allowing viewers to choose whether to display only the main path or specific alternatives, depending on the purpose of the analysis or communication.
- Limit the number of in-map branches to preserve clarity. As a general guide, avoid visualizing more than three distinct variations within a single map. Too many branches dilute the storyline and reduce empathy, especially when presenting to non-design stakeholders. If complexity increases, it’s usually a cue to split off into separate sub-journeys within a hierarchy.
Bringing clarity to complexity: Mastering the art of the non-linear journey map
Whether you’re visualizing alternative channels, edge cases, or multiple personas, the key to effectively managing non-linear journeys is not just in mapping every possible path, but in doing so with purpose and structure. Hierarchies help you zoom in and out without losing coherence, while in-map branching allows for nuanced differentiation without overwhelming your audience.
At the heart of this approach is journey management. By embedding consistent logic for branching, nesting, and tagging, you transition from isolated, static maps to a dynamic system that evolves in tandem with your organization. This ensures your journey maps remain actionable: anchoring real-time insights, connecting teams across silos, and guiding service improvements over time.
When thoughtfully designed, a non-linear journey map becomes more than a visual; it becomes a shared language for your organization. It allows teams to align around user needs, uncover overlooked opportunities, and adapt experiences as your service evolves. In other words, mastering branching is not just about managing complexity; it’s about enabling collaboration and clarity at every level.
