Carbon FiveSeptember 5, 2012
Personas for Coders
http://karinedrumond.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/user_story_card4.jpg
User story
Who is this “user” of which you speak?
People
People
Needs
People
Needs
Uses
People
Needs
Uses
Features
People
Needs
Uses
Features
Insert business vision here
People
Needs
Uses
Features
Insert business vision here
UI design, wireframesVisual design
People
Needs
Uses
Features
Personas
Epics
Stories
Personas help us understand
• Motivations
• Level of expertise
• Context of use
• Workflow
• Goals and needs
Personas are NOT
• Demographic segments
• General-purpose
• Stereotypes
The origin of personas
Introduced by Alan Cooper
“The Inmates are Running the Asylum”
Widely used in user experience (UX)
Based on user research
A little known fact
Personas help coders solve problems
Specific more important than accurate
Alan’s first persona - “Kathy”
http://www.cooper.com/journal/2008/05/the_origin_of_personas.html/
Pragmatic personas
David Hussman, 2008
Agile “pragmatic personas”
Draw someone you know
Photo: Flickr jazzmasterson/275800917
Lean Startup
Learning experiments
Make products people want
Persona hypothesis
Evolve as you know more
Personas grow and evolve
Before talking to customersSee if you agree about who “the user” isFigure out who you need to talk to
Personas grow and evolve
After talking to customersPersistent, shared visual artifactDefines “customer value”Establishes scope of featuresAid to prioritize features
Personas before talking to customers
Photo: Lane Halley
Personas after talking to customers
Photo: Lane Halley
Let’s make a persona
Name & sketch Description
Needs & goalsBehaviors
Show & tell
Photo: Lane Halley
Discussion
Thank you!
Lane Halleywww.carbonfive.com @thinknow
