Unit 3 · Lesson 9 of 20
Design the journey, not a single screen
Model entry, action, feedback, interruption, and handoff as one task.
01 / Learn
The idea
A task flow describes the steps inside a product; a journey includes what happens before, after, and across channels. To improve a repair request, map how the tenant notices the problem, reports it, learns whether the request was received, receives a visit time, and checks whether the issue was resolved. Each handoff creates a question: who owns the next step and what does the tenant know?
Draw a successful path and at least one interrupted path. Include delayed service, an unavailable appointment slot, a missed visit, and a request that must be escalated. Record information the tenant should not have to enter twice. A good flow makes state and ownership understandable even when the work leaves the app for a technician or call center.
A shorter sequence of screens is always a better journey. Removing steps can hide essential confirmation, consent, or recovery.
02 / See the reasoning
Worked example
Fictional scenario
A tenant reports a broken heater through a housing-service app.
An expert maps a repair report through submission, triage, scheduling, and completion. They notice that the app says 'Done' at submission even though triage can reject missing details. They relabel it 'Request received,' show the next review step and a way to add information, then test whether tenants understand the service state.
Try a decision →03 / Decide
Guided decision
Which flow would you prototype first for a repair request that requires staff triage?
Feedback on your choice
What could change the answer: If triage is immediate and automated with reliable decisions, some intermediate status may collapse; if urgent safety issues exist, the flow needs a faster escalation route.
This feedback helps you examine the decision; it does not grade your written reasoning.
Apply it somewhere new →04 / Apply elsewhere
Independent application
Fictional scenario
A worker books a shared electric vehicle through mobile, then unlocks it with a physical terminal.
Map the journey from selection to return, including failed unlock, low battery, and handoff to support. Identify the information that must travel between app and terminal.
Make: A journey and task-flow diagram with at least one recovery branch and ownership notes.
The map includes cross-channel handoffs, honest state transitions, and a recovery route tied to the worker's goal.
Lesson complete
You applied the method in a new context.
You studied the idea, tested a decision, and made an artifact for a new context. Keep the reasoning for your next UX question.
05 / Keep working