Persona Canvas

What Are Personas?

Personas are hypothetical archetypes of potential customers that represent key user groups throughout the design process. Rather than depicting real individuals or average users, personas embody distinct groups of users who share similar behaviors, needs, and characteristics. They serve as powerful tools to guide the development of products and services that truly meet user goals, needs, wants, and expectations.

The Power of Persona Development

The creation and use of personas offers several key benefits:

1. Customer Empathy Tool: The Persona Canvas serves as a pivotal instrument in fostering empathy towards customers. By giving each customer segment a face and name, teams can develop a deeper understanding of their customers and more easily step into their shoes.

2. Strategic Decision Making: Personas help teams across different departments align their strategies and decisions with target customer preferences and expectations, leading to a more cohesive brand experience.

3. User-Centered Design: In product and service development, personas ensure that design decisions remain focused on real user needs rather than assumptions or technical preferences.

Types of Personas

Different situations call for different approaches to persona development:

Traditional Research-Based Personas
These personas emerge from rigorous market and design research, utilizing methods such as:
– Interviews
– Contextual inquiry
– Focus groups
– Surveys

Proto-Personas (“User Type” or “Draft Personas”)
– Based on team assumptions and personal experiences
– Serve as initial drafts that need validation through research
– Commonly used in Lean UX methods

User-Generated Personas
– Created by representatives from the target user segment
– Developed during design workshops or focus groups
– Provide quick access to user insights without extensive research

The Persona Canvas

Based on extensive practice and research, The Business Design Tools Persona Canvas includes these essential elements:

Basic Information
1. Demographic details (name, age, country of residence, salary)
2. Photograph or sketch (makes the persona more memorable)
3. User statement or behavior (reflecting attitude)
4. Bio (including behavioral characteristics, aspirations, cultural background)

Psychological & Technical Profile
5. Personality (using Myers-Briggs type indicators – MBTI)
6. Technology expertise level
7. Communication channels
8. Motivations and behavioral triggers

Goals & Pain Points
9. Goals (requirements, expectations, desires)
10. Pain points (frustrations, undesired costs, negative emotions, risks)
11. Deal breakers (what would prevent product/service use)

Product & Brand Relationship
12. Favorite brands and apps
13. Device and platform preferences
14. Top reasons for using your product/service
15. Relationship with your product/service (frequency vs. value)

Best Practices for Using Personas

Primary vs. Secondary Personas
As noted by Alan Cooper in “The Inmates Are Running the Asylum,” it’s crucial to:
– Separate personas into primary and secondary groups
– Focus design efforts primarily on one persona for optimal results
– Limit the number of primary personas to maintain clear focus

Integration with Market Segmentation
While personas and market segmentation might seem conflicting, they are complementary tools:
– Market segmentation provides broad demographic insights
– Personas add depth and humanity to these segments
– Together, they create a complete picture of your target audience

Using the Persona Canvas Effectively

To maximize the value of your Persona Canvas:

1. Keep it Real: While personas are hypothetical, base them on real data and insights whenever possible.
2. Make it Visible: Share personas across teams to ensure consistent understanding of target users.
3. Update Regularly: Revise personas as you gather new customer insights and market data.
4. Use for Validation: Reference personas when making key product or service decisions.
5. Focus on Behaviors: Emphasize behavioral patterns and motivations over simple demographics.

The Persona Canvas is an essential tool for bringing customer segments to life within an organization. By creating detailed personas, teams can more effectively tailor their products, services, and marketing efforts to meet the needs of their audience. Whether used in traditional UX design, lean startup methodology, or general business strategy, the Persona Canvas helps ensure that customer needs remain at the center of all decisions.

Other sources:

Alan Cooper, The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, (Indianapolis: Sams, 2004).

Laurel Brenda, Design Research: Methods and Perspectives (London:The MIT Press, 2003).

Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, and Dave Cronin, About Face 3 (Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing Inc, 2007)

Kim Goodwin, Designing for the Digital Age: How to Create Human-centered Products and Services (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).

http://uxmag.com/articles/personas-the-foundation-of-a-great-user-experience

http://www.servicedesigntools.org/tools/40