## How Should Empathy Maps Be Informed? Ideally, Empathy Maps should be based on real user research, such as interviews, observations, and surveys, to ensure accuracy, with constant validation of assumptions. >[!metaphor] >Building an empathy map without real user research is like sketching a friend’s portrait from memory after meeting them once at a noisy party. Your brain will fill in gaps with guesses, and the resemblance might be more wishful than real. </br> Grounding empathy maps in interviews, observations, and surveys keeps the picture accurate and useful, ensuring decisions reflect actual users rather than imagined ones. ## Works Consulted 1. [Empathy Map for Understanding Customers and Users](https://www.scrum.org/resources/empathy-map-understanding-customers-and-users) | Scrum.org | Accessed 26 Jul. 2025. ## Connections follows:: [[5.3 Definition of an Empathy Map]] topics:: [[Empathy Map]], [[User Research]] ![[Footer]]