Andreas Wiebe

Overview

Once you've gathered user data/metadata, the challenge that will present itself is how to use that data to make meaningful decisions. The challenge is the sheer amount of data can be overwhelming and quickly leads to a "can't see the forest for the trees" scenario that either causes the wrong decisions to be made or analysis-paralysis to set in.

The solution is to segment the data into groups by user types, personas build on each of those groups to become a fictional person that represents that group.

Grouping Users into Personas

To group the users into user types, start by creating a hypothesis for each user type you think exists and note the differences between the user types. Next you want to get agreement on your hypothesis from the project team, once you all agree on the hypothesis you can define: the number of personas that are needed, the personas themselves, and decide which persona is the primary focus.

For more detail and a great perspective, see interaction-design.org: Personas – A Simple Introduction