Personas
In order to design the right experience, we need to understand “who” we are designing for and the differences between key types of users. This framework will provide guidance to the design team in creating solutions that address the specific needs, behaviors and pain points of your user groups.
Serving suggestion
- 2-5 personas
- Minimum 2 researchers
- Minimum 1 hour per persona
Pairs well with
- Customer Journey Maps
- Creative Brief
Recipes
Present insights & opportunities from research
Understand user behaviors, attitudes & needs
Focus
How to do it:
- Gather insights from research (primary and secondary).
- Create or select a framework/template (What information will you include?).
- Determine heuristics that will distinguish and define your personas.
- Write narratives around each persona that includes attitudes, behaviors, distinctive characteristics and needs.
- Be sure to include both emotional and rational needs, motivations and drivers.
Additional resources
Making Personas More Powerful: Details to Drive Strategic and Tactical Design – Boxes and Arrows
Tips on how to make sure your personas are bringing deep value to your product strategy and design decisions.
Personas: A Simple Introduction – Interaction Design Foundation
Personas are fictional characters, which you create based upon your research in order to represent the different user types that might use your service, product, site, or brand in a similar way.
Why Personas Fail – Nielsen Norman Group
Personas are useful tools for UX work, so why do they often fail? Find out what pitfalls cause personas to fail, and how to avoid and overcome them.
A Closer Look At Personas: What They Are And How They Work – Smashing Magazine
A deeper evaluation on personas and what they bring to the table.