What Users Need. will create reliable and realistic representations of your key audience segments for reference.
What are user personas?
A persona is a representation of a user, typically based off user research and incorporating user goals, needs, and interests. Effective personas:
Represent a major user group for your website
Express and focus on the major needs and expectations of the most important user groups
Give a clear picture of the user's expectations and how they're likely to use the site Aid in uncovering universal features and functionality
Describe real people with backgrounds, goals, and values
Benefits of Personas
Personas help to focus decisions surrounding site components by adding a layer of real-world consideration to the conversation. They also offer a quick and inexpensive way to test and prioritize those features throughout the development process. In addition they can help:
Stakeholders and leaders evaluate new site feature ideas
Information architects develop informed wireframes, interface behaviors, and labeling
Designers create the overall look and feel of the website
System engineers/developers decide which approaches to take based on user behaviors
Copy writers ensure site content is written to the appropriate audiences
Elements of a Persona
Personas generally include the following key pieces of information:
Persona Group (i.e. web manager)
Fictional name
Job titles and major responsibilities
Demographics such as age, education, ethnicity, and family status
The goals and tasks they are trying to complete using the site
Their physical, social, and technological environment
A quote that sums up what matters most to the persona as it relates to your site
Casual pictures representing that user group
