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Personas: Turn User Data Into User-Centered Design

via Nielsen Norman Group

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Personas are realistic representations of target users developed from real user research data. They help product teams align on key insights and encourage empathy, ensuring your work is user-centered.

Syllabus

What you will learn

Understand the definition of personas

What personas are and why they work
How user profiles, demographics, and customer segmentation differ
See how personas create a common language about user needs and shift away from making assumptions about users
How many personas are needed
Understand the benefits of having personas and how they help your team
Explore common challenges teams encounter creating personas
Where personas fit into the product development process

Discover how to make personas work for you

How to utilize personas throughout the design process
Use personas to drive feature generation and definition
Identify user needs, motivations, and attitudes important to your project
Personas to plan and scope your product
Ideate design ideas with user scenarios
Evaluate your own products and compare to competitors using personas

Create well-researched personas

Learn a systematic approach to persona creation
Methods for user research and data collection
How to turn research data into useful personas
Creating lightweight personas when faced with limited time and resources

Establish support for your personas long into the future

A communication strategy that encourages your team to use personas and builds acceptance
Create supporting artifacts to promote personas
Persona maintenance to keep your personas relevant
When to reuse or retire personas