Persona Development

Define target group: First, identify what type of user it is that we want to learn about. These criteria will help researchers in targeting their studies. 

Determine the purpose of the research: Proto-personas and full personas have different purposes, requirements, and strengths. Based on a project's goals and timeline, we'll discuss the depth of research you'll most benefit from.

Conduct and analyze research: Regardless of the type of persona, research will need to be conducted in order to collect information on the target group. Often this means surveys or interviews with appropriate participants (users or stakeholders).

Create persona(s): Once the data is collected, researchers will compile it into one or more fictional representatives that convey the data authentically. These are your personas!

Full Persona

Research

Primary user research

• Research designed and conducted specifically to inform this persona. 
• Research conducted exclusively with the end users we're interested in.

Optional: Additional secondary research

• Gather information from SMEs/stakeholders that know the target group well.
• Pull from data collected through previous research efforts that may inform this persona.
  

Purpose

• Alignment: Aid in aligning a team on who they are creating for and serving, providing a shared narrative to be easily referenced.
• Empathy: Promote empathy and understanding of the customer, humanizing their story. Adds context around their situation.
• Guidance: Help to inform strategic decisions around design and development. With a better understanding of the customer, product teams can confidently define and prioritize needs.
• Validation: Can function to validate or invalidate assumptions held about our customers. With user research, we always seek to update what we know, and that may mean correcting what we once thought.
• Depth: Primary research data has depth, and can be sliced and diced to uncover variants in participant stories and experiences. There may be two or more personas represented in the data.

Example

A. Photo - Using a real photo makes a persona feel like an actual person.

B. Personal Details - Demographics help us understand key characteristics at a glance.

C. Quote - Often pulled directly from our data, the quote gives an authentic voice to our persona.

D. Background and Scenario - These sections provide context. They give the persona depth and help us conceptualize how a person may find themselves in a place where they can leverage our tools/services.

E. Drivers and Experiences - These are important details around motivations, pain points, and preferences that help shape a persona's behavior.

Proto-Persona

Research

Limited user research

• Data collected through previous research efforts that may inform this persona.
• Research done with a small sample size of users.

Gather information from SMEs/stakeholders that know the target group well.

Additional secondary research through online sources. 

Purpose

• Alignment: Aid in aligning a team on who they are creating for and serving, providing a shared narrative to be easily referenced.
• Empathy: Promote empathy and understanding of the customer, humanizing their story. Adds context around their situation.
• Inspiration: Identify and raise questions about our users that may inform future research needs, or questions to dig into further.

Limitations

• These should not be used to make strategic decisions, as they aren't founded on reliable user research.
• The data used tends to be shallower, and does not allow for slicing/dicing to uncover variants.
• Protos do not invalidate assumptions. They are built on assumptions. Therefore, bias inherently exists.

Example

A. Photo - Using a real photo makes a persona feel like an actual person.

B. Key Demographics - The characteristics that define this particular subgroup.

C. Background - A short description that gives enough detail to contextualize the rest of the persona.

D. Drivers and Additional Details - We give focus to the goals and pain points that motivate the persona, and add relevant details that may correspond to the persona's subgroup.

The Unifi Design Studio has created dozens of personas and proto-personas that accurately represent the various users for our applications. We welcome you to browse our Persona Library, then reach out to us if you'd like to adopt, or create a persona for your needs.