The most important step in developing products for a specific target group is to identify and describe that target group. Many companies have plenty of information about their clients and potential clients, whether through surveys, feedback or market research studies.
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Most of these findings are then used to create reports ranging from two to 50 pages in length, which are distributed to developers and development departments to increase user understanding.
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The problem with this approach is that most of the time neither the reports are read nor this immense amount of information can be present in the development in the long run.
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The persona is a method to integrate the user more strongly into the development already in the initial phases and also during the actual development work.
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How does the method work?
For this purpose, typical users of a target group are described from the available data and presented on a DIN A 4 page.
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This page usually contains a name, a picture, age and all other typical characteristics, attributes, needs and preferences of the user that are relevant for the product. In addition, the page contains a prioritization of the target group (How important is this user for us as a client?).
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The same process is repeated for all relevant target groups, so that in the end each of them is represented by a persona. In total, no more than 3 primary personas (the company’s most important clients) and a maximum of 5 secondary personas (clients who are somewhat less important to the company) should be used, otherwise it becomes confusing.
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These personas are then presented to everyone in the development team and from now on they can “actively participate” in the discussion, so to speak.
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This works even better if the personas are present in the meeting areas, for example via posters. The method helps developers not to discuss what they think “the user” would like most, but to engage in data-driven, target group-specific discussions and to decide what a particular user group would like.
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The personas answer these questions
- What features do my users really need?
- Who are the main users of my product and how do they differ?
How does the method work with us?
Let’s find out together whether these personas are the right method for your problem and how a collaboration works in detail. You can find our contact details here.
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