The views of those populations that interact every day in the heart of the health system: the public, professionals and managers have now been added to the traditional technical-political approach to healthcare planning. This article presents the methodology of and a selection of results from a study carried out for the Health Map of Catalonia using qualitative methods (individual interviews, focus groups and biographical accounts) with 254 participants. The results highlight aspects related with, among others, resources (structural and informal), work overload, overuse, over-medicalisation, definition of processes, the time variable, coordination, the knowledge and competence of professionals, the conditions and key perspectives of healthcare practice (of both professionals and users), and the role of intermediary played by the professional in the system. This new methodological approach has been of great use for pointing out guidance strategies for services.