When I started learning about UX design I heard for the very first time the expression “user persona” and I didn’t immediately get the full utility of it. Today we meet more frequently user personas as people are becoming more familiar with it and acknowledge the importance of user personas in product design and marketing. In this article, I will share what I learned during my latest experience as a UX researcher and how user personas affect significantly the way designers approach a project.
User personas are not for fun
During one of my latest project. I made some comprehensive initial UX research for a mobile app for students. The stakeholder was looking forward to seeing the results of this first stage and I was enthusiastic about what I discovered. During the presentation, we went through the various steps of the research. When I finally presented him user personas he was astonished. He said that during all these years working in this industry he never realized the importance to look at their audience so closely. By seeing and reading about their target he has now a better understanding of what are their needs and pain points and eventually, this gave new inspirations to the company.
Yes, user personas can significantly affect the way the entire design team approach a design or a marketing project. But what are user personas and why are they so important?
What are user personas?
If you google “user persona” on the internet you will find dozens of definitions about them. I won’t make a new one in this article but I would rather quote reliable sources and well-known authority with this regard.
The Interaction design foundation puts it this way:
Personas are fictional characters, which you create based upon your research in order to represent the different user types that might use your service, product, site, or brand in a similar way. Creating personas will help you to understand your users’ needs, experiences, behaviours and goals.
Personas are based on research and not assumptions. We can assume that John, a married man who recently turned 40, has specific needs and goals. We also assume that he uses Facebook more frequently than, let’s say Linkedin. But if this not corresponds to reality this persona is misleading the team instead of helping them to get oriented.
To make sure personas are the closest as possible to our audience we need to make proper UX research. How can you do that? Well, stakeholders don’t always understand the importance of interviewing real people and even if they do, the budget doesn’t always allow to do that. I often face this situation and the problem I need to solve is: where can I find reliable information about my audience? Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward answer to this question. It really depends on the situation and on the project.
For example, during my latest project, I found some reliable information about users on the client’s youtube channel. In fact, he already interviewed some users about their experience with the product and guess what, they shared not just their praises for the company but also their pain points, feelings and fears. This gave me excellent inputs to implement my personas and the final result was fantastic.
How many personas do you need?
User personas should adequately represent the different types that might use your service, site, product or brand. Does this mean that we should create a persona for every single customer we segmented through our audience? No. The risk is to create so many personas that you and your team get confused about them. Eventually, this can cause distraction and too much time spent in research. I usually make up to 5 personas depending on the project. Focus on primary personas and think of different situations directly related to their lives.
I’ll quote another important source in UX design. Nielsen Norman defines personas with these words:
When based on user research, personas support user-centred design throughout a project’s lifecycle by making characteristics of key user segments more salient.
Another important truth is: personas are not just for fun. They support user-centred design throughout a project’s lifecycle from start to finish. This is the reason why I always present personas to the development team as well and not only to visual designers or product managers. All the team members should clearly understand who is their users and how they can do their life easier.
User personas are an important part of the UX design process. They give breath to the project and make it alive. They help designers to understand the main features and functionality of a digital product. If you can’t speak to real people base personas on research and not assumptions. Look for real data and information, dig deeper and you won’t be disappointed with the results.