This is something that I've run into before, and here are my thoughts
on it.
1) to include business objectives in a persona is to build in the
assumption that your customers care about your business. They do not.
2) The underlying reasoning -- to my mind -- to build a persona is to
provide a "purer" means for understanding what your customers want and
how they can be expected to behave. Including business assumptions
shoots that down immediately.
3) If you build in business objectives, you are saying that your
customers are the same as your stakeholders. If this is true, fine.
Otherwise, forget it.
4) Why bother having personas at all if all they're really going to
tell you is what you want to do? It seems a pointless exercise.
In 97% of all cases (and yes, I made that number up) your customers
will have exactly zero interest in your business objectives. The goal
of User Experience and Interaction Design is to develop methods
whereby the customer goals will coincide with the business goals as
naturally as possible, so that the customer doesn't get the sense that
their behavior has to suit your business needs or that they have to
"qualify" to give your business money.
The most valuable thing personas can do for you is to tell you that
you're approaching the wrong market or the wrong customer or using the
wrong method. If they can't deliver that information then they
necessarily make it possible for you to go merrily on your way
spending time, money and effort developing things that your
marketing division can market to people who don't want them. Building
in business objectives pre-supposes acceptance and compliance.
I think I've said that enough ways, now.
Katie
Katie Albers
Founder & Principal Consultant
FirstThought
User Experience Strategy & Project Management
310 356 7550
ka...@firstthought.com
On Feb 26, 2009, at 3:10 PM, Tom wrote:
We're working on building some personas for some desktop software.
I've been going over Todd Warfel's template and Steve Mulder's
(The User is Always Right).
Steve includes Business Objectives, Todd does not. The argument is
that you want to include what you as an organization want to
accomplish.
I guess I would argue that a persona is not about my organization and
it's goals, it's about the person and their goals. And if I am
satisfying their goals, that's going to be good for my org and my
software.
Am I missing something as to why they should be included? Love to
hear your thoughts.
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