Pain Point Analysis 💢 Prompts

SUMMARY

 Purpose: Pain Point Analysis helps surface the real frictions, blockers, and frustrations users face while interacting with a product or service. 

Design Thinking Phase: Define 

Time: 45–60 min session + 1–2 hours analysis 

Difficulty: ⭐⭐ 

When to useWhen user feedback feels too broad or generalisedWhen refining a core journey or high-traffic flowBefore initiating solution ideation based on real user struggles

What it is

Pain Point Analysis is a focused method that identifies where users encounter friction across a product experience. It draws from qualitative insights (e.g. usability testing, interviews) and overlays them with user flows to map out emotional and functional blockers. The objective is to recognise what’s making users fail, abandon tasks, or feel frustrated — not just where, but why.

📺 Video by NNgroup. Embedded for educational reference.

Why it matters

Even the best-designed flows can hide micro-frictions. Pain Point Analysis reveals the emotional undercurrent of UX breakdowns, giving deeper context than data dashboards or engagement metrics. When used properly, it closes the gap between user data and product decisions, ensuring you're solving meaningful problems, not just tweaking interfaces.

When to use

• Auditing an existing feature or journey with low completion rates
• Before moving from problem space to solutions in early-stage design sprints
• After moderating a round of usability testing or interview sessions

Benefits

• Rich Insights: Helps uncover user needs that aren’t visible in metrics.
• Flexibility: Works across various project types and timelines.
• User Empathy: Deepens understanding of behaviours and motivations.

How to use it

• Gather source material: usability test notes, interview transcripts, support tickets, NPS data.
• Sketch each step of the core journey a user is taking. Use a linear timeline or flow diagram.
• Overlay direct user quotes and observed reactions onto pain points per step.
• Organise pain points into categories (e.g. Confusion, Delay, Error, Expectation Gap).
• Map these against business impact (low, medium, high) and confidence level.
• Turn critical pain points into problem statements or HMW questions for ideation.

Example Output

Journey: Account creation for SME payroll software

Pain Point Summary:

• Step 2 – Business Details Form: “I don’t know which ABN to use for multiple entities.” (Category: Confusion)
• Step 3 – Plan Selection: Users hesitate due to lack of cost clarity. (Category: Expectation Gap)
• Step 5 – Confirmation Email: Email lands in spam folder frequently. (Category: Error)

Top Ranked HMW Statement: “How might we reduce hesitation by clarifying pricing earlier in the decision flow?”

Common Pitfalls

• Over-generalising: Avoid clustering too many diverse issues into one vague pain point. Be specific.
• No user voice: Don’t paraphrase everything. Include direct quotes — emotion matters.
• Jumping to solutions: Resist turning analysis sessions into fix-it brainstorms too early.

10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for Pain Point Analysis – UX/UI Edition

How These Prompts Work (C.S.I.R. Framework)

Each of the templates below follows the C.S.I.R. method — a proven structure for writing clear, effective prompts that get better results from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or any other LLM.

C.S.I.R. stands for:

•  
• Context: Who you are and the UX situation you're working in
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• Specific Info: Key design inputs, tasks, or constraints the AI should consider
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• Intent: What you want the AI to help you achieve
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• Response Format: The structure or format you want the AI to return (e.g. checklist, table, journey map)

 
Level up your career with smarter AI prompts. Get templates used by UX leaders — no guesswork, just results.Design faster, research smarter, and ship with confidence.First one’s free. Unlock all 10 by becoming a member. 

Prompt Template 1: “Map User Friction into a Journey Flow:”

Map User Friction into a Journey Flow:

Context: You are a UX researcher summarising usability test findings for a product onboarding flow.
Specific Info: The flow includes [5 key steps], with evidence of [drop-off and confusion in steps 2 and 4].
Intent: Visualise user friction points as part of a flow diagram that informs redesign priorities.
Response Format: Provide a table with columns: Step, Observed Pain Point, Category (e.g. Confusion, Delay), Confidence Level, Direct Quote.

If any friction or data point is weak, flag that for team validation.
Then, suggest how to turn high-pain areas into “How might we” questions.