Persona Definition
Create research-backed user personas that drive product and documentation decisions. A persona is a composite archetype grounded in observed behavior, not a fictional character invented by the team. Personas without evidence are opinions with names.
When to Use
- Defining who the product is for before building features
- Creating user archetypes for a new product or feature
- Building empathy maps to understand user emotional landscape
- Characterizing the audience for documentation or design decisions
- Aligning a team on who they're building for
- Evaluating whether a feature serves a real user need
When NOT to Use
- Mapping stakeholders across an organization with power/interest (use persona-mapping)
- Creating RACI charts or influence analysis (use persona-mapping)
- Designing research interview flows (use elicitation)
- Identifying what users need (jobs, wants vs needs) (use user-needs-identification)
- Writing value propositions (use value-proposition-design)
Decision Tree
What persona problem are you solving?
│
├─ Creating new personas
│ ├─ Quick alignment needed, no research yet? → Proto-persona (low detail)
│ ├─ Agile team, need direction for MVP? → Lean persona (medium detail)
│ └─ Strategic decisions, high stakes? → Full persona (high detail, evidence-backed)
│
├─ Validating existing personas
│ ├─ No research behind them? → Rebuild from interviews/behavior data
│ ├─ Personas are aspirational? → Replace with behavior-observed personas
│ └─ Too many personas? → Consolidate to 3-5; merge overlapping ones
│
├─ Using personas for decisions
│ ├─ Feature prioritization? → Check against persona goals and pain points
│ ├─ Content/UX decisions? → Check against persona behaviors and context
│ └─ Stakeholder alignment? → Use empathy map to build shared understanding
│
└─ Persona vs stakeholder question
├─ "Who is the user?" → Persona definition (this skill)
└─ "Who has power/influence?" → Persona mapping (different skill)
Persona Types
| Type |
Purpose |
Detail |
Research Required |
| Proto-persona |
Quick alignment |
Low |
None (team assumption) |
| Lean persona |
Agile, MVPs |
Medium |
Some (3-5 interviews) |
| Full persona |
Strategic decisions |
High |
Extensive (10+ interviews, behavior data) |
Core Components
- Demographics: Name, age, role, tech proficiency
- Goals: Primary, secondary, experience goals
- Pain Points: Blockers, unmet needs, frustrations
- Behaviors: Habits, decision-making, preferences
- Context: Environment, devices, constraints
Empathy Map
SAYS | THINKS
-----------------+------------------
DOES | FEELS
- Says: Direct quotes from interviews
- Thinks: What they believe but may not say aloud
- Does: Observable actions and behaviors
- Feels: Emotional state — frustrations, fears, satisfactions
Persona Template
# [Name]
> "[Quote from real user]"
| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| Role | [job] |
| Tech Savvy | [1-5] |
| Primary Goal | [goal] |
## Goals
1. Primary: [objective]
2. Avoid: [prevention]
## Pain Points
- [frustration 1]
- [frustration 2]
## Behaviors
- [habit 1]
- [decision-making pattern]
## Context
- Environment: [office/remote/field]
- Devices: [primary + secondary]
- Time constraints: [when and how they use the product]
## Needs from Documentation
- [format preference]
- [detail level]
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern |
Problem |
Solution |
| Aspirational personas |
Describes who you wish users were, not who they are |
Build from observed behavior and interviews, not team ideals |
| Too many personas |
8+ personas means no one can remember them; decisions dilute |
Aim for 3-5 primary personas; merge overlapping ones |
| Demographic-only personas |
Age/role without goals or behaviors tells you nothing about product needs |
Always include goals, pain points, and behavioral patterns |
| Static personas |
Personas created once and never updated as understanding evolves |
Review quarterly; update when new research contradicts assumptions |
| Fictional details as evidence |
"Meet Sarah, 34, who loves yoga" — decoration, not data |
Use real interview quotes and observed behaviors as evidence |
| One persona per team member |
Each stakeholder projects their favorite user; no shared understanding |
Build personas collaboratively from shared research |
| Personas without scenarios |
Persona exists but never connects to a use case |
Pair each persona with 2-3 key scenarios they encounter |
Related Skills
- persona-mapping — Stakeholder analysis with Power-Interest matrix, RACI charts, influence mapping
- user-needs-identification (product-thinking) — Separate functional/emotional/social jobs; surface latent needs
- elicitation — Design interview protocols for gathering persona research data
- value-proposition-design (product-thinking) — Map personas to pains/gains on the Value Proposition Canvas
1---2name: persona-definition3description: Create individual user personas and customer archetypes — with demographics, goals, pain points, behaviors, and empathy maps — to represent the humans a product or system is built for. Use when the user asks to define personas, create user archetypes, describe target users, build empathy maps, or characterize the audience for a product or design decision. NOT for mapping stakeholders across an organization, RACI charts, or influence analysis (use persona-mapping). NOT for designing research interview flows (use elicitation).4---56# Persona Definition78Create research-backed user personas that drive product and documentation decisions. A persona is a composite archetype grounded in observed behavior, not a fictional character invented by the team. Personas without evidence are opinions with names.910## When to Use1112- Defining who the product is for before building features13- Creating user archetypes for a new product or feature14- Building empathy maps to understand user emotional landscape15- Characterizing the audience for documentation or design decisions16- Aligning a team on who they're building for17- Evaluating whether a feature serves a real user need1819## When NOT to Use2021- Mapping stakeholders across an organization with power/interest (use persona-mapping)22- Creating RACI charts or influence analysis (use persona-mapping)23- Designing research interview flows (use elicitation)24- Identifying what users need (jobs, wants vs needs) (use user-needs-identification)25- Writing value propositions (use value-proposition-design)2627## Decision Tree2829```30What persona problem are you solving?31│32├─ Creating new personas33│ ├─ Quick alignment needed, no research yet? → Proto-persona (low detail)34│ ├─ Agile team, need direction for MVP? → Lean persona (medium detail)35│ └─ Strategic decisions, high stakes? → Full persona (high detail, evidence-backed)36│37├─ Validating existing personas38│ ├─ No research behind them? → Rebuild from interviews/behavior data39│ ├─ Personas are aspirational? → Replace with behavior-observed personas40│ └─ Too many personas? → Consolidate to 3-5; merge overlapping ones41│42├─ Using personas for decisions43│ ├─ Feature prioritization? → Check against persona goals and pain points44│ ├─ Content/UX decisions? → Check against persona behaviors and context45│ └─ Stakeholder alignment? → Use empathy map to build shared understanding46│47└─ Persona vs stakeholder question48 ├─ "Who is the user?" → Persona definition (this skill)49 └─ "Who has power/influence?" → Persona mapping (different skill)50```5152## Persona Types5354| Type | Purpose | Detail | Research Required |55|------|---------|--------|-------------------|56| Proto-persona | Quick alignment | Low | None (team assumption) |57| Lean persona | Agile, MVPs | Medium | Some (3-5 interviews) |58| Full persona | Strategic decisions | High | Extensive (10+ interviews, behavior data) |5960## Core Components61621. **Demographics**: Name, age, role, tech proficiency632. **Goals**: Primary, secondary, experience goals643. **Pain Points**: Blockers, unmet needs, frustrations654. **Behaviors**: Habits, decision-making, preferences665. **Context**: Environment, devices, constraints6768## Empathy Map6970```71 SAYS | THINKS72-----------------+------------------73 DOES | FEELS74```7576- **Says**: Direct quotes from interviews77- **Thinks**: What they believe but may not say aloud78- **Does**: Observable actions and behaviors79- **Feels**: Emotional state — frustrations, fears, satisfactions8081## Persona Template8283```markdown84# [Name]85> "[Quote from real user]"8687| Attribute | Value |88|-----------|-------|89| Role | [job] |90| Tech Savvy | [1-5] |91| Primary Goal | [goal] |9293## Goals941. Primary: [objective]952. Avoid: [prevention]9697## Pain Points98- [frustration 1]99- [frustration 2]100101## Behaviors102- [habit 1]103- [decision-making pattern]104105## Context106- Environment: [office/remote/field]107- Devices: [primary + secondary]108- Time constraints: [when and how they use the product]109110## Needs from Documentation111- [format preference]112- [detail level]113```114115## Anti-Patterns116117| Anti-Pattern | Problem | Solution |118|---|---|---|119| Aspirational personas | Describes who you wish users were, not who they are | Build from observed behavior and interviews, not team ideals |120| Too many personas | 8+ personas means no one can remember them; decisions dilute | Aim for 3-5 primary personas; merge overlapping ones |121| Demographic-only personas | Age/role without goals or behaviors tells you nothing about product needs | Always include goals, pain points, and behavioral patterns |122| Static personas | Personas created once and never updated as understanding evolves | Review quarterly; update when new research contradicts assumptions |123| Fictional details as evidence | "Meet Sarah, 34, who loves yoga" — decoration, not data | Use real interview quotes and observed behaviors as evidence |124| One persona per team member | Each stakeholder projects their favorite user; no shared understanding | Build personas collaboratively from shared research |125| Personas without scenarios | Persona exists but never connects to a use case | Pair each persona with 2-3 key scenarios they encounter |126127## Related Skills128129- **persona-mapping** — Stakeholder analysis with Power-Interest matrix, RACI charts, influence mapping130- **user-needs-identification** (product-thinking) — Separate functional/emotional/social jobs; surface latent needs131- **elicitation** — Design interview protocols for gathering persona research data132- **value-proposition-design** (product-thinking) — Map personas to pains/gains on the Value Proposition Canvas
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