Tool Building with AI
Finding New Ways to Visualize Mapping Concepts
The Challenge
Traditional product design frameworks often compartmentalize thinking—user research lives separately from information architecture, which exists apart from interface design. This fragmentation makes it difficult to see how abstract user needs connect to concrete interface decisions.
I wanted to build a tool that could bridge this gap—something that allowed me to map the entire journey from abstract user needs and company objectives to pixel-level interface decisions, while maintaining clear visibility into how each layer influences the others.
The Framework
I combined two powerful frameworks to create a comprehensive mapping system:
Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) provided the foundation for understanding user needs at their deepest level—the jobs users are trying to accomplish, the anxieties they face, and what success looks like for them.
Jesse James Garrett's Elements of UX gave me the structure to move from those abstract needs through strategy, scope, structure, and surface—creating a clear architecture for how every layer connects to the next.
The Solution
The result is a layered mapping tool that enables:
- Abstract to Concrete: Starting with high-level user needs and company objectives, then building layer by layer down to the specific pixels of the interface
- Connection Visibility: Making relationships between objects at different layers explicit and explorable—connections that simply weren't possible to represent in traditional, siloed documents
- Non-Linear Navigation: The ability to explore how a single user goal influences information architecture, which influences interaction patterns, which ultimately influences visual hierarchy
- Stakeholder Alignment: Creating a shared visual language that helps teams understand how strategic decisions ripple through every level of design
What This Enables
By treating the entire design journey as one interconnected system rather than isolated phases, this tool allows designers and product teams to:
- Trace the path from "why we're building this" to "how this button looks and behaves"
- Quickly assess the impact of changes at any layer on all other layers
- Facilitate more productive conversations between research, strategy, and design teams
- Build more cohesive products where every decision is intentional and connected to user needs
This is a personal tool built to solve my own design process challenges—but it's revealed powerful potential for how teams can think about the holistic nature of product design.