Avoiding Bullshit Personas

Transcript

1. Avoiding Bullshit Personas avoidbspersonas.com #bspersonas Stephanie Carter Jill Christ

2. 1. Ashley – The Relationship Builder The most important of

   our personas, Ashley was born and raised outside Boise, Idaho, and in 1992 she moved to the Bay Area with her brother. She’s now a full-time mom of 1-year- old Cameron. Her husband Todd works as a union contractor installing sprinkler systems and likes to amuse Ashley with his ability to juggle and do card tricks. Ashley maintains a family blog chock full of photos for her family back in Boise and participates in a discussion board for moms on Yahoo! Groups. Lots of her friends are on Facebook, so she spends a few minutes here and there writing messages throughout the day...

3. 1. Ashley – The Relationship Builder The most important of

   our personas, Ashley was born and raised outside Boise, Idaho, and in 1992 she moved to the Bay Area with her brother. She’s now a full-time mom of 1-year- old Cameron. Her husband Todd works as a union contractor installing sprinkler systems and likes to amuse Ashley with his ability to juggle and do card tricks. Ashley maintains a family blog chock full of photos for her family back in Boise and participates in a discussion board for moms on Yahoo! Groups. Lots of her friends are on Facebook, so she spends a few minutes here and there writing messages throughout the day...
4. None

5. John is "the egg man." He enjoys sitting on cornflakes

   waiting for traffic and in gardens waiting for the sun. Tends to cry. #badpersonas

6. “the user” = you

7. “the user” = your mom

8. “the user” = a bunch of different people (with stuff

   in common)

9. “Personas are not real people, but they represent them throughout

   the design process. They are hypothetical archetypes of actual users. Although they are imaginary, they are defined with significant rigor and precision.” - Alan Cooper, The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, 2004

10. “Personas are not real people, but they represent them throughout

    the design process. They are hypothetical archetypes of actual users. Although they are imaginary, they are defined with significant rigor and precision.” - Alan Cooper, The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, 2004

11. 1. Ashley – The Relationship Builder The most important of

    our personas, Ashley was born and raised outside Boise, Idaho, and in 1992 she moved to the Bay Area with her brother. She’s now a full-time mom of 1-year- old Cameron. Her husband Todd works as a union contractor installing sprinkler systems and likes to amuse Ashley with his ability to juggle and do card tricks. Ashley maintains a family blog chock full of photos for her family back in Boise and participates in a discussion board for moms on Yahoo! Groups. Lots of her friends are on Facebook, so she spends a few minutes here and there writing messages throughout the day...

12. Over the wintry forest, winds howl in rage with no

    leaves to blow. by Soseki
13. None

14. “ needs to work for everybody”

15. Who is everybody?

16. Modular Personas

17. personas without the B.S.

18. I am a

19. I am a I want to be a I can

    do ... if you want me to I’m not a ... but I need to do I really like doing

20. data personas

21. data personas preparation the right synthesis communicated appropriately without the

    B.S.

22. data personas preparation the right synthesis communicated appropriately without the

    B.S.

23. surprises over trends

24. None

25. ask them to tell a story

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28. None

29. have them define their words

30. “what do you mean by freedom?”

31. “what do you mean by freedom?” to a new career

    to travel the world away from the daily grind

32. keep asking why

33. - Aaron, user 12

34. I was in prison for 12 years. When I got

    out, I didn’t know how to send email.” - Aaron, user 12

35. data personas preparation the right synthesis communicated appropriately without the

    B.S.

36. 1:3 rule

37. define your dimensions

38. define your dimensions

39. Newbie Educator Student Freelancer Traditionalist

40. Newbie ? Educator Student Freelancer Traditionalist

41. Newbie ? Educator Student Freelancer Traditionalist http://www.whoisbolaji.com/n-is-for/newbie-erkle http://thetechtiger.blogspot.com/2010/12/newbie-spirit.html http://forexmersing.blogspot.com/2011/08/correct-position-sizes.html http://www.politicsforum.org/images/flame_warriors/flame_51.php

42. define your dimensions

43. ? define your dimensions

44. don’t forget about the ‘why’

45. the why is the motivation

46. don’t be afraid to push the language

47. people before personas

48. apply your model to everyone

49. rearrange and group

50. avoidbspersonas.com #bspersonas

51. data personas preparation the right synthesis communicated appropriately without the

    B.S.

52. Over the wintry forest, winds howl in rage with no

    leaves to blow. by Soseki
53. None

54. Fluff is dangerous

55. “What did the persona research say?”

56. “What did the persona research say?”

57. establishes a culture of asking

58. None
59. None

60. Synthesize... one more time!

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62. None

63. to be vs. to do

64. make it digestible

65. and easy to share

66. “what does this mean for my work?”

67. discuss personally, small groups

68. lunchtime is a neutral space

69. data personas preparation the right synthesis communicated appropriately and used

    ^ without the B.S.

70. First Names Angela Dan Peter Kim Rob Rhymes Sam I

    am a Maria I wanna be a Clyde on the Side Behavior I want to be a I am I can do I like to do I’m not a but I need to do Numbered 1 2 3 Relevant Labels Hunter Chameleon Underdog Extra Jack Situation Aspirational- Career Switcher Jack of all trades Hobbyist Hash Tag #iwan2b #iama

71. http://creatingclassics.blogspot.com/2009/10/personas.html

72. None

73. “Who was Emily again?”

74. don’t allow others to make stuff up

75. First Names Angela Dan Peter Kim Rob Rhymes Sam I

    am a Maria I wanna be a Clyde on the Side Behavior I want to be a I am I can do I like to do I’m not a but I need to do Numbered 1 2 3 Relevant Labels Hunter Chameleon Underdog Extra Jack Situation Aspirational- Career Switcher Jack of all trades Hobbyist Hash Tag #iwan2b #iama

76. First Names Angela Dan Peter Kim Rob Rhymes Sam I

    am a Maria I wanna be a Clyde on the Side Behavior I want to be a I am I can do I like to do I’m not a but I need to do Numbered 1 2 3 Relevant Labels Hunter Chameleon Underdog Extra Jack Situation Aspirational- Career Switcher Jack of all trades Hobbyist Hash Tag #iwan2b #iama

77. First Names Angela Dan Peter Kim Rob Rhymes Sam I

    am a Maria I wanna be a Clyde on the Side Behavior I want to be a I am I can do I like to do I’m not a but I need to do Numbered 1 2 3 Relevant Labels Hunter Chameleon Underdog Extra Jack Situation Aspirational- Career Switcher Jack of all trades Hobbyist Hash Tag #iwan2b #iama “Wait, that’s not Hunter..?”

78. First Names Angela Dan Peter Kim Rob Rhymes Sam I

    am a Maria I wanna be a Clyde on the Side Behavior I want to be a I am I can do I like to do I’m not a but I need to do Numbered 1 2 3 Relevant Labels Hunter Chameleon Underdog Extra Jack Situation Aspirational- Career Switcher Jack of all trades Hobbyist Hash Tag #iwan2b #iama

79. First Names Angela Dan Peter Kim Rob Rhymes Sam I

    am a Maria I wanna be a Clyde on the Side Behavior I want to be a I am I can do I like to do I’m not a but I need to do Numbered 1 2 3 Relevant Labels Hunter Chameleon Underdog Extra Jack Situation Aspirational- Career Switcher Jack of all trades Hobbyist Hash Tag #iwan2b #iama winner!

80. active naming

81. I am a I want to be a I can

    do ... if you want me to I’m not a ... but I need to do I really like doing

82. share direct research

83. subtle details are important

84. subtle details are important

85. make it engaging

86. I can do ... if you want me to

87. None

88. evangelize the personas

89. “I’ve totally talked to people like that...” - Customer Service

90. inform product directions establish a culture of asking communicated appropriately

    and used ^

91. tactical and strategic

92. queue the

93. “the queue needs to work for everybody”

94. “the queue needs to work for everybody” “everybody” = ME

    Photo Credit: Albert Watson

95. so we tested it with our actual users

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97. None

98. “Hey, that’s just what I was asking for...” “I’d just

    use ‘my course history’... I just want to log in and finish what I’ve been working on.. Get in and get out.” “Is the queue new?”

99. “Hey, that’s just what I was asking for...” YAY! “I’d

    just use ‘my course history’... I just want to log in and finish what I’ve been working on.. Get in and get out.” “Is the queue new?”

100. “I’d just use ‘my course history’... I just want to

     log in and finish what I’ve been working on.. Get in and get out.” “Is the queue new?” “Hey, that’s just what I was asking for...” YAY! HUH?

101. “I’d just use ‘my course history’... I just want to

     log in and finish what I’ve been working on.. Get in and get out.” “Is the queue new?” “Hey, that’s just what I was asking for...” YAY! HUH? NAY!
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106. Is this a design flaw?

107. ... all the NAYs are “I can do if you

     want me to...”

108. tactical and strategic

109. use the personas to prioritize

110. “it would be cool if...” “I think our users would

     want...” “it would be cool if...” “I think our users would want...” “it would be cool if...” “I think our users would want...” “it would be cool if...” “I think our users would want...” “it would be cool if...” “I think our users would want...” “I think our users would want...” “it would be cool if...” stop making stuff you think is cool...
111. None

112. NYTimes.com What’s next?

113. Are Modular Personas right for me?

114. Each one of us has products and features that we

     want to make a difference.

115. Maybe you’re overwhelmed with feature requests... Maybe you’re trying to

     figure out who everybody is...

116. Don’t default to what is comfortable. Have the courage to

     dig into the messy lives of your users.

117. “his eye is not on the facts at all... he

     does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly.” - Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt

118. If you care, you can put authentic things into the

     world.

119. Thank you! Jill Christ @jillchrist Stephanie Carter @neonmauve #bspersonas avoidbspersonas.com