There are two main diagram types of CJML: Customer Journey Diagram and Journey Network Diagram – often called swimlane diagram. The diagrams are suited for different purposes, as will explained here.

Customer journey diagram

Some quick facts about this diagram type:

• Suitable when focusing on a single user
• Suitable when few actors are involved

The color or the circle indicates whether the customer is the initiator or sender of a message (orange boundary) or receiver of a message (blue). The icon in the center represents the communication channel that carries the message. The customer journey diagram comes in two variants.

Plain journey diagram: A linear chain of touchpoints in the order of appearance. For actual journeys a user icon is inserted to the left. This variant of the journey diagram is recommended when there is no need to focus on deviations or conformance.

Deviation diagram: This diagram is reserved for actual journeys. Here, it is easier to spot potential deviations, as in this example an unexpected call from the customer.

Journey network diagram

The customer journey diagram is recommended when focusing on a single actor. However, it becomes impractical
as the number of actors involved in a journey increases. In the journey network diagram the actors appear in separate swimlanes. Also, it is more evident who is the initiator and receiver of each communication point. The dashed arrow indicates the direction of the communication.

Quick facts
• Suitable when several actors are involved
• Reveals both the sender and the receiver of a communication point
• Emphasizes the direction of the message flow