Personas in product design – what they are and why create them

I spend some time explaining to different people what personas are. Instead of saying the same thing over and over, I decided to write it down. Now I can just send a link – and I hope it helps you too ;) Most information about personas is too general, so I want to answer the most common questions here and clear up a few points.

What are personas?

Personas are not real people, but they are built from the behaviors and motivations of real users we study. Simply put, a persona is a model that represents a group of users who share similar behavior patterns. We create them to support product development.

In natural and social sciences, models help simplify and explain complex phenomena. A good model highlights the most important parts of a system and leaves out less relevant details. Because we design products for users, we must understand their key needs, how they interact with each other, what they want, and how they function in their environment – both social and physical. Most important is how they engage with the product we want to build.

Why are personas presented like real people if they aren’t?

Personas look like real people because they act as archetypes – they represent a group of users of a given product. Each persona reflects specific behaviors, needs, and preferences related to how the product is used.

It is much easier for people to talk about users when they can imagine a specific character instead of thinking in numbers or statistics. A persona gives a clear reference point, which makes discussions about the user experience more natural and easier to follow.

So is it just a character with averaged traits?

Not exactly. Personas do not represent the “average” user. Instead, they show clear and distinct behavior patterns within a specific group of users.

Personas are a tool. For example: if you go on vacation with your partner and a small child, you fit the persona of a “family with a child.” If you travel only with your partner to relax, you are the “couple” persona. And if you go on a city break with friends, you “become” the “group of friends” persona.

Why use personas?

• They define the product’s purpose and behavior. Personas help clarify what the product should do and how it should work. Their goals and tasks form the foundation of the design process.
• They improve communication between stakeholders, developers, designers, and others. Personas create a shared language for discussing design decisions and help keep the team focused on users throughout the process.
• They build alignment and engagement. When a team shares a common understanding of users, it does not need complex diagrams to explain behaviors. Personas feel more “real” than feature lists or flowcharts, which makes them easier to relate to.
• They allow you to evaluate solutions before real-world testing. Personas support early evaluation of ideas, features, and messaging. While they do not replace testing with real users, they offer a fast and cost-effective way to validate assumptions.
• They support marketing and sales strategies. Personas go beyond product development. They help plan marketing campaigns, guide customer service teams, and inform strategic decisions because they provide a clear picture of the target audience.

What problems do personas solve?

Personas help address three main challenges that often appear during product development:

1. The elastic user
2. Self-referential design
3. Edge cases

The elastic user – each team member has their own idea of who the user is and what they need. When it is time to make product decisions, that “user” becomes elastic – changing and adapting to the opinion of whoever is speaking at the moment. This can lead to inconsistent design decisions that do not reflect real users.

But everyone is different – you can’t fit people into a few patterns!

That is true. However, if you try to design, e.g. a car that satisfies every possible driver, you will end up with a vehicle packed with every possible feature – and in the end, it will satisfy no one. Today’s software too often tries to please too many users, which leads to low satisfaction.

We already have customer segments – why do we need personas?

The main difference between market segments and personas lies in how they are created and what they are used for. Market segments are based on demographic data, buying habits, and distribution channels. Personas focus on user behaviors and goals. They serve different purposes: marketing personas help improve the sales process, while product personas shape product development.

Market segments still play a role in creating personas. They help define the broad demographic range a given persona should fall into. However, personas are built around usage patterns, not only demographics or buying behavior, so they rarely match segments one-to-one. Segments act more like an initial filter that helps narrow down the group of people to interview within the target audience.

Personas are never “finished”

There is no final version of a persona. It evolves as we gain more knowledge about our customers and users.

How can you gather data to create personas?

• Internal workshops within the company,
• conversations with different retail sellers,
• marketing research,
• customer interviews,
• usability testing,
• quantitative and qualitative surveys,
• conversations with sales and support teams.

Summary

In this article, I drew from many sources, but I especially recommend the book About Face by Alan Cooper. It is one of the best books about creating personas (and more) and solving design problems. I may write another post in the future to describe this process in more detail.