Personas (Latin for “masks”) are a good way to distil the needs of your larger userbase into a few types of users. These are fictional amalgamations of the primary needs of your larger user base. Generally on a large project, you will have multiple personas, because your users will have a wide range of specific needs.
Why create personas?
- They stop you from designing only for yourself
- They allow you to prioritize the features and elements needed for your project
- They keep you from wasting time on stuff that doesn’t fit in with your project charter
How to Create a Persona
There are two parts to creating a persona:
Part 1
Create some basic information about your user. Be creative (and feel free to use humor!), but think about who may potentially view and use your project (professors, students, researchers, etc.).. Example demographic elements to consider including:
- Name
- Age
- Location
- Education
- Occupation
- Family status
- Income
- Hobbies
- Technical experience
Part 2
Drawing from the demographic information you have created, craft a 4-8 sentence narrative about your user. Explain who they are and why they would interact with the project you are creating. Think of the following concepts:
- Tasks: What is your user trying do? What questions do they need to answer?
- Feelings: What matters most to your user?
- Influences: What influences how your user acts? This could be motivated by their job, education, age, technical experience, etc.
- Problems and goals: What obstacles might your user encounter, and what do they want to accomplish? In other words, “My user needs to do _____ because _____.”
