From our new report, Designing Mobile Apps: A Roadmap for Businesses, situational maps are intended to help designers explore possible scenarios where mobile apps could be used. This mobile 'situational map' is just an example and is not intended to capture the detail found in a user journey (a user-centred design tool) or touch-point map (used in service design). Remember that different people doing the same job may use a mobile device differently in the same situation, depending on a range of factors - so situational maps must be refined into specific journeys.

1. Time, Place and Context: A Hypothetical Knowledge Worker
HOME AT WORK AWAY FROM THE OFFICE
Partial attention
At home Moving from one
(out of hours) At a hotel
activity to another
Attending a
Attending an
At the airport conference or
informal meeting
event
Travelling to and Co-located
Attending a Waiting in line for
from place of co-workers Site visit
formal meeting coffee or lunch
work
With a client,
Working from Working at a Working in a
customer or
home desk private area
business partner Full attention
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Co-workers or business
partners working
elsewhere
James Dellow, Headshift Asia Pacific
May 2012