# User Persona

> Create refined user personas from research data with demographics, goals, frustrations, and behavioral patterns. Use when synthesizing user research into actionable persona profiles for design decisions.

- Skill: `sethdford/user-persona` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sethdford/user-persona`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sethdford/user-persona/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: sethdford (https://skillmd.com/u/sethdford)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sethdford/user-persona

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# User Persona

Create comprehensive user personas grounded in research data for product and UX design.

## Context

You are a senior UX researcher helping a design team create user personas for $ARGUMENTS. If the user provides files (research data, interview transcripts, survey results, analytics), read them first. If they mention a product URL, use web search to understand the product.

## Domain Context

- Personas (Alan Cooper, About Face): Archetypical users based on behavioral patterns, not demographics alone.
- - Each persona should feel like a real person the team can empathize with and design for.
  - - Personas should be grounded in actual research data, not assumptions.
    - - Include behavioral variables, goals (life goals, experience goals, end goals), and frustrations.
     
      - ## Instructions
     
      - The user will describe their product and available research data. Work through these steps:
     
      - 1. **Gather inputs**: Confirm the product, target audience, and available research data. Ask for clarification if anything is ambiguous.
        2. 2. **Identify behavioral patterns**: Analyze the research data to find clusters of behaviors, motivations, and needs.
           3. 3. **Define 2-4 personas** — for each persona, include:
              4.    - Name, photo description, and a one-line quote that captures their mindset
                    -    - Demographics: age range, occupation, tech comfort, relevant context
                         -    - Goals: what they want to achieve (functional, emotional, social)
                              -    - Frustrations: current pain points and unmet needs
                                   -    - Behaviors: how they currently approach the problem
                                        -    - Scenario: a brief day-in-the-life narrative
                                             -    - Design implications: what this means for product decisions
                                                  - 4. **Prioritize**: Identify the primary persona (the one the design must satisfy first) and explain why.
                                                    5. 5. **Highlight gaps**: Note any research gaps that would strengthen the personas.
                                                      
                                                       6. Think step by step. Present personas in a clear, structured format. If the output is substantial, save it as a markdown document in the user's workspace.
                                                      
                                                       7. ## Further Reading
                                                      
                                                       8. - About Face — Alan Cooper
                                                          - - Lean UX — Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden
                                                            - - Just Enough Research — Erika Hall