PersonasInformation Architecture

PersonasIs a practical tool for interaction analysis.

Personas help in defining the needs of the users of a given system and designing the system’s functionality from the point of view of a real user.

What are Personas?Hypothetical (not real people)

Very specific (name, picture, background, goals)

They are not just job descriptions

ExampleSelect a few key personas

The goals of these personas form the basis for the design of the system.

How to create Personas?Summarize findings of your research List your user’s goals and try to find patterns

Technical know-how of user base Age range, gender distribution (demographics) Work flow Usage patterns (your product and competitors) Social patterns (how do they relate to family, friends etc) Competitors product the user base is interested in Non-competing products Common gripes Whish lists Psychographics (moral values and cultural background)

How to create Personas?Information collected for your personas must be: Specific: each piece of information

should be as precise as possible “Users like it to be easy” “Users need to be able to complete the

process in a half hour”

How to create Personas?Information collected for your personas must be: Relevant: Relevant to your product

not to everything on the web “Users like free stuff” “Many users request free evaluation periods

to know if paying will be worth it”

How to create Personas?Information collected for your personas must be: Universal: Find things that are true for

the entire site. “Users couldn’t find the submit button on the

checkout page” “We have a type of user who knows what he

wants already and needs a way to speed through finding and buying”

How to create Personas?Brainstorming section Invite stakeholders Thing in terms of: Why do people use our

product? How do they use it? List characteristics of of your users Combine characteristics and refine your

personas Create as many personas as the group feels

it is needed to represent the user base

How to create Personas?Prioritize and select Personas Primary Secondary Complementary

Depending on the size you should reduce the total number of personas down to three to five.

How to create Personas? Primary personas: common user

types that are important to the business success of the product and needy from a design point of view: Beginner users Technologically challenged users

Each primary persona might need its own interface

How to create Personas? Secondary personas: power users

that are less valuable for the business but cost a lot to support: Should be very different from primary

personas

Secondary personas use the same interface as primary personas but has special needs that should be taken into account during the design

How to create Personas? Complementary Personas: a user that

has radically different needs and might need specialized design of her own.

These users show us another side of the product that we might not have seen otherwise

How to create Personas?Make personas into real people: Initially you will have:

Scott Seamus/ 20/ male/ single/ Schaumburg, IL

Sarah Carlson/ 26/ female/ married/ Washington, DC.