On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 1:32 PM, Andrew Boyd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Wed, Jun 4, 2008 at 4:52 PM, Szymon Blaszczyk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: >> >> 1. Personas are based on research and synthesized from data - not >> creative fiction > > Szymon, > you have never used personas in conceptual/exploratory design? That is, used > them to explore your best guesses as a research tool?
And you can also use personas as "knowledge management" (all that we already know about our customers). It's ok to play, explore, but when personas are used to make _decisions_ - it's just not wise when it's all guesses and fiction. And that's the most common mistake. We have personas, they're great, and we use them. We make crucial decisions based on our precious personas. But there's a problem. Those personas are about what we _guess_ is true and real. It's missing the point. The only advantage we get is focusing our thinking on users - nothing more. What about segmentation - is it right? What about facts and all those tricky details? Personas based on solid research are more powerful, insightful and secure tools. When it comes to tough decisions, I can't imagine using personas that are just creative writing. I like to think about personas as of form communication. When we know and understand the users (lots of facts, lots of research material), we need a tool to make use of this knowledge. We need a fast and efficient tool. Personas. -- Szymon Błaszczyk +48 609 649 819 http://2ia.pl | http://blaszczyk.name | http://przypadki.pl ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
