"The customer is not an idiot. The customer is your wife." - David Oglivy.
To me, this quote is the most powerful lesson in creating user personas.
I have always used this as the starting line in User Persona workshops, and immediately, the user becomes a real person. A stereotype, ridden with the disadvantage of a single story, but a real, living person. nonetheless.
Step 1
Think of the user. Visualise them in your head. Is it a male or a female? How old are they? How tall? Are the eyes deepset or wide apart? Is the brow furrowed? What do they wear? Where do they shop for groceries? How educated are they? Do they carry themselves with confidence or diffidence? Large family or small? Are they single, committed, married? Do they have children? How many?
Step 2
What drives them? What motivates them? What are they indifferent to? What do they loathe?
Step 3
Why are they connecting with your product? What's in it for them? Are they being:
Employed?
Promoted?
Reduced in importance?
Role eliminated?
because of your product?
What is this product doing for them?
What will this product do to them?
Step 4
How do they like to interact with technology? When they have to see the time, do they look at their wrist or reach for their phone? When they need some information, do they use ChatGPT or Google? When they have to jump from field to field, do they use the tab button on the keypad, or do they use their mouse?
(If you have real observation data here, that is great. Otherwise, make reasonable assumptions)
Step 5
If they were in a jam, what would they do? Would they run away from the situation? Would they try to break the queue and do whatever it takes? Would they wait and comply? Would they be resilient or escapist?
Note: This is an important question. This tells us the level of security we need to build in the system Even though most apps today are ZTA, ingeniously unethical users think of each security measure as a challenge in Takeshi's castle. So, it is important to know what our users would do if they had a work situation that the system does not address.
Step 6
What should you absolutely NOT do with this person? What kind of behaviour would they just not be ok with?
Note: Keep this in the chart. We reuse this during user evangelisation / training in addition to using this during system workflow and screen design.
How to conduct the workshop
1. This workshop is facilitated by the consultant but all inputs are from the users. The closer to the ground it is, the better.
2. Ask the questions in order. Give people time to respond. Imagine. Discuss. Visualise. Describe.
3. Create a chart at the end of each user type and then move on to the next. If you can, insert a simple ritual like water break between two persona discussions. This is like smelling the coffee between sampling two perfumes - a natural break that prevents the spillover bias.
