PERSONAS
A persona provides a believable, but anonymous character to design for.
Personas are fictitious character ‘cards’ created to represent different groups of people based on real data gathered from interviews, observations and insights.
Normally around 4 – 6 personas are developed to represent users and/or those who deliver a service. Anonymity is important – sometimes people are in a dangerous or volatile situation or sometimes people simply don’t want their friends, family or employers to know what they have spoken about.
Why should I use it?
Personas keep service users (or staff) ‘in the room’ when designing and making decisions. Personas encourage people to focus on the needs of the persona, rather than revert to their own personal opinions/biases.
How does it work?
Each persona is based on interviewing real people and bringing together their needs, experiences and characteristics.
Personas provide an anonymous but believable character to focus on and design for.
What do I need?
•Persona template (or you can create your own)
•Sharpies
•Post-it notes
Personas need specific context. This is because personas are used for generations specific solution based on their needs and the barriers they face around trying to perform a specific task.
Read an article by Indy Young discussing personas in detail.
