ONE THING on Hairy Personas

Personas are a big, hairy, controversial topic. Many people swear by them; others think they are a waste of time and potentially quite misleading.


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Personas are representations of users that embody their qualities, feelings, and preferences. Often they include photos, hobbies, kids, what they like to drink after work, etc. At one company, we made a persona of a merchandiser who was savvy about customers' tastes, but was less confident about their technical skills. Naming this person “Pete” gave us a quick shorthand way of discussing features and usability: “Would Pete know what to do here?”

In retrospect, we left out other types of merchandisers because we didn't make personas for them. Do you use personas? How do they help? Do they ever hurt? How many should you make? Let me know.

Jobs
Fashionista tech company Threads has several product positions open in London. Example: “Your main focus will be to oversee part of the data-driven platform that underpins and partner with shoppers, engineers and designers to create a next-generation shopping experience.” Are you cool enough? Ping me.