Customer journeys, or user journeys, are the steps taken by a user to achieve a goal. This implies that the user goes through a process and has an experience. The fundamental goal of CJML is to enable a detailed and precise specification of a service delivery process from the perspective of the end user. CJML has been developed over many years, but the guiding principles have remained the same throughout:

• CJML distinguishes planned journeys (hypothetical state of a service process) from actual journeys (when an individual user is using or executing the service).
• CJML is based on the objective, observable properties of a service process to enhance its reliability.
• CJML conceptualize human experiences in the executional state as an individual and time-varying attribute based on self-reported data.

CJML explicitly distinguishes between the planned (or assumed) journey and the actual (real) journey that unfolds when a human user interacts with a service, or “embarks on a journey”. Previous research has emphasized the need to “mind the gap” between theory and reality, as the discrepancy can be large. This is also why we introduced the CJML deviation diagram.

The steps in a journey are called touchpoints. There are two types: communication points (circles) and actions (squares). Communication points represent communication or interaction between two actors. Actions are non-communicative events or activities performed by an actor as part of a customer journey. Touchpoints in CJML are atomic. Higher levels of abstraction are represented through journey phases.

CJML makes a clear distinction between objective and subjective elements in a journey. In other words, it distinguishes between what can be observed or extracted from event logs and the user’s individual experience. Note that CJML only allows experience in actual journeys, as experience is individual and time-varying and must be based on self-reported data.