Creating Personas - Prescient Digital Media 09

How to effectively

focus on your

website users:

Creating Personas

Presented by

Catherine Elder

© 2009 Prescient Digital Media

1

Who we are

• Prescient Digital Media

is a group of senior

intranet and Internet

consultants that

provide strategic

Internet and intranet

consulting, planning

and communications

services to

organizations of all

sizes.

2© 2009 Prescient Digital Media

Today’s Agenda

• Complaints,

mistakes &

problems

• Personas –

overview & process

• Case Study

• Personas work

because

• Q&A

© 2009 Prescient Digital Media3

Major complaints

• “We can’t find

anything”

• “Everything is

buried”


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://website.lineone.net/~zyra/diggdog1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.zyra.org.uk/diggdog.htm&usg=__YMsyGJ3jJ4ufb6KNwFXoAlky9KM=&h=250&w=250&sz=13&hl=en&start=8&um=1&tbnid=cIDJm0c_ybg2nM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddog%2Bdigging%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7RNWN%26sa%3DN

Common mistake

• No, we don’t know who our users are

• Yes, we know who are users are (kinda)

o I’m a user…


Problem

• Having a website that has grown organically but it

doesn’t appeal or meet anyone’s needs.


What do you mean by “user”?

• You may know your users but when you are designing

your information architecture and creating a design

does everyone understand what you mean by “user”?


Analogy

• Let’s replace “website

user” with “dog”.

• Is there an image of a

dog in your head?

• Do you think everyone

has the same image?


Do you know the Demographics?

• For example, Generation & Values

o Baby Boomers (1943–1960)

Teamwork , Long hours, Hard work, Recognition

o Generation X (1961–1981)

Competence, Ongoing learning, Informality, Feedback

o Generation Y (1982–2001)

Achievement, Structure, Collaboration, Mission


Do you know the Special Needs?

• What are the specific requirements?

• What are the special need requirements?

o 15 % of the population has some form of accessibility

issue.


How are your users using your site?

• Are there size, space and access considerations?


That’s a lot to consider

• How are you going

to ensure that

you’re talking about

the same user

criteria and

statistics?


Are you ready

to consider

personas?

© 2009 Prescient Digital Media 13

Strategy first

• Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.

Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

- Sun Tzu


What are personas?

• “.. personas are not real people…they are hypothetical archetypes of actual users…defined with significant rigor and precision.”

– 1999 Alan Cooper, The inmates are running the asylum


Persona Definition

• Personas are

fictitious characters

that are created to

represent the

different user types

that might use a

site.


Persona’s Explained

• Personas are

synthesized from data

collected.

• They are captured in

descriptions that

include behaviour

patterns, goals, skills,

attitudes, and

environment, with a

few fictional personal

details, including a

name, to bring the

persona to life.


Benefits of Personas

• Personas represent a larger group of users within a

construct framework and provide a realistic point of

reference.

• Personas help provide focus and a strong sense

of what the users’ goals are and thereby

provide them direction on how to fulfill those goals.


Creating personas

• Step 1: Collect and analyze data

• Step 2: Align assumptions, data and user types with

goals

• Step 3: Create skeletons and rationales

• Step 4: Create Personas

• Step 5: Choose a Primary Persona

• Step 6: Promote their use

• Step 7: Use personas

• Step 8: Review personas before using again


Step 1 – Collect & analyze data

• Conduct

o Interviews

o Surveys

o Focus Groups

• Review research

• Analyze website metrics


Step 2 – Conduct a workshop

• Have participants

o Write assumptions

User type & goal, activity or

problem

o Group the assumptions by

user type

o Create overarching goals

per user type

o Align facts & research

data with each category


Step 2 – Conduct a workshop


Student who needs a course to complete a certificate

Student thinking about taking courses to improve career

User Type: Students

Goal: Make courses quick and easy to access

Fact: 80% of Students that take these courses are between 21-25 years old

Write assumptions: User type & goal,

activity or problem

Group the assumptions by user type

Create overarching goals per user type

Align facts & research data with each

category

Step 3: Persona Skeleton Rationale


Demographics Represented in Personas

Gender Female = 463 (70.5%)

Male = 194 (29.5%)

4 of the personas are female

1 is male

Age age 35-45 = 225 employees (34.2% of employees)

age 25-35 = 220 employees (33.5% of employees)

age 45 and up = 195 employees (29.7% of employees)

age 18-25 = 17 employees (2.6% of employees)

Two are between 35 – 45

Two are between 25-35

One is over 45

Location [total employees 657 – 750] Ottawa = 350

Toronto = 276

Montréal = 13

Victoria = 12

24 telecommuters

Two of the personas are from Ottawa

One is from Toronto

One is from Montreal

One is a telecommuter

Education Post graduate & Master = 222 employees (37%)

Undergrad = 207 employees (34%)

Diploma (Technical School) = 161 employees (27%)

HS (High School) = 17 employees (3%)

Two are post grads/Master degrees

Two are undergrads

One has diploma

Length of Service 2 years - 5 years = 217 (33.0%)

More than 5 years = 179 (27.2%)

6 months - 2 years = 147 (22.4%)

Less than 6 months = 114 (17.4%)

Two have 2-5 years

One has more than 5 years

One has between 6mths to 2 years

One is a new employee <6mths

Computer and Devices ~ 160 person with PDA

~ 300 with laptop

~ 250 with VPN access

100% MSOffice

Two have PDAs

All are computer literate

One has minimal training (e.g. for intranet)

Bilingual

• 27.55% are bilingual

Two of the personas are bilingual

Step 3: Develop skeletons

• Draft an outline of

the personas

• Conduct interviews,

at least two for

each “persona type”

to collect more

detail and confirm/

remove any

assumptions


• Female

• University Grad

• 26 years old

• Currently working full-time

at a bank

• Working for less than 1 year

• Avg. income 40K

• Works in Toronto

• She comes to the website

for course information

Step 4: Create Personas


Name Demographics Female

Age – 26 years old

Education – University Grad

Location - Works in Toronto

Currently working full-time at a bank

Working for less than 1 year

Avg. income 40K

Role – support or management

Lifestyle Marital status

Hobbies & Interests

Generation Y (1982–2001)• Achievement,

• Structure,

• Collaboration,

• Mission

Key Characteristics/

skills Technical skills

Social skills

Core competencies

Behaviour How often on computer and on the site?

Travel, mobile or in office?

Personality traits

Website/Intranet Uses: Frequently used areas

Future Requirements/Goals Can include personalization and customization

Any collaboration needs

Any tools or software

Step 4: Create Personas


Name Demographics Female

Age – 26 years old

Education – University Grad

Location - Works in Toronto

Currently working full-time at a bank

Working for less than 1 year

Avg. income 40K

Role – support or management

Lifestyle Marital status

Hobbies & Interests

Generation Y (1982–2001)• Achievement,

• Structure,

• Collaboration,

• Mission

Key Characteristics/

skills Technical skills

Social skills

Core competencies

Behaviour How often on computer and on the site?

Travel, mobile or in office?

Personality traits

Website/Intranet Uses: Frequently used areas

Future Requirements/Goals Can include personalization and customization

Any collaboration needs

Any tools or software

Facts

Web Metrics

Assumption,

goals, data – from

workshop

Persona Interviews

Step 5: Choose a Primary Persona

• Once you’ve

created several

personas one

should be chosen

as “primary”.

• The primary

persona has right

of way, their needs

must be met.


Pierre – Project & People Manager

Step 6: Promote their use

• Promote and

communicate the

personas and their

use

o Catchy Names (Rita

Researcher)

o Posters

o Cut-outs

o Cards

o Include them in your

project site


Step 6: Use - Why use Personas

• “The idea isn’t to build something that only one single person will love. Rather, the idea is to build something with one single person in mind. If you use personas

as a tool to focus on very specific goals, you’ll focus on a whole class of people – who all share those

goals.” – Nielsen Norman Group, Adlin & Pruitt


Case Study

Persona for an Internet Site Design

CSI.ca


30

Problem

• Common complaints with respect to usability revolved around the

difficulty experienced by users in finding relevant information.

• Features of the site most in need of improvement included:

search functionality, design (branding), and navigation, with an

emphasis on making the site more consumer-focused and

intuitive to their user audiences.

• Overall goals with respect to usability were to focus on reducing

the abandonment rate and providing users with numerous

opportunities to find the course or information they are looking

for.


Approach

• Assessment

o Research review, metric analysis & site evaluation – Key Findings

and Recommendations report

• Planning

o Developed personas & logic flows

o Developed IA , wireframes & a prototype site

o Conducted usability testing & persona validation with 10 participants

o Modified IA & wireframes

o Created design concepts

o (12 week project)

• Site re-launched in November 2008


Personas

• Three personas were defined:

o Persona 1: Looking for a Career in Financial Services

o Persona 2: Current CSI Student

o Persona 3: Training Manager


Persona 1: Looking for a Career in

Financial Services


34

Demographics

• Female

• University Grad

• 26 years old

• Currently working full-time at a bank

• Working for less than 1 year

• Avg. income 40K

• Works in Toronto

• Wants to take the CSC/IFC to advance her career

Anticipated Behaviour

• Debbie will visit the CSI site either by a referral from someone else (incl. HR/Training) which in all likelihood

would be to the home page of www.csi.ca or by searching on Google for CSC, IFC or potentially CSI.

• Debbie’s first visit to the site will be exploratory; she will want to learn as much as possible about the

courses and what her options are. She will be willing to make a long term commitment to learning to get her

designations if she feels they will help her career and her earning potential.

• Debbie’s next visit to the site will be from a bookmarked page – probably the CSC or IFC main page. She

will want to know the cost so she can get approval. She will want to know how long the courses are, what

the delivery options are and when the next course is so that she can coordinate her schedule. She will want

to know how quickly she can complete her qualifications and if they can be applied to her performance

review.

• Debbie is willing to take courses in person as she sees it as a networking opportunity but she is also

computer literate and comfortable with online courses. She is also very interested in understanding the

exam process and seeing examples would ease her mind on what she needs to be prepared for.

“Debbie”

http://www.csi.ca/

Persona 2: Current CSI Student


35

“John”


• John is familiar with CSI and will probably have the site bookmarked or the URL memorized and will go

there directly.

• John’s focus is on the mandatory IIROC (formerly IDA) CE requirements (30 hours professional and 12

hours compliance every 3 years).

• He will go to the site looking for continuing education courses that will provide him with the most value.

• He works long hours and is starting a family so his time is limited.

• He is looking for specific courses that he can take online if possible.

• He wants to see a direct benefit for his career in taking the courses.

• He needs to take the courses so he can complete them in time to meet the mandatory requirements.

• He may be considering expanding his license and therefore would be interested in insurance, options,

futures etc. Therefore he would search continuing education, seminars, certification and perhaps

designations to understand what his options are and match them to his interests as well as to bank

initiatives

Demographics

• Male

• 36 years old

• University grad; Fluent in English and French

• Working for 5 years; Currently working full-time at Full service brokerage

• Works in Montreal

• Avg. income $79K

• Investment Advisor therefore, he has completed the CSC, CPH and WME;

• Looking to complete his Continuing Education requirements (modules/seminars)

Persona 3: Training Manager


36

Demographics

• Slightly more skewed towards females

• Proficient with internal bank LMS systems

• Works full-time for one of the big banks

• 38 years old

• 8-10 years of related banking/training experience

• University grad

• Familiar with CSI and ICB courses some of our courses i.e. CSC, PFP

• Visits www.csi.ca at least once per week


• Mary has the homepage of CSI bookmarked as she visits the site often for a variety of reasons. She needs to

be able to get a good overview of what courses are offered as well as their cost and schedule.

• Mary sees herself as more of a career manager as she provides employees with information and

encouragement on developing their career.

• For new employees she provides information on introductory programs (CSC, PFPC, IFC, PFP etc.) . She

may email the link to the employee (https://www.csi.ca/student/en_ca/courses/introductory/csc.xhtml)

• She spends time with more senior, long-term employees who need to meet mandatory requirements like

IIROC's CE 12 hour compliance.

• Mary likes to know what is going on within the training environment as well as within the industry – if she sees

up to date news she reads it and she subscribes to newsletters that offer training information and advice.

Mary likes to be knowledgeable about courses so she can offer in-depth advice.

• Mary likes to be able to bookmark various courses and see at a glance the details including pre-requisites,

cost and schedule so she can provide the best advice possible to employees.

• Mary sends out emails to select employees to prompt them to upgrade their skills or to provide them with

training advice.

“Mary”

http://www.csi.ca/

https://www.csi.ca/student/en_ca/courses/introductory/csc.xhtml

Before


Conceptual Design


Conceptual Design


Debbie

“Looking”

Conceptual Design


John

“Current”

Conceptual Design


Mary

“Manager”

The site today


Personas work because…


43


• People respond to people, they are easier to

remember and reference than a compilation of data.


It is easier to remember “John Persona” rather than: male,

generation X, tech savvy, loves video games, travels a lot….


• Personas are generative – people can relate to them,

understand them, acknowledge the relationship they

would have including experience and acknowledge that

they will change overtime.


Bethany at 10, 31, 55…


• Personas help a team focus on important aspects of

target users – they simplify the reference points.


Female

Late 20’s

High energy, motivated

Analyst, career focused

Expert txt msgr

Outgoing and social

Has made online purchases

Bethany Buyer

Use personas to:

• Develop information architecture and wireframes

• Develop design concepts

• Create functional plans

• Create content management plan

• Create content

• Create communications plan

o (intranet: Promotional plan)

o (Internet: Marketing/SEO plan to attract personas)

• Develop products, applications and tools


Personas are a tool to help you know

your users and create better designs

and content for those users.


Strategy provides direction


Vision

Personas provide user focus


“Their greatest value is in providing a

shared basis for communication.” –Pruitt & Grudinol, MS

http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?form=MSHOME&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&q=personas

Are you ready

to consider

personas?


Getting started

• Do you have a strategy?

• Do you want to use personas?

o Collect and analyze data

o Conduct workshop to gather assumptions, facts and

overarching goals per user type

o Develop “skeletons” and rationale

o Create Personas

o Promote Personas

o Use Personas

o Test Personas


Catherine Elder

Senior Manager

Prescient Digital Media

[email protected]

www.PrescientDigital.com

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416.986.8800


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