What is a Persona?
Mike Cohn Definition (3, page 38)
User roles = collection of defining attributes that characterise a population of users and their intended interactions
Persona = imaginary representation of a user role. Describe sufficiently so the team feel like they know the person (e.g. job, family, likes, comfort with technology). Include a description and a picture.
Extreme characters = over-the-top characters like a drug dealer or the pope
Good Persona Guidance
What Info should a good persona provide (1, pg 31)
- Name
- Representative photograph
- Quote that conveys what they most care about
- Job title
- Demographics
- Needs/goals
- Relevant motivations and attitudes
- Related tasks and behaviours
- Frustrations/ pain points with current solution
- Level of expertise/ knowledge (in the relevant domain, e.g. level computer savvy)
- Product usage context/ environment (e.g. laptop in a loud, bust office or tablet on the couch at home)
- Technology adoption life cycle segment (for your product category) – according to Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm
Creating Personas
Proto-personas (2)
- Keeping personas as a living document, rather than a one time activity
- Create proto-personas at the start and then validate that the persona is correct, rather than upfront research by a third party. Team are disconnected from the personas
- Then validate 3 things
- Does the customer exist?
- Do they have the needs and obstacles you think they do?
- Would they value a solution to this problem?
See Persona Creating Workshop
References
- Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen
- Lean UX by Jeff Gothelf
- User Stories Applied by Mike Cohn
Explore more
 User Testing |  User Interview |  User Stories |
