A mental model map is a visual representation of a user group's or persona's thought process and patterns related to a subset of the world, relevant to our solution. It also contains how our solution supports the user's thought processes. The mental model shifts focus from designing a solution to understanding the user's state of mind, and how we can support those states.
To be able to create a mental model map, we can do longitudinal research. This research type covers a longer period with the same test users. When creating a mental model map, we focus on target behaviors in their larger context during the logging period, which can take days or even a few weeks. Then, we analyze the results, creating mental units, group them into mental towers, and then group the towers into mental spaces.
The mental model map helps us to find new ways to support the users in different...
