While plenty of practitioners invoke the word ‘experiences’, how often are we talking about the same thing?

From ‘user experiences’ to the ‘experience economy’, from ‘designing for experiences’ to ‘brand experiences’, from ‘customer experience management’ to ‘experience marketing’, experiences are definitely the topic du jour.

But is an experience defined solely by how easily one accomplishes a task (as with Google or Craig’s List) or is an experience something less definably (as with Starbucks or Harley Davidson)?

This framework poster by Stephen P. Anderson (to be presented at the 2006 IA Summit in Vancouver, Canada) structures all the elements that make for a great experience, and gives a context to the various activities (both internal and external to an organisation) that play a role in defining a person’s perception of a product or service.

Download poster (pdf, 2.8 mb)