Define a Persona

Create an archetype of your users to guide design decisions.

A persona is a detailed representation of your typical user. It captures the end user’s goals, desires, challenges and tasks, with its foundation drawn from end user interviews. By giving a human face to abstract data, personas not only guide design decisions but also foster a shared understanding within the team about the end users.

GOAL

Create a persona as an archetype of your users to give a human face to an otherwise abstract data

PARTICIPANTS

Designers, Business Leads, other key stakeholders

TIME NEEDED

30 Minutes

PHASE

Discover

Before You Start

Create a Synthesis Grid
To unpack end user interviews into tangible and visual pieces of information, we recommend creating a Synthesis Grid.
This activity includes storytelling, synthesizing data into interesting findings and forming insights that will be useful for creating solutions.
Method: Synthesis Grid

Materials you will need

Templates for Download

Templates for Virtual Collaboration

(Registration to MURAL is required)

Steps

Creating the persona includes several steps. We recommend completing them in one session.
Knowledge about the users within the use case is a prerequisite to create the persona.
  • 10 minutes

Add typical characteristics

The exercise starts with adding typical characteristics of the persona: name, age, educational background, etc. Visualize the persona: Draw a portrait of your persona or include an image.

  • 10 minutes

Add role, goals, tasks, and triggers

In context of the design challenge, describe:

  • What is the persona’s role?
  • What is the goal he/ she is trying to achieve?
  • What are the tasks to achieve the goal?
  • What are the triggers for those tasks?
  • How frequently does he/ she complete those tasks?

  • 5 minutes

Describe work environment

Describe who the persona works with and how his/her work environment looks like.

  • 5 minutes

Describe motivations and frustrations

Describe what motivates and what frustrates the persona

See Completed Example

You're done!

During your project you can refer to the persona again and again throughout your project to remind yourself who you design your solution for. A well-crafted persona works like a North Star for a team to guide their decisions.