Designing a Modeling Language for Customer Journeys: Lessons Learned from User Involvement

Abstract

Although numerous methods have been formalized for handling the technical aspects of developing domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs), user needs and usability aspects are often addressed in ad hoc manners and late in the development process. Working in this context, this paper presents the development of the customer journey modeling language (CJML), a DSML for modeling service processes from the end-user's perspective. CJML targets a wide and heterogeneous group of users, making it especially challenging regarding usability. This paper describes how an industry-relevant DSML was systematically improved by using a variety of user-centered design techniques in close collaboration with the target group and how their feedback was used to refine and evolve the syntax and semantics of CJML. We also suggest how a service-providing organization may benefit from adopting CJML as a unifying language for documentation purposes, compliance analysis, and service innovation. Finally, we generalize the experience gained into lessons learned and methodological guidelines.