Imagine 3 friends are hiking and come to the top of a Colorado mountain range.
The first hiker is a world traveler and explorer. Before he leaves he decides he is going to check out that canyon to see if there are any deer hanging out, above the high outcropping of boulders is a huge nest, and he knows that forest is going to be a great place to get away from the afternoon sun.
The second hiker works as a geologist looking for fossil fuels and minerals. As he looks over the country he notices a dry riverbed to the south, a long rock formation to the west, and an interesting way that the ground is shifted to the east right before a large forest.
The third hiker is active duty military and has done 3 tours. When he looks out over the area below, he is looking at the dead end canyon to the south, the cluster of boulders on high ground to the west, the dense forest of trees that could be hiding anything to the east.
All three hikers are looking at the same terrain, however they are looking at it from three (3) different Vantage Points.
When mapping Customer Journeys for Healthcare we need to make sure we take the Journey step by step through at least three (3) Vantage Points.
The first (1) Vantage Point is from the perspective of the Customer. In this case the Customer is whoever the person receiving the product or service is. For example, a customer may be a Member, a Provider, an Employer, a Broker, etc.
The second (2) Vantage Point is from the perspective of Systems/Technology. We need to go step by step through the Journey and identify what Systems and/or Technology is used to fulfill each step of this Journey.
The third (3) Vantage Point is from the perspective of the internal Employee. Again go step by step through the Journey and identify what the employee(s) have to do to fulfill each step.
Then we go back through each step of the three (3) Vantage points and place a Smiley Face, a Neutral Face, a Frown Face, or a Not Sure question mark at each step. To be clear we do this at each step and from each Vantage Point. Meaning we will go through the Journey three (3) more times.
Now we have a great picture of Current State! Now we are ready to start discerning Future State!