Understanding the Kitchen Planning Journey
The Objective
IKEA needed a unified framework connecting customer mindsets, co-worker workflows, and touchpoints across the kitchen planning journey—establishing a shared source of truth for kitchen experience while exploring a scalable methodology for future planning domains.
My Role
I worked across qualitative research, insight synthesis, and journey mapping—helping turn fragmented findings into a shared framework for cross-functional product development.
Interviews & Alignment Workshops
Gathered insights through user research, store co-worker interviews, and cross-functional workshops with key Kitchen team stakeholders to align on friction points.
Archetypes & Journey Mapping
Synthesized findings into 6 core behavioral archetypes and mapped them directly across key journey stages to pinpoint specific needs.
Living Artefact & Visibility
Established a dynamic journey map shared physically in the office and digitally as a PDF, enabling continuous feedback and adoption from broader IKEA teams.
The Living Journey Framework
We established a unified framework structured around three macro phases of the kitchen planning journey—each breaking down into detailed sub-phases, key milestones, and customer touchpoints.
Recognising & Exploring
Inspiration gathering, concept creation, room measurements, and initial budget estimations.
Choosing & Committing
Comparing vendor offers, co-creation sessions with co-workers, and final purchase decisions.
Integrating & Living
Managing delivery logistics, installation pre-work, and long-term home satisfaction.
Impact & Results
Shared Service View
Aligned cross-functional teams around a common, end-to-end understanding of the kitchen planning experience.
Dynamic Archetypes
Shifted perspective from static personas to fluid behavioral mindsets, mapping how customer needs and archetypes shift across different journey stages.
Living Reference Blueprint
Transformed research into an accessible artefact—widely appreciated across the organization as a tangible blueprint for how to structure end-to-end customer journeys in other planning domains.
Key Learning
Journey maps deliver the most value when treated as dynamic frameworks rather than static deliverables. While this project successfully mapped the customer lifecycle and is actively used by teams today, it highlighted a clear strategic next step: developing a dedicated, end-to-end Co-worker Journey map to fully align store operations with the customer experience.