User Personas

Research-based user personas and audience segments

User Personas

User personas represent our key user types based on research findings. These personas help teams understand user needs, goals, and behaviors when making product decisions.

How to Use Personas

Design decisions - Consider persona goals and pain points
Feature prioritization - Align with primary persona needs
Communication - Tailor messaging to persona preferences
Testing - Recruit participants matching persona profiles

All personas are based on actual user research, not assumptions. Each persona includes references to the studies that informed it.

Primary Personas

Primary User

Main user type who represents the majority of our users

Power User

Advanced users with specialized needs and workflows

Occasional User

Infrequent users who need clear guidance and support

Persona Template

When creating a new persona, use this structure:

---
title: Persona Name
description: One-line description of this user type
lastUpdated: 2024-01-15
confidence: high
basedOn: [Study 1, Study 2, Study 3]
---
 
# Persona Name
 
> "A quote that captures this persona's perspective"
 
## Quick Overview
 
- **Age Range**: 25-45
- **Role/Title**: Their job or role
- **Experience Level**: Beginner / Intermediate / Expert
- **Tech Savviness**: Low / Medium / High
- **Primary Device**: Desktop / Mobile / Tablet
 
## Background & Context
 
Who is this person? What's their work environment like?
 
## Goals & Motivations
 
What are they trying to accomplish? What drives them?
 
### Primary Goals
 
1. Main goal
2. Secondary goal
3. Another important goal
 
### Motivations
 
- Motivation 1
- Motivation 2
- Motivation 3
 
## Pain Points & Frustrations
 
What challenges do they face? What frustrates them?
 
### Current Pain Points
 
1. **Pain point title** - Description
2. **Another pain point** - Description
3. **Yet another pain point** - Description
 
## Behaviors & Preferences
 
How do they work? What are their habits and preferences?
 
### Typical Workflow
 
1. Step in their typical process
2. Another step
3. Final step
 
### Preferences
 
- Prefers visual information over text
- Values efficiency and speed
- Needs detailed documentation
- Etc.
 
### Usage Patterns
 
- **Frequency**: Daily / Weekly / Monthly
- **Duration**: Typical session length
- **Peak Times**: When they use the product most
 
## Technical Profile
 
### Tools & Software
 
- Tool 1 - How they use it
- Tool 2 - How they use it
- Tool 3 - How they use it
 
### Skills & Capabilities
 
- Strong in: Area 1, Area 2
- Developing: Area 3, Area 4
- Needs support with: Area 5
 
## Needs & Requirements
 
What does this persona need from our product?
 
### Must-Haves
 
- Critical requirement 1
- Critical requirement 2
 
### Nice-to-Haves
 
- Desired feature 1
- Desired feature 2
 
### Deal-Breakers
 
- What would cause them to abandon the product
 
## User Quotes
 
Real quotes from research participants who match this persona:
 
> "Quote about their experience"
> — Participant 7, User Interview Study
 
> "Another relevant quote"
> — Participant 12, Usability Testing
 
> "Third quote that illustrates their perspective"
> — Survey Respondent 45
 
## Design Implications
 
How should we design for this persona?
 
### UI/UX Considerations
 
- Keep navigation simple and predictable
- Provide contextual help and tooltips
- Minimize steps to complete tasks
 
### Content Considerations
 
- Use clear, jargon-free language
- Provide visual examples
- Include step-by-step guides
 
### Accessibility Considerations
 
- Ensure keyboard navigation
- Provide sufficient color contrast
- Support screen readers
 
## Success Metrics
 
How do we measure success for this persona?
 
- **Metric 1**: Target value
- **Metric 2**: Target value
- **Metric 3**: Target value
 
## Research Foundation
 
This persona is based on:
 
- [User Interview Study Q1 2024](/studies/user-interviews-q1-2024) - 12 participants
- [Usability Testing Study](/studies/usability-testing-2024) - 8 participants
- [User Survey 2024](/studies/survey-2024) - 250 responses
 
**Confidence Level**: High (based on multiple research methods and 30+ data points)
 
**Last Updated**: March 15, 2024
 
**Next Review**: June 15, 2024

Creating New Personas

Follow these guidelines when creating personas:

1. Base on Research

Minimum 3 research studies
Include both qualitative and quantitative data
At least 20 data points (participants/responses)

2. Make Them Realistic

Use real quotes from research
Include specific details from actual users
Avoid stereotypes and assumptions

3. Keep Them Actionable

Focus on behaviors, not demographics
Include specific needs and goals
Provide clear design implications

4. Maintain Them

Review quarterly
Update based on new research
Archive outdated personas

Persona Validation

Ensure your persona is valid by checking:

✅ Based on actual research data
✅ Represents a significant user segment
✅ Includes specific behaviors and needs
✅ Has clear design implications
✅ References supporting research
✅ Reviewed by team members
✅ Tested with stakeholders

Anti-Personas

Sometimes it's helpful to define who we're NOT designing for:

Users outside our target market
Edge cases that shouldn't drive design
Personas with conflicting needs

This helps focus design efforts and prevent scope creep.

Using Personas in Practice

In Design Reviews

"Would [Persona Name] understand this interface?"

In Feature Planning

"Does this solve a problem for our primary personas?"

In User Testing

"Let's recruit participants matching [Persona Name]"

In Content Creation

"How would we explain this to [Persona Name]?"

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Creating too many personas - Stick to 3-5 primary personas
✅ Keep a focused set of personas that represent your key user types

❌ Basing personas on assumptions - Use real research data
✅ Back every persona attribute with research evidence

❌ Making them too generic - "Tech-savvy millennial"
✅ Include specific behaviors, goals, and contexts

❌ Forgetting to update them - Personas get stale
✅ Review and update quarterly based on new research

❌ Not using them - Personas sit in a drawer
✅ Reference personas in meetings, reviews, and planning

Need Help?

Creating a persona - Use our persona template
Validating research - Consult with the UXR team
Workshop facilitation - Join our persona creation workshops
Questions - Reach out to the UXR team

Remember: Personas are tools to build empathy and guide decisions. They should be referenced regularly and updated as you learn more about your users.

Research Methods Research Studies

User Personas

Research-based user personas and audience segments

User Personas

User personas represent our key user types based on research findings. These personas help teams understand user needs, goals, and behaviors when making product decisions.

How to Use Personas

Design decisions - Consider persona goals and pain points
Feature prioritization - Align with primary persona needs
Communication - Tailor messaging to persona preferences
Testing - Recruit participants matching persona profiles

All personas are based on actual user research, not assumptions. Each persona includes references to the studies that informed it.

Primary Personas

Primary User

Main user type who represents the majority of our users

Power User

Advanced users with specialized needs and workflows

Occasional User

Infrequent users who need clear guidance and support

Persona Template

When creating a new persona, use this structure:

---
title: Persona Name
description: One-line description of this user type
lastUpdated: 2024-01-15
confidence: high
basedOn: [Study 1, Study 2, Study 3]
---
 
# Persona Name
 
> "A quote that captures this persona's perspective"
 
## Quick Overview
 
- **Age Range**: 25-45
- **Role/Title**: Their job or role
- **Experience Level**: Beginner / Intermediate / Expert
- **Tech Savviness**: Low / Medium / High
- **Primary Device**: Desktop / Mobile / Tablet
 
## Background & Context
 
Who is this person? What's their work environment like?
 
## Goals & Motivations
 
What are they trying to accomplish? What drives them?
 
### Primary Goals
 
1. Main goal
2. Secondary goal
3. Another important goal
 
### Motivations
 
- Motivation 1
- Motivation 2
- Motivation 3
 
## Pain Points & Frustrations
 
What challenges do they face? What frustrates them?
 
### Current Pain Points
 
1. **Pain point title** - Description
2. **Another pain point** - Description
3. **Yet another pain point** - Description
 
## Behaviors & Preferences
 
How do they work? What are their habits and preferences?
 
### Typical Workflow
 
1. Step in their typical process
2. Another step
3. Final step
 
### Preferences
 
- Prefers visual information over text
- Values efficiency and speed
- Needs detailed documentation
- Etc.
 
### Usage Patterns
 
- **Frequency**: Daily / Weekly / Monthly
- **Duration**: Typical session length
- **Peak Times**: When they use the product most
 
## Technical Profile
 
### Tools & Software
 
- Tool 1 - How they use it
- Tool 2 - How they use it
- Tool 3 - How they use it
 
### Skills & Capabilities
 
- Strong in: Area 1, Area 2
- Developing: Area 3, Area 4
- Needs support with: Area 5
 
## Needs & Requirements
 
What does this persona need from our product?
 
### Must-Haves
 
- Critical requirement 1
- Critical requirement 2
 
### Nice-to-Haves
 
- Desired feature 1
- Desired feature 2
 
### Deal-Breakers
 
- What would cause them to abandon the product
 
## User Quotes
 
Real quotes from research participants who match this persona:
 
> "Quote about their experience"
> — Participant 7, User Interview Study
 
> "Another relevant quote"
> — Participant 12, Usability Testing
 
> "Third quote that illustrates their perspective"
> — Survey Respondent 45
 
## Design Implications
 
How should we design for this persona?
 
### UI/UX Considerations
 
- Keep navigation simple and predictable
- Provide contextual help and tooltips
- Minimize steps to complete tasks
 
### Content Considerations
 
- Use clear, jargon-free language
- Provide visual examples
- Include step-by-step guides
 
### Accessibility Considerations
 
- Ensure keyboard navigation
- Provide sufficient color contrast
- Support screen readers
 
## Success Metrics
 
How do we measure success for this persona?
 
- **Metric 1**: Target value
- **Metric 2**: Target value
- **Metric 3**: Target value
 
## Research Foundation
 
This persona is based on:
 
- [User Interview Study Q1 2024](/studies/user-interviews-q1-2024) - 12 participants
- [Usability Testing Study](/studies/usability-testing-2024) - 8 participants
- [User Survey 2024](/studies/survey-2024) - 250 responses
 
**Confidence Level**: High (based on multiple research methods and 30+ data points)
 
**Last Updated**: March 15, 2024
 
**Next Review**: June 15, 2024

Creating New Personas

Follow these guidelines when creating personas:

1. Base on Research

Minimum 3 research studies
Include both qualitative and quantitative data
At least 20 data points (participants/responses)

2. Make Them Realistic

Use real quotes from research
Include specific details from actual users
Avoid stereotypes and assumptions

3. Keep Them Actionable

Focus on behaviors, not demographics
Include specific needs and goals
Provide clear design implications

4. Maintain Them

Review quarterly
Update based on new research
Archive outdated personas

Persona Validation

Ensure your persona is valid by checking:

✅ Based on actual research data
✅ Represents a significant user segment
✅ Includes specific behaviors and needs
✅ Has clear design implications
✅ References supporting research
✅ Reviewed by team members
✅ Tested with stakeholders

Anti-Personas

Sometimes it's helpful to define who we're NOT designing for:

Users outside our target market
Edge cases that shouldn't drive design
Personas with conflicting needs

This helps focus design efforts and prevent scope creep.

Using Personas in Practice

In Design Reviews

"Would [Persona Name] understand this interface?"

In Feature Planning

"Does this solve a problem for our primary personas?"

In User Testing

"Let's recruit participants matching [Persona Name]"

In Content Creation

"How would we explain this to [Persona Name]?"

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Creating too many personas - Stick to 3-5 primary personas
✅ Keep a focused set of personas that represent your key user types

❌ Basing personas on assumptions - Use real research data
✅ Back every persona attribute with research evidence

❌ Making them too generic - "Tech-savvy millennial"
✅ Include specific behaviors, goals, and contexts

❌ Forgetting to update them - Personas get stale
✅ Review and update quarterly based on new research

❌ Not using them - Personas sit in a drawer
✅ Reference personas in meetings, reviews, and planning

Need Help?

Creating a persona - Use our persona template
Validating research - Consult with the UXR team
Workshop facilitation - Join our persona creation workshops
Questions - Reach out to the UXR team

Remember: Personas are tools to build empathy and guide decisions. They should be referenced regularly and updated as you learn more about your users.

Research Methods Research Studies