Making Personas Work (Without Breaking the Bank) - UX London 2011

Making personas work
(without breaking the bank)

Kim Goodwin
UX London, April 2011
© 2010-2011 Kim Goodwin

MAKING PERSONAS WORK WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK - UX LONDON 2011 Kim Goodwin © 2011

Persona
n. A model of current human behavior that is
- derived from contextual research data
- described as if it were a real person
- used to promote shared understanding & empathy
- used in stories to envision the future


Personas are like scalpels.


Personas are like prescription drugs.


They sometimes fail to cure
the disease.

1/3 unhappy with results
- don’t solve problem
- not accepted

Forrester, 2003

They often cost more than
they should.

Typical: $80,000 / £49,000
Range: $20K - $650K / £12K - £400K

Forrester, 2003

How can we make personas
effective & affordable?



effective


Case 1: GeekTools Inc.

IT software
“Users are like us”
Provisional personas for scoping & scenarios

Result:
Easier process
Still the wrong answers



Personas offer shared
understanding, not insight.

Solution:
Contextual research.


Case 2: PhoneCo

Good research
Stakeholders participated
Left out Europe (budget; did not expect behavior
difference)

Result:
European team members did not accept results



Case 3: MoneyBags Ltd.

Financial services company
Design team planned research without consulting
Good data
Good personas

Result:
Missed an important market segment
Prevented acceptance of personas



Research planning is a
collaborative task.

Solution:
Interview all stakeholders, draft a
plan, then review with everyone.


Case 4: MegaComputing

Company-wide persona initiative
Central research team, not product-oriented
Heavy quantitative research orientation

Result:
Personas focused on demographics, not useful for design
Not focused enough for specific products
Credibility of personas as a tool suffered


Focus personas on behavior in a
specific domain.

Solution:
Coordinate efforts, but do
personas in conjunction with

design projects.

Case 5: BigBox

Multi-channel retailer
Stores, catalogs, mobile, web
Divided into design teams by channel
One channel team did personas

Result:
Learned a lot about other channels
Generated interest on other teams, but not acceptance
Still not able to design a cross-channel experience


Focus research on user activities,
not channels or products.

Solution:
Broad research involving multiple
teams, if possible. © 2010-2011 Kim Goodwin


Case 6: MegaComputing again

Huge software company
Much enthusiasm about personas
PMs define requirements first, develop personas to fit

Result:
Personas have no visible impact



Learn about human behavior & let
that define the product.

Solution:
Educate PMs.
Do personas before requirements.


Case 7: DesignPro

Consultants doing research for consumer product
Good sample
Good data
Confident they knew how to do personas

Result:
Personas based on demographic factors were hard to use
Missed a key behavioral pattern in the data


It’s not exact science, but it’s
worth being rigorous.



Solution:
Explicitly derive patterns from
data.



Case 8: Enterprise Systems

Complex enterprise workflow
Good sample
Good data
10-page persona descriptions

Result:
No one wanted to read 10 pages
Too much detail to work as archetypes



Personas are shorthand for
research, not complete reports.



Solution:
Keep
descriptions to
a page or two.
Add visual
interest.



Case 9: ConsultingCo

Client hired agency inexperienced with personas
Personas expressed as bullets on slides
Broad generalizations
Little or no behavior

Result:
Didn’t catch on
People confused them with segments


Story makes it real.
Behavioral detail makes it useful.

Solution:
Bullets are OK for quick reference,
but start with stories.


Case 10: Retailers R Us

Consumer brand
Several research teams in various departments
Hired outside firm
Good data
Good personas

Result:
Designers didn’t use the personas


The personas aren’t the point;
the research is.

Solution:
Train designers & get them to
join research.


Case 11: HealthCorps

Involved stakeholders in planning & research
Covered all segments & geographies
Added a role uncovered during research
Addressed areas not immediately planned for product
Marketed personas internally
Used personas in employee orientation



Case 11: HealthCorps

Involved stakeholders in planning & research
Covered all segments & geographies
Added a role uncovered during research
Addressed areas not immediately planned for product
Marketed personas internally
Used personas in employee orientation

Result:
Years ahead of competitors
Market success
Personas still in use 10 years later


affordable


Affordability isn’t always a
prime consideration.

Solution:
Find a balance.


For example, case 12: Consumer Financial Services

Very customer oriented
Used to doing lots of quantitative research
Would not accept small sample

Result:
Twice the time and cost
Execs were willing to pay
Personas still in use 8 years later


Case 13: OﬃceWork Inc.

Broad user base
Planned sample of ~100 people in multiple countries
Planned on outsourcing

Result:
Execs balked at time & budget



Sample size, travel &
outsourcing drive cost.

Solution:
Minimize ... but how?


1. Base sample on hypothesis about
similar behaviors, not on job titles.

2. Consider staged research.

3. Consider coaching over outsourcing.


Cases 14, 15, 16: Other expensive examples

Persona living rooms
Custom persona dolls
Actors

Result:
Significant budget went to personas instead of design
Probably some credibility issues


Minimize time spent on design tools;
maximize time spent on design.

Solution:
Use the least expensive approach
that will achieve the goal.


Provisional personas
no research, informal documentation

1 designer 500 / day 2 days £1000

16 stakeholders 500 / day 1/2 day £4000

£5000



Typical research-based personas, all internal
Sample of 20 people @ 4 / day = 5 days; self-recruit



Interview training 500 / head 5 people £2500

5 stakeholders in
500 / day 2 days £5000
interviews

Participant gifts 50 20 people £1000

Stock photos for
25 4 photos £100

personas
£20100

Complex audience plus coaching
Sample of 40 people @ 4 / day = 10 days; self-recruit


1 coach 1500 / day 10 days £15000


Interview training 500 / head 10 people £5000
10 stakeholders in
500 / day 2 days £10000
interviews

Participant gifts 50 40 people £2000

Stock photos2010-2011 Kim Goodwin
©
for
25 8 photos £200
personas
£48700

The most expensive research &
personas are the ones you don’t do.

Not having accurate or shared
understanding costs in market
share, support, development time ...


1. Identify if you need personas, research, or both

2. Do it in-house (with coaching if necessary)

3. Get stakeholder participation in planning &
research

4. Focus on user activities, not products or channels

5. Use a behavior hypothesis to guide sample size

6. Balance buy-in & cost with scope & travel


Thanks!
determines whether people see you as a leader
kimgoodwin@mac.com

@kimgoodwin



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