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Develop Personas
What is a persona?A persona is a fictional person who represents a major user group for your site. How do we get information for a persona?By analyzing what you learned about your users from user research, including: Using this information, you identify major user groups of your Web site. You then select the characteristics that are most representative of that group and turn them into a persona. What does a persona look like?A persona typically includes a fictional name and characteristics that are consistent with one of the main user groups you have identified. The following example is only a small portion of a larger persona developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS).
Persona developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS). What characteristics are included in a persona?A persona usually includes:
How do we select a name and photo?You make up the persona's name. Select one that resonates with the team as representing that user group. Be relevant and serious; humor usually is not appropriate here. For a picture, you can buy or license stock photography, although a more casual photo often resonates more with development teams. Don't make it a picture of someone the team knows. Make sure you have permission for the photo that you use. You can tell that you have a good picture if the team sees it and says "Oh, yes, that would be Jim, the Press Guy" or "Oh, yes, that's just what I see when I think of Rebecca, the Program Officer." What are the benefits of personas?Personas bring many benefits, including these:
According to Forrester, many companies including Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, and Staples develop and use personas and they report many benefits from doing so, including:
Next stepsIn addition to developing personas, you should use your Task Analysis to Write Scenarios. |
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