Design methods

Designing for people means to understand people, their needs, their expectations, attitudes and goals.

PERSONAS

INTERACTIVE DESIGN prof. Alessandra Rinaldi, prof. Claudia Becchimanzi, prof. Michaela Servi

Fall 2018

Design methodsPERSONAS

User Personas are generic profiles of potential users. They help to define the context in which certain interactions occur between user and product /system.

What?Personas

are a precise description of a hypothetical user, his goals, needs and expectations.

Represent the users to whom the project refers;They provide a complete picture of user expectations and how they are likely to use the product/service;They help to discover and define features and characteristics that the product/service should have;They describe real people with their background, their goals and values.

Why?Personas are aimed to

Create reliable and realistic representations of the main segments of users to be used as a reference for the project.Generate a focus on an individual or a group of individuals, to encourage empathy towards specific users and to optimize the design process.

Who?Designers to define main features of the project.

Stakeholders to assess new ideas for products/services.

System engineers/developersto decide which approaches to adopt for analyzing user behavior.

Copy writer/marketingto write specific contents to the reference audience.

When?Personas are used during the research phase and the exploratory phase, preliminary to the design process.

Starting from the research focused on the user, it is possible to define personas and scenarios.

Field studies, surveys, interviews, direct observation and other methods of user research are essential to define features of the target audience and are the first to be used.

How?The description of persons, in order to be effective, must:

be as complete as possible;include details on the needs, problems and objectives of the individual;include basic information such as age, sex, behavior and profession

Personas do not have to document every aspect of an individual's life but focus on those features that could influence the design process.

PersonasPRACTICAL PHASE

Phases

1. Data collection Collect as much information as possible about actual users.

2. Data organizationBased on your research, organize the collected data.

3. ScenariIdentify scenarios for the personas. Describe specific situations in which the user interacts with products/services. Usually scenarios are developed by placing the user in a specific context, in which they want or need to solve a problem.

Data collection1 Data organization2 Scenarios3 Description

of the personas4

4. Descriprion of the personas The purpose of using personas is to be able to develop solutions, products and services based on real users’ needs and objectives. Be sure to carefully describe people in relation to the target audience.Include details on education, life, interests, values, goals, needs, limits, wishes, attitudes and behavior of the user.

Give each of your characters a name.Create a description of 1-2 slides per person.

PhasesData collection1 Data

organization2 Scenarios3 Description of the personas4

Phases 1-2-3

To create effective and accurate personas:

Research about users by answering the following questions: Who are your users and why do they use the product/system? Which behaviors and expectations do they have in relation to the product/system?Focus the research: Focus on the specific, relevant and universal features of the product/system and its users.Brainstorming: Organize the identified features in groups of personas that represent your target users. Give each group a name or rank.Make realistic personas: Develop appropriate descriptions of each person's background, motivations and expectations.

Data collection1 Data organization2 Scenarios3 Description

of the personas4

PersonasPhase 4 - PERSONAS EXAMPLE

Data collection1 Data organization2 Scenarios3 Description

of the personas4

Name and surname

Biography description

Main characteristics

Describe goals

Describe frustrations

Describe personality

INTERACTIVE DESIGN prof. Alessandra Rinaldi Personas template

Specific objectivesFocus on:

Observation and listening Observe real users and reflect on their interaction with reference products/services;PictureFind a picture that represents the described person as faithfully as possible;Personal informationsProvide all information on age, sex, employment, name, etc;Problems and needsDescribe problems and needs that arise from the interaction between persons and the reference products/services;General descriptionDescribe the profile of the person, his lifestyle, preferences, habits, peculiarities, etc;ProfileUse a template for each described person.

BriefCreate 3 personas, referring to the museum target.

The template is available on Xtensio: https://xtensio.com/templates/