UitbreidenOS When to activate
- Creating user personas from research data
- Updating existing personas with new research findings
- Differentiating between user segments for product decisions
- Aligning teams on who they're building for
- Prioritizing features based on persona needs
When NOT to use
- For marketing buyer personas (different focus)
- For demographic segmentation only
- For statistical clustering without qualitative data
Instructions
- Gather research data. Compile interview findings, survey data, analytics, and support tickets.
- Identify behavioral patterns. Group users by behaviors, goals, and attitudes — not just demographics.
- Define 3-5 personas. Each represents a distinct user segment with meaningful behavioral differences.
- Build persona profile. Name, photo placeholder, quote, demographics, role, context, tech comfort.
- Add goals and motivations. What they're trying to achieve (primary, secondary) and why.
- Document pain points. Current frustrations, unmet needs, and workarounds they've developed.
- Include design implications. For each pain point, what should the product do differently?
Example
Persona: "Busy Beth" — The Efficiency-Seeking Manager
Quote: "I just need to see what my team is doing without clicking through 10 screens."
Demographics: 38, Engineering Manager, 12 reports, 6+ years experience
Context: Manages a distributed team across 3 time zones
Goals:
- Primary: Get quick visibility into team progress and blockers
- Secondary: Report status upward without manual compilation
Pain Points:
- Spends 2 hrs/week compiling status from multiple tools
- Can't tell who's overloaded without asking directly
- Misses blockers until standup because async updates are scattered
Design Implications:
- One-glance dashboard with team health indicators
- Auto-generated weekly status summary
- Proactive alerts when someone has too many tasks