Assumptive Personas:Start with what

You Know

Jeremy KriegelUX Director, Gemvara

Introductions

• Name• Role• Something interesting• Expectations

Who are we designing for?

$$ like…

We are happy

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…

I think…and that’s final

There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.

- Susan Cain

Author, Quiet

“

”

Ask them!*Engage

Market Segmentation

Demographics• 35-44• Male• Married with 1.8 kids• $75K-90K• College graduates• 86% Caucasian• Born in the USA

Psychographics• Running, gym, • 56% liberal, 40% conservative• Ambitious, self-reliant,

competitive• Hard work, recognition

Firmographics• Automotive engineer• 15 years experience• Specializes in aerodynamics

Behaviors• Regular users • Avg use of 6.3x/week• Accounts with 2-3 competitors• Activity increases around back-

to-school

Think of someone you are close to

Describe them by their

‘graphics

Tell a favorite story about that person

Segment

Persona

Focus

Innovation comes… from saying no to 1,000

things to make sure we don’t get on the

wrong track or try to do too much. We’re

always thinking about new markets we

could enter, but it’s only by saying no that

you can concentrate on the things that are

really important.

-Steve Jobs

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2004/nf20041012_4018_PG2_db083.htm

Consensus

Empathy

100 Year Old (Wo)Man

Life in 1813• Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward

Catalogs 2nd and 3rd most read books• For entertainment, families gathered around

the piano for a sing along, took a drive in their horse-drawn carriage or car (Model T released 5 years ago), or went to a nickel arcade for a movie

• The Titanic sank last year• There has never been a world war

Explain an iPad

Explain the internet

Quantitative

Ideally Combine

• Validate qualitative with quantitative

• Flesh out quantitative with qualitative

Avoid hypotheticals

What differentiates?

• Goals• Demographics • Activities• Behaviors• Other?

Describe the Personas

• Give them details• Make them believable

Persona Priority

Name & Picture Summary & Quote

DemographicsStory

User Goals Summary Business Goals Summary

lou suSi – BXOS !nteractive!http://www.behance.net/gallery/Monster-Persona-Cards/1208889

Start with What You Know

What we know

What we don’t know

Assumptive Personas

Known knowns

Known unknowns

Unknown unknowns

Break into teams

Your Project

Your Business

Client: The Awesomes

• New team of heroes• Open holes in their roster• Not the best showing so far• At risk of losing their government

funding• Public is very skeptical

What if we can’t agree?

BREAK:Decide on your

client

Business Goals

Biz Goal

Biz Goal

Biz Goal

persona persona persona persona

Story Story Story Story Story Story Story Story Story

SpecificMeasurableAttainableRelevantTime-bound

Define SMART(ish)

Goals

Force Prioritize

Hypothesize Segments

Create a big list

• High level description• What differentiates them?

– Goals– Demographics– Psychographics– Firmographics– Behaviors – ???

Winnow Segments

• Are any close enough to be identical?• If I satisfy A, do I also satisfy B?• Give segments a title

Map Personas to Biz Goals

• A persona can support more than one goal

Prioritize Segments

Define Personas

Persona Definitions• Persona goals• Business goals• Context • Behaviors• Barriers• Demographics• Psychographics• Firmographics

Tell their story

Critical Assumptions

Cos

t of

Wro

ng

Uncertainty

Mitigation Strategies• Expert opinions

– research, consulting• Quantitative research

– surveys, analytics• Qualitative research

– Usability studies, focus groups, contextual inquiry

Why risk instead of benefit?

Fear sells

Identify & Mitigate

Present

Now what?

Distribute them far and wide

• Introduce them at a company meeting• Mount posters around the office, and in

conference rooms• Print persona cards for everyone

Refer to them often

• Whenever you hear, “I think”, or “I want”, ask, “What would [personal] want?”

Adapt them as needed

• When you find new info• Not to suit pre-existing agendas

Validate & expand

• Get some help• Go it alone

Innovation is solving a problem I didn't know I had

until I see your solution

One last thinghttp://spkr8.com/t/27911

Resources

• User is Always Right – by Steve Mulder• Don’t Make Me Think – by Steve Krug• http://www.cooper.com/journal/

personas/