DESIGN
Research and Discovery
Develop User Personas
User personas are fictional but data-driven representations of your target users, encapsulating their needs, behaviors, and goals.
Why it's Important
Focuses the team on user-centric design.
Guides feature prioritization and decision-making.
Helps test product ideas against user needs.
How to Implement
Consolidate Research: Pull data from user research to identify patterns.
Group Similar Users: Cluster users based on shared traits or behaviors.
Define Key Attributes: Include demographics, goals, challenges, and preferences.
Humanize Personas: Add names, photos, and narratives to make them relatable.
Iterate: Refine personas as new data becomes available.
Available Workshops
Persona Development Workshop: Collaborate to create realistic and detailed personas.
Behavior Mapping: Identify behavioral patterns in user groups.
Persona Role-Playing: Use personas in team discussions to simulate user perspectives.
"A Day in the Life" Exercise: Map out a persona’s typical day.
Validation Workshop: Test personas with stakeholders and users for accuracy.
Deliverables
Detailed user personas.
Persona-based user stories.
Persona profiles or cards.
How to Measure
Relevance and realism of personas.
Stakeholder understanding and acceptance.
Frequency of persona use in decision-making.
Real-World Examples
Spotify Personas
Spotify Personas: Identified casual listeners and music enthusiasts, tailoring features for both.
Facebook’s Early Personas: Focused on college students to refine features before expanding.
Nike
Nike Training Club App: Built personas like fitness beginners and advanced athletes to customize workouts.
Get It Right
Base personas on actual data, not assumptions.
Create diverse personas to cover key user groups.
Regularly update personas as user needs evolve.
Use personas actively in decision-making processes.
Involve stakeholders in persona creation for buy-in.
Don't Make These Mistakes
Overcomplicating personas with excessive details.
Neglecting to validate personas with real users.
Failing to update personas as new insights arise.
Using stereotypes instead of data.
Creating personas but not using them in the design process.