design-protocol 1.0.0

package/skills/dp-journey/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: dp-journey
+description: >
+  Build customer journey maps, service blueprints, and omnichannel experience maps using NNGroup's
+  methodology (Kaplan, Salazar, Gibbons, Kaley). Trigger for "/dp:journey", journey map, customer
+  journey, experience map, service blueprint, touchpoint map, omnichannel journey, CX journey,
+  onboarding journey, journey management. Optional Phase 1.5b of DP workflow — runs between
+  Discovery and UX, parallel to PRD. Produces research-grounded journey artifacts with
+  actor/scenario, phases, actions, thoughts, emotions, pain points, and opportunities.
+---
+
+# Journey Mapping & Experience Design
+
+Create journey artifacts that align cross-functional teams around the *customer's* experience — not the organization's. Grounded in NNGroup's five-principle framework: shared vision, customer focus, collaborative, research-based, iterative.
+
+---
+
+## When to Use This Skill
+
+Run `/dp:journey` when you need to:
+
+- **Understand an existing experience** — map the current-state journey based on research
+- **Envision a new experience** — design the future-state journey before UX details
+- **Diagnose painful moments** — find the worst part of a multi-step experience
+- **Align stakeholders** — create a shared artifact for a cross-functional team
+- **Design across channels** — coordinate web, mobile, email, in-person, phone, chat
+- **Extend a journey into operations** — use a service blueprint to align frontstage + backstage
+
+**Don't use this skill for:**
+- Single-screen UX decisions — use `/dp:ux`
+- Feature specs — use `/dp:prd`
+- User flow diagrams — those are part of UX, not journey mapping (flows are UI-centric; journeys are human-centric)
+
+---
+
+## DP Workflow Integration
+
+This skill is an optional sub-phase (Phase 1.5b) placed between Discovery and UX, parallel to PRD.
+
+### Detecting Workflow Mode
+
+At the start of any `/dp:journey` invocation:
+
+1. **Check for `.design/config.json`**
+2. **If found** (workflow mode):
+   - Load `.design/config.json` for settings
+   - Load `.design/phases/DISCOVERY.md` for persona, problem, context
+   - Load `.design/phases/PRD.md` if it exists
+   - Load any research artifacts under `.design/research/` if research was run (e.g., `RESEARCH-PLAN.md`, `FINDINGS-*.md`) — this is where `/dp:research` writes, not under `phases/`
+   - Check for `.design/phases/01.5b-CONTEXT.md` if `/dp:discuss` was run first
+   - Announce: "Running journey mapping as part of DP workflow..."
+3. **If not found** (standalone mode):
+   - Run with default behavior
+   - Ask: "Are we mapping an existing journey (current-state) or designing a new one (future-state)?"
+
+### Pre-fill Rules (Workflow Mode)
+
+| Field | Pre-fill Source | Interview Action |
+|---|---|---|
+| Actor / persona | DISCOVERY.md primary user | Confirm — only ask if ambiguous |
+| Scenario | DISCOVERY.md problem statement | Refine — problem ≠ scenario |
+| Goals & expectations | DISCOVERY.md user goals | Confirm |
+| Known pain points | DISCOVERY.md + RESEARCH findings | Expand |
+| Touchpoints / channels | DISCOVERY.md existing landscape | Ask for completeness |
+| Research basis | RESEARCH files | Flag if none → "hypothesis mode" |
+
+**Workflow mode summary message:**
+```
+DP WORKFLOW ACTIVE
+────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+Project: [name]
+Phase: 1.5b (Journey Mapping — optional)
+Previous: Discovery (complete)
+Next: UX (Phase 2)
+
+Pre-filled from Discovery:
+  Actor ✓  Scenario ◐  Goals ✓  Touchpoints ◐
+  Research basis: [research artifacts found | NONE — hypothesis mode]
+
+I'll confirm pre-filled sections and interview you on the gaps.
+────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+```
+
+---
+
+## The Five NNGroup Principles (Kate Kaplan)
+
+Every journey artifact this skill produces must honor these five principles — they double as process steps:
+
+1. **Establish the "why" and the "what"** — A map without a business goal becomes decoration. Define the decision it will drive before starting.
+2. **Base it on truth** — Ground the map in real qualitative research (interviews, observations, diary studies), supplemented by quantitative data. Assumption-based maps are dangerous. If research is missing, the skill enters **hypothesis mode** (see below) and flags every unverified claim.
+3. **Don't design in a vacuum** — Collaborate across functions (product, engineering, support, marketing, ops) during synthesis, not just review. Co-creation produces buy-in; presentation produces compliance.
+4. **Don't jump to visualization** — The insight work happens in synthesis. Visualizing too early locks in bad structure. Populate all swimlanes before styling the artifact.
+5. **Engage others with the artifact** — Treat the map as an *interactive, living document rather than static output*. Maps are tools for alignment and action, not deliverables to file.
+
+**Hypothesis mode:** If no user research exists, the skill proceeds but prefixes every actions/thoughts/emotions entry with `[HYPOTHESIS]` and adds a "Validation Plan" section recommending research methods.
+
+---
+
+## Journey Artifact Types
+
+The skill supports five distinct artifact types. Pick one per invocation based on the user's goal. These align with NNGroup's UX Mapping Cheat Sheet (Gibbons).
+
+### 1. Customer Journey Map (default)
+**What it is:** One actor, one scenario, tied to a specific product or service, chronological, from the user's perspective.
+
+**Use when:** Improving an existing experience or designing a specific product flow (e.g., "first-time buyer on mobile").
+
+**Variants:**
+- **Current-state** — how the journey works *today* (research-grounded, diagnostic)
+- **Future-state** — how the journey *should* work (vision-setting, strategy)
+
+**Structure:** Zone A (Actor/Scenario/Expectations) → Zone B (Phases + Actions + Thoughts + Emotions + Touchpoints) → Zone C (Opportunities + Ownership + Metrics).
+
+### 2. Experience Map
+**What it is:** Broader than a journey map — a *generic* human perspective, not tied to a specific product or service. Describes how people experience a whole domain (e.g., "managing personal finances" or "planning a wedding").
+
+**Use when:** Upstream discovery for a new product category; understanding context before a product exists; seeing competitive/substitute options.
+
+**Structure:** Same swimlanes as journey map, but scenario is a life context spanning multiple providers.
+
+### 3. Day-in-the-Life Map
+**What it is:** Plots actions/thoughts/emotions across a person's *whole day* (or wider context), not just a product-specific journey.
+
+**Use when:** Finding new product opportunities; understanding competing priorities; designing for moments (not screens).
+
+**Structure:** Timeline = hours of a day; swimlanes = activities, tools, emotions, unmet needs.
+
+### 4. Service Blueprint
+**What it is:** NNGroup (Gibbons): *"a diagram that visualizes the relationships between different service components — people, props (physical or digital evidence), and processes — that are directly tied to touchpoints in a specific customer journey."* Extends the journey map *downward* into the organization.
+
+**Use when:** The experience involves service delivery (humans, systems, handoffs) and internal coordination is the bottleneck. Banking, healthcare, hospitality, complex B2B SaaS onboarding, omnichannel retail.
+
+**Structure:** 5 layers separated by 3 lines — see Service Blueprint Specifics below.
+
+### 5. Omnichannel Journey Map
+**What it is:** A journey map where channel switching is first-class. Shows the same actor moving across web, mobile, email, phone, in-person, chat.
+
+**Use when:** The experience spans 2+ channels and handoff quality matters (e.g., buy online, pick up in store; apply online, sign in person).
+
+**Structure:** Journey map + explicit Channel row + Device row + Channel Transition markers at every handoff.
+
+### Related but NOT produced by this skill
+- **Empathy Map** (Says/Thinks/Feels/Does quadrants) — attitudinal, not chronological. Use `/dp:research` synthesis instead.
+- **User Flow Diagram** — screen-by-screen, UI-centric. Use `/dp:ux`.
+
+---
+
+## The Six-Step Process
+
+The skill runs the user through these six steps. Each has a clear input and output.
+
+### Step 1 — Define scope
+- Pick artifact type (from the four above)
+- Confirm actor (persona): one persona per map
+- Define scenario: specific, time-bounded, outcome-oriented
+- State the actor's expectations entering the scenario
+- Define phases: 4-7 high-level stages (Awareness → Consideration → Purchase → Onboarding → Usage → Advocacy is a common template; customize per domain)
+
+**Anti-pattern:** scenarios like "uses our product" (too broad). Good: "renews an expiring subscription from a billing email."
+
+### Step 2 — Gather inputs
+- Research artifacts: interviews, usability tests, support tickets, analytics
+- Existing docs: personas, flow diagrams, SOPs
+- Stakeholder knowledge: CS team, sales, ops
+- If workflow mode with research: load automatically
+- If no research: enter hypothesis mode and log the gap
+
+### Step 3 — Synthesize per phase
+For each phase, fill in these swimlanes:
+
+| Swimlane | Question it answers | Source |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Actions** | What does the actor do? | Observable behavior |
+| **Thoughts / Mindset** | What are they thinking? | Interview quotes |
+| **Emotions** | How do they feel? (1-5 scale or curve) | Observed + self-reported |
+| **Touchpoints** | What interfaces/channels do they use? | Channel inventory |
+| **Pain Points** | What's frustrating? | Research signals |
+| **Opportunities** | Where could we improve? | Derived insight |
+| **Internal Ownership** | Which team owns each part? | Org map |
+
+For service blueprints, add:
+| **Frontstage** | What does the employee/system do visibly? |
+| **Backstage** | What happens behind the scenes? |
+| **Support Processes** | What enables backstage actions? |
+
+For omnichannel maps, mark every **Channel Transition** as a first-class event with:
+- Source channel → destination channel
+- What context carries over (or doesn't)
+- Failure modes if context is lost
+
+### Step 4 — Draft the artifact
+Produce the structured markdown output (see Output Structure below).
+
+### Step 5 — Validate with stakeholders (offline step)
+The skill outputs a "Validation Checklist" section listing who should review each swimlane.
+
+### Step 6 — Identify next actions
+- Top 3 opportunity zones (ranked by severity × reach × strategic fit)
+- Suggested research to close [HYPOTHESIS] entries
+- Handoff to UX phase
+
+---
+
+## Journey Map Anatomy
+
+Every journey map this skill produces has these zones (NNGroup's Zone A/B/C model):
+
+```
+┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+│ ZONE A — The Lens                                                │
+│ Actor + Scenario + Expectations                                  │
+├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+│ ZONE B — The Experience                                          │
+│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────   │
+│ Phase 1      Phase 2      Phase 3      Phase 4      Phase 5     │
+│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────   │
+│ Actions      Actions      Actions      Actions      Actions     │
+│ Thoughts     Thoughts     Thoughts     Thoughts     Thoughts    │
+│ Emotions ▁▂▅▇▅▃▁ (curve across all phases)                      │
+│ Touchpoints Touchpoints  Touchpoints  Touchpoints  Touchpoints  │
+├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+│ ZONE C — The Insights                                            │
+│ Pain Points | Opportunities | Ownership | Metrics                │
+└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+---
+
+## Omnichannel Specifics
+
+When artifact type is "Omnichannel Journey Map":
+
+### Apply NNGroup's 5 Components of Omnichannel UX (Kim Flaherty)
+1. **Consistent** — a cohesive, familiar experience across channels (brand, content, data, core functionality)
+2. **Optimized (for context)** — each channel's UI is suited to its device, constraints, and context of use (not a copy-paste of desktop)
+3. **Seamless** — channel transitions involve zero or minimal overhead; users can pick up where they left off
+4. **Orchestrated** — proactively guides customers through their journey with the right interaction at the right time
+5. **Collaborative** — lets customers use multiple channels *simultaneously* (e.g., agent call + web screen-share, TV + mobile companion app)
+
+### Define touchpoints precisely (NNGroup, Kim Salazar)
+A **touchpoint** = **channel × device × task**. Separate these explicitly:
+- **Channel** — method of communication/delivery (web, app, call center, store, email, SMS)
+- **Device** — hardware (phone, laptop, kiosk, POS terminal)
+- **Touchpoint** — a specific interaction = channel + device + task
+
+A **touchpoint inventory** enumerates every (channel × device × task) combo the actor hits across the journey.
+
+### Treat channel transitions as first-class events
+At every handoff, document:
+- What the user just did (source channel)
+- What they try to do next (destination channel)
+- What context *should* carry over (auth, cart, preferences, session state, intent)
+- What *actually* carries over (current reality)
+- Failure mode if context is lost (forced re-login, re-typing, re-explaining)
+
+### Multichannel vs cross-channel vs omnichannel (precise NNGroup usage)
+- **Multichannel** — presence on many channels, but each designed in isolation. No shared state, no transition design.
+- **Cross-channel** — channels are coordinated (e.g., email contains a web link that persists session).
+- **Omnichannel** — channels are designed as a connected system: each optimized for its context, transitions explicitly designed, built around the customer's journey rather than the org's channel silos.
+
+**Consistent what, contextual how:** keep brand, data, and core capability consistent across channels; let UI, interaction modality, and detail level adapt to each channel's context.
+
+Call out in the output which tier the current experience operates at.
+
+### Common omnichannel pitfalls to flag
+- Treating multichannel presence as omnichannel
+- Siloed ownership (each channel owned by a different team)
+- Inconsistent data state across channels (stale cart, stale status)
+- Forcing channel parity (replicating desktop UI on mobile)
+- Unmanaged handoffs (re-auth, re-enter, re-explain)
+- Over-personalization without permission
+- Mapping only the happy path — gaps live at transitions and recovery paths
+- Skipping the touchpoint inventory
+
+---
+
+## Service Blueprint Specifics
+
+When artifact type is "Service Blueprint":
+
+### The five layers (top to bottom)
+1. **Physical Evidence** — tangible artifacts the customer encounters (receipt, signage, UI screen)
+2. **Customer Actions** — what the customer does (this IS the journey map row)
+3. **Frontstage Actions** — what employees/systems do visibly
+4. **Backstage Actions** — what employees/systems do invisibly
+5. **Support Processes** — upstream systems, policies, and vendors
+
+### The three lines
+- **Line of Interaction** — between Customer Actions and Frontstage (every interaction crosses this)
+- **Line of Visibility** — between Frontstage and Backstage (customer cannot see below this)
+- **Line of Internal Interaction** — between Backstage and Support Processes
+
+### When to use vs journey map
+Use a service blueprint when:
+- Failures happen backstage but surface frontstage
+- Cross-team coordination is the actual problem (not UI)
+- You're designing a new service, not just a new interface
+
+---
+
+## Journey Mapping vs. Journey Management
+
+A one-time map is an *artifact*. A managed journey is an *operating practice*. This skill produces the artifact but also equips the team for the practice.
+
+**Journey management** (NNGroup, Sarah Gibbons): *"the ongoing practice of researching, measuring, optimizing, and orchestrating a customer journey to improve the customer experience for users and achieve business goals."*
+
+### The 3 competencies of journey management
+1. **Collecting insights** — continuous research into the journey (not once at kickoff)
+2. **Analyzing insights to drive design strategy** — turning observations into roadmap decisions
+3. **Orchestrating journey experiences for users** — delivering the right interaction at the right moment
+
+### What "managed" journeys have that one-off maps don't
+- **A single named owner** (RACI "A") responsible for the journey end-to-end
+- **A review cadence** (typically monthly/quarterly) — without this, the map drifts from reality within ~6 months
+- **Metrics tied to the journey** across three tiers:
+  - *Experience KPIs*: NPS, CSAT, CES (Customer Effort Score)
+  - *Behavioral KPIs*: completion rate, drop-off rate, time-to-complete
+  - *Business KPIs*: revenue per user, retention, cost-to-serve
+- **A validation plan** — research planned for the most-risky hypotheses
+- **A connection to delivery** — insights feed concrete roadmap items with owners
+
+The skill's output includes an **Ownership & Governance** section to seed these practices. Whether the team operationalizes it is organizational maturity — the skill flags when a project warrants managed-journey treatment (e.g., multi-team service, omnichannel, high customer-effort journey).
+
+---
+
+## Hypothesis Mode
+
+When no research is available, the skill:
+
+1. Proceeds with map creation based on stakeholder input and domain knowledge
+2. Prefixes every Thoughts / Emotions / Pain Points entry with `[HYPOTHESIS]`
+3. Adds a **Validation Plan** section listing:
+   - 5-8 specific research questions to validate key claims
+   - Recommended method per question (interview / usability test / survey / diary study / analytics pull)
+   - Priority order (highest-risk hypotheses first)
+4. Adds a banner to the output: `⚠ HYPOTHESIS-BASED — Not validated with research`
+
+This honors the "Research-based" principle while letting teams move forward when research isn't yet available.
+
+---
+
+## Output Structure (Workflow Mode)
+
+When in workflow mode, write to `.design/phases/JOURNEY-MAP.md`:
+
+```yaml
+---
+phase: journey
+skill: dp-journey
+artifact_type: [customer_journey | experience_map | service_blueprint | omnichannel_journey]
+completed: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ
+mode: [research_based | hypothesis]
+actor: [persona name]
+scenario: [one-line scenario]
+phases_count: N
+research_sources:
+  - RESEARCH-interviews.md
+  - RESEARCH-usability.md
+validation_status: [validated | partial | unvalidated]
+---
+
+# Journey Map: [Scenario title]
+
+> Artifact type: [Customer Journey Map | Experience Map | Service Blueprint | Omnichannel Journey Map]
+> Mode: [Research-based | Hypothesis-based ⚠]
+
+## Zone A — The Lens
+
+**Actor:** [Persona name + one-line description]
+
+**Scenario:** [Specific, time-bounded, outcome-oriented scenario]
+
+**Actor's Expectations Entering:**
+- [Expectation 1]
+- [Expectation 2]
+- [Expectation 3]
+
+**Actor's Goal:** [What success looks like from their perspective]
+
+## Zone B — The Experience
+
+### Phases
+| # | Phase Name | Duration | Key Question |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 1 | [Phase 1] | [e.g., minutes / days] | [What is the actor trying to achieve?] |
+| ... | ... | ... | ... |
+
+### Phase-by-Phase Breakdown
+
+#### Phase 1: [Phase Name]
+
+**Actions**
+- [What the actor does]
+- [Next action]
+
+**Thoughts**
+- [Verbatim or paraphrased quotes — "..." if from research]
+
+**Emotions** — [value on 1-5 scale, e.g., 3/5 neutral]
+[Short description of emotional state]
+
+**Touchpoints / Channels**
+- [Touchpoint 1] ([channel type])
+- [Touchpoint 2] ([channel type])
+
+**Pain Points**
+- [Pain point 1 — with research source or [HYPOTHESIS] flag]
+
+**Opportunities**
+- [Opportunity 1 — concrete, actionable]
+
+**Internal Ownership**
+- [Team / role responsible]
+
+[Repeat for each phase]
+
+### Emotion Curve (across all phases)
+```
+  5 ┤
+  4 ┤    ╱╲
+  3 ┤   ╱  ╲___
+  2 ┤  ╱       ╲
+  1 ┤_╱         ╲___
+    └────────────────
+    P1  P2  P3  P4  P5
+```
+
+## Zone C — The Insights
+
+### Top 3 Opportunity Zones
+Ranked by severity × reach × strategic fit:
+
+1. **[Opportunity name]** — [Phase X]
+   - Severity: [1-5] — [why]
+   - Reach: [% of users affected]
+   - Strategic fit: [alignment with org goals]
+   - Suggested action: [concrete next step]
+
+2. ...
+
+3. ...
+
+### Key Moments of Truth
+Critical interactions where the experience succeeds or fails:
+- [Moment 1] — [why it matters]
+- [Moment 2] — [why it matters]
+
+### Ownership & Governance
+**Journey Owner (accountable):** [Name / Role — single person, RACI "A"]
+
+**Review Cadence:** [Weekly | Monthly | Quarterly] — [rationale]
+
+**Metrics to Monitor**
+| Tier | Metric | Current | Target | Source |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| Experience | NPS / CSAT / CES | [value] | [target] | [survey tool] |
+| Behavioral | Completion rate | [%] | [%] | [analytics] |
+| Behavioral | Drop-off points | [phase X] | — | [analytics] |
+| Business | Revenue / retention / cost-to-serve | [value] | [target] | [system] |
+
+**Phase Ownership**
+| Phase | Primary Owner | Secondary | Handoff Risks |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Phase 1 | [Team] | [Team] | [What breaks at handoff] |
+
+## [If Service Blueprint] Backstage Analysis
+
+### Frontstage Actions
+[Per phase — what employees/systems do visibly]
+
+### Backstage Actions
+[Per phase — what happens behind the line of visibility]
+
+### Support Processes
+[Upstream systems, policies, vendors that enable backstage]
+
+### Cross-Line Failure Risks
+| Failure | Where | Customer Impact |
+|---|---|---|
+| [e.g., CRM sync delay] | Backstage → Frontstage | Agent sees stale data |
+
+## [If Omnichannel] Channel Transition Analysis
+
+### Channels in This Journey
+| Channel | Role | Strengths Leveraged |
+|---|---|---|
+| [Channel 1] | [Primary / secondary / fallback] | [What it does best] |
+
+### Channel Transitions
+| # | From | To | Context That Should Carry | Context That Does | Failure Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 1 | [Email] | [Web] | [Auth, offer ID] | [Offer ID only] | [Forces re-login] |
+
+### Omnichannel Tier
+Current state: [Multichannel | Cross-channel | Omnichannel]
+[One-line justification]
+
+## [If Hypothesis Mode] Validation Plan
+
+⚠ This map is hypothesis-based. Validate before making large investments.
+
+### Highest-Risk Hypotheses
+1. **Claim:** [Hypothesis from the map]
+   **Why risky:** [What decisions depend on it]
+   **Method:** [Interview / usability test / survey / analytics]
+   **Sample:** [N, criteria]
+   **Timing:** [Before what decision]
+
+[Repeat for top 5-8 hypotheses]
+
+## Handoff Notes for UX Phase
+
+- Key opportunities to design for: [list]
+- Phases needing the most UX attention: [list]
+- Cross-channel requirements: [if applicable]
+- Open questions for UX: [list]
+```
+
+---
+
+## State Updates (Workflow Mode)
+
+After completing the journey map:
+
+1. **Write output to `.design/phases/JOURNEY-MAP.md`**
+
+2. **Update `.design/STATE.md`:**
+```markdown
+### Last Activity
+- **Date:** [TIMESTAMP]
+- **Action:** Completed journey mapping with /dp:journey
+- **Artifact type:** [type]
+- **Mode:** [research-based | hypothesis]
+
+#### Major Decisions Made
+| Phase | Decision | Impact |
+|---|---|---|
+| Journey | [Top opportunity identified] | [Feeds UX priority] |
+```
+
+3. **Update `.design/config.json`:**
+```json
+{
+  "optional_phases": {
+    "journey": {
+      "enabled": true,
+      "artifact_type": "customer_journey",
+      "mode": "research_based",
+      "completed": true
+    }
+  },
+  "workflow": {
+    "phases_completed": [..., "journey"],
+    "current_optional_phase": null
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**State-machine rules for this optional phase:**
+- **On entry** (as soon as the user invokes `/dp:journey`): set `workflow.current_optional_phase` to `"journey"` (if it isn't already). This lets `/dp:progress` and `/dp:skip` know the user is currently inside a subphase.
+- **On completion** (after writing JOURNEY-MAP.md): clear `workflow.current_optional_phase` to `null` so the main workflow is no longer marked as in-flight on a subphase. Do **not** change `workflow.current_phase` — the numeric main-phase value is governed by the main workflow skills (`/dp:discovery`, `/dp:ux`, etc.), not by optional subphases.
+
+4. **If any [HYPOTHESIS] entries exist, update `.design/REQUIREMENTS.md`** with a "Validation Needed" section.
+
+---
+
+## Handoff (Workflow Mode)
+
+```
+═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+JOURNEY MAP COMPLETE
+═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+
+Output: .design/phases/JOURNEY-MAP.md
+
+Summary:
+• Artifact: [type]
+• Mode: [research-based | hypothesis ⚠]
+• Phases mapped: [N]
+• Top opportunities: [count]
+• Validation needed: [count of hypotheses]
+
+Ready for Next Phase?
+────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+→ /dp:ux — Continue to UX phase (recommended)
+→ /dp:research — Validate hypotheses first (if hypothesis mode)
+→ /dp:prd — Generate PRD incorporating journey insights
+
+Or:
+→ /dp:progress — Review full status
+→ /dp:back — Revisit discovery
+═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+```
+
+---
+
+## Standalone Mode Behavior
+
+When no `.design/` directory exists:
+
+1. Ask artifact type (4 options)
+2. Ask actor + scenario
+3. Ask for research inputs (or enter hypothesis mode)
+4. Run the six-step process
+5. Output inline (rendered markdown)
+6. Offer: "Would you like to start a full DP workflow with `/dp:start`?"
+
+---
+
+## Common Pitfalls to Avoid (Kate Kaplan, NNGroup)
+
+The skill actively guards against these ten:
+
+1. **No clear purpose or business question** — map has no owner, drives no decision, ends up as wall art
+2. **Basing the map on assumptions, not research** — "feelings" made up in a workshop rather than grounded in user data
+3. **Designing for the visual first** — over-polishing the artifact before synthesis is complete
+4. **Mixing actors in one map** — one map = one actor = one scenario; multi-actor maps dilute insight
+5. **Scoping too broadly** — "uses the product" or "the whole customer lifecycle" hides specifics; scope to one scenario
+6. **Leaving emotion out** — omitting the emotion curve reduces the map to a flowchart and kills empathy value
+7. **Not including stakeholders in creation** — presenting a finished map produces no buy-in; co-creation does
+8. **Treating it as one-and-done** — not updating the map as research/product evolves; dies on a wiki
+9. **Confusing journey map with service blueprint or flow chart** — conflating user experience with internal process
+10. **No opportunities or ownership** — stopping at "here's the problem" without who-owns-what and how-we-measure makes the map inactionable
+
+---
+
+## Reference Files
+
+Load these as needed for detailed guidance:
+
+- **references/journey-types.md** — Decision tree for picking artifact type; examples of each
+- **references/map-structures.md** — Full templates for each of the four artifact types
+- **references/research-methods.md** — How to gather inputs for each swimlane (actions, thoughts, emotions, pain points)
+- **references/omnichannel-patterns.md** — Channel transition design, the 3 Cs, common cross-channel patterns
+
+---
+
+## Config Integration
+
+Respects these settings from `.design/config.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "optional_phases": {
+    "journey": {
+      "enabled": true,
+      "artifact_type": "customer_journey",
+      "mode": "research_based",
+      "include_ownership": true,
+      "include_emotion_curve": true
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+- `artifact_type`: one of `customer_journey`, `experience_map`, `service_blueprint`, `omnichannel_journey`
+- `mode`: `research_based` requires research sources; `hypothesis` allows proceeding without
+- `include_ownership`: when true, require Internal Ownership per phase
+- `include_emotion_curve`: when true, include the ASCII emotion curve
+
+---
+
+## Workflow Navigation
+
+```
+                                                    ┌─────────┐
+/dp:start → /dp:discovery → (/dp:prd) →  │ YOU ARE │  → /dp:ux → /dp:execute → /dp:ui → /dp:eng_review → /dp:verify
+              Phase 1         Phase 1.5a    │  HERE   │    Phase 2
+                                            │ 1.5b    │
+                                            └─────────┘
+```
+
+| | |
+|---|---|
+| **Previous** | `/dp:discovery` — Discovery (Phase 1) |
+| **Parallel** | `/dp:prd` — PRD generation (Phase 1.5a) |
+| **Current** | `/dp:journey` — Journey mapping (Phase 1.5b) |
+| **Next** | `/dp:ux` — UX principles & states (Phase 2) |
+| **Related** | `/dp:research` — Run research to validate hypotheses |
+| | `/dp:discuss` — Capture context before this phase |
+| | `/dp:back` — Return to discovery if scope changes |