AD-HOCPERSONAGive the target group

a face

YOU WANT …

… to understand who your target group is, what motivations and needs exist there.

YOU GET …

… a better understanding of the behavior of the citizens – through archetypes instead of demographic segments. This enables you to develop ideas in a more targeted manner during the process.

Personas represent typical people in a target group. They make it easier to talk

specifi cally about citizens and their needs.

WHO CAN DO IT? Anyone can take part. It is ideal when

the participants can contribute knowledge of the actors/citizens.

FOR HOW MANY PEOPLE?At least two

DURATION?Depends on the number of personas.

Around 30 minutes to two hours.

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WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUTA persona is a role, a mask, a (self) image. If you look through this mask, you perceive things in a certain way. If you change it, new perspectives emerge again. If you construct different “types”, you can better understand, distinguish and predict lifestyles and behavior. An ad-hoc persona is a shortened version of a “regular”, data-based persona.

WHAT YOU NEEDSuitable materials are: fl ip charts or pin boards, magazines to cut out, scissors, pens in various colors, post-its, large sheets of paper and a glue stick. In addition, participants are welcome to bring their experience and knowledge on the relevant actors and, if available, even sound data.

GET AN OVERVIEWThink about who might be affected by your solution or infl uence its success. Then decide which maximum of three target groups are most important for a particular problem area. You focus your persona creation on these.

COMPILE INFORMATION AND DATAAd-hoc personas are based on assumptions. However, this does not mean that they are fi ctional. The assumptions are based on the experience of the participants and their knowledge of citizens/actors. Collect as much information and assessment as possible about the defi ned target group(s).

CREATE PERSONAS AND MAKE THEM AS TANGIBLE AS POSSIBLE Invent a persona for each of the defi ned segments − with name, age, place of residence, and other demographic characteristics. You can use the template on the next page to create the persona: In addition to the fi ctitious data, it is important that your personas have a picture, a context. If you search out a concrete persona portrait from magazines, use mood pictures. A characteristic quotation rounds off the persona. You can also describe a typical day in the persona’s life to help build empathy.

AD-HOC PERSONAFACES OF THE TARGET GROUP

In order to understand a concrete challenge, you have to have a picture of the target group it affects: Ad-hoc personas are a fast variant of the persona method and are particularly suitable for creating a common communication basis.

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NEXT STEPS

• Personas with more foundation: In order to be able to use personas as a strategic

tool, these should be based on a systematic data basis.• Even more lifelike personas: You can enrich your personas according to your

special challenge. Use explorative research methods, such as interviews or user observations, in order to gain even deeper insights into the life of the personas. Perhaps you can find real citizens to whom your personas fit. Get to know them and find out how act in relation to your particular project.

What is the persona’s life like in terms of job, activities, etc.?

What are the most important needs in their life?

List 5 products or services which are very important

to your persona.

Give your persona a name.

Give your persona an age.

Make your persona personal by adding a

photo of a real person.

What could be typical quotes by your persona?

What motivates your persona? What frustrates them?

Determine an education level.

What are their family relationships like?

Where does the persona live and where do they spend time?

KREATIVITÄT ANREGUNG SAMMELN

TRÄUMEN NEUGIER EFFIZIENZ

KONTROLLE SPIELEN ZIELE SETZEN

PLANEN KÖRPERLICHE BEWEGUNG

RÜCKMELDUNG KOMPETENZ

ENTSPANNUNG RISIKO ZERSTÖREN

BELOHNUNG LERNEN

REGELN BRECHEN REGELN EINHALTEN

STATUS BESTIMMEN FAMILIE GEBEN

FREUNDSCHAFT HELFEN GESELLIGKEIT

LIEBE SCHÜTZEN RESPEKT

BESCHÜTZT WERDEN KOMMUNIZIEREN

GRUPPENZUGEHÖRIGKEIT SOZIALER

VERGLEICH PRIVATSPHÄRE

FREIHEIT HEDONISMUS GERECHTIGKEIT

GESUNDHEIT INDIVIDUALITÄT LEISTUNG

ORDNUNG SICHERHEIT SPARSAMKEIT

TRADITION NACHHALTIGKEIT

VERANTWORTUNG SELBSTVER­

WIRKLICHUNG SELBSTWERT TREUE

EHRLICHKEIT

5 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS

NAME

ACTIONAL SOCIAL IDEATIONAL

AGE

EDUCATION FAMILY

DEMOGRAPHY

LIFE NEEDS

PLACE OF RESIDENCE / LIVING SITUATION

QUOTE / MOTTO

WHAT MOTIVATES ME? WHAT FRUSTRATES ME?

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And now?You now know some of the protagonists better and can guess how they view the topic. Next, you can DEFINE CHALLENGES. Or you can use another method from step 1 to get an even closer look at the field of action.

AD-HOC PERSONANEXT STEPS AND TIPS

UNDERSTAND & EXPLORE

WHAT ARE THE CORE CHALLENGESOF CITIZENS AND OUR ADMINISTRATION?

• Ad-hoc Persona• Stakeholder Mapping

• Explorative Research Methods

• Citizen Journey Mapping

• Trend Analysis

DEFINE CHALLENGES

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGEON WHICH WE WANT TO FOCUS?

• How might we

• Orientation Map

IDEATION

WHAT ARE THE MOST PROMISINGPROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACHES?

• Ideation Methods

• Elevator Pitch

• Citizen Roleplay

PROTOTYPING & TESTING

DOES AN IDEA WORK?HOW CAN WE OPTIMIZE IT?

• Prototyping Methods

• Business Model Canvas

• Test Methods

IMPLEMENTATION

HOW CAN WE REALIZE A SOLUTION?

• Implementation