A Persona is a fictional character you build to use to communicate with your stakeholders. Creating one helps you prioritize what features and functionalities are most important to your audience. They also cultivate empathy. In this article, we will explore the benefits of creating a persona. But first, what is a Persona? Let’s start with an example. A persona is a fictional character with specific preferences, characteristics, and interests.
Personas help designers prioritize features
User personas should be created to create a clear picture of your target users. These fictional individuals have different goals, needs, and wants, so each one should have a detailed story. These profiles should also have names, images, and an overview of their background and preferences. For example, a cycling company could use an Aha! persona template to develop a “Paul the Pro Racer” persona that describes the characteristics of professional cyclists.
Creating personas for each user group helps designers decide what features to include and exclude. If the product is aimed at Mary, then features aimed at her are more important than those aimed at Sam. This approach allows product teams to focus on the features that will make Mary happy and avoid adding features that will only make Sam unhappy. People often try to please everyone, but they end up pleasing no one. To prevent this problem, use personas to guide your design process.
They help stakeholders discuss critical features of a redesign
Personas are a useful tool for creating and discussing key design features, such as product functionality and UX. When creating personas, it’s helpful to consider the goals and context of the people who will be using the product or service. Using a broad persona for a broad range of products or services won’t yield meaningful data to help you design specific digital products. By creating personas for the users you’re most likely to meet, you can focus on the critical features of a specific product or service and develop a design for a more targeted market.
The creation of personas is essential, as it provides a basis for a conversation between stakeholders. It is helpful to create personas for different users, as well as for individual segments, in order to ensure that all aspects are discussed equally. These personas should be continually updated to reflect real user behavior and circumstances. They should also have a clear end goal, be realistic, and occupy a specific setting.
They cultivate empathy
If you’re planning on creating a new product, then personas can help you make it more relatable and engaging. It can also help you understand your target market and create more empathy with them. The process begins with interviewing real people to understand their needs. To do this, you should read up on topics like mortgages and finance. Review customer support forums and frequently asked questions to better understand their needs and wants. Then, you should put yourself in their shoes and create a map of your empathy.
Using personas to promote empathy is a great way to improve team communication and conversion rates. Empathy is often associated with diversity and inclusion. When used properly, personas help you develop self-reflection and identify biases. A good way to start is with your own neighbors. Your neighbor may have the same political beliefs and be parenting their kids at the same age as your children. Find people in common with similar interests and you’ll be more likely to develop empathy.