User Personas
Transform research into memorable characters that help teams build products users actually need
Your Progress
Section 1 of 5Make Research Memorable
You did the interviews. You analyzed the data. You found patterns. Now what? How do you help your designer, engineer, and CEO remember that insight when making decisions weeks later? Enter personas: fictional characters that represent real user types. Done right, they make research stick. Done wrong, they are useless fiction.
What Is a Persona?
A persona is a research-based archetype representing a group of users who share similar goals, behaviors, and pain points. Instead of saying "users with kids who shop at night," you say "Sarah" - and suddenly the team remembers her.
Example: "Sarah, 34, working mom of two. Shops online after 9pm when kids are asleep. Values fast checkout over browsing. Abandons cart if site is slow or checkout takes >3 steps."
Persona vs User Segment
Personas are not the same as user segments. Segments are statistical ("Women 25-40, urban, $50k income"). Personas are narrative ("Sarah values convenience over price because..."). Use segments for marketing. Use personas for product decisions.
| Aspect | 👤 Persona | 👥 Segment |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 👤Fictional character representing a user type | 👥Group of users sharing characteristics |
| Based On | 💬Qualitative research (interviews, observations) | 📊Quantitative data (analytics, demographics) |
| Purpose | ❤️Build empathy, guide design decisions | 🎯Target marketing, measure behavior |
| Example | 👩"Sarah, busy mom, values quick solutions" | 📈"Women 25-40, income $50k+, urban" |
| Use In | ✏️Product design, feature prioritization | 📢Marketing campaigns, analytics |
Types of Personas
Not all personas are created equal. Choose based on your resources and validation needs:
Research-Based Persona
Built from actual user interviews and research
✅ Pros
- • Accurate representation
- • Backed by real data
- • Team trusts it
❌ Cons
- • Takes time to create
- • Requires research budget
- • Needs regular updates
Example:
After 15 interviews, you identify "Sarah" - a working mom who shops at night after kids sleep, values quick checkout.
When to use: When you have research budget and want accurate user models
The Persona Trap
Most personas fail because teams create them in a workshop without research, give them stock photo faces and fake names, then never use them. A persona without research is fiction. A persona without validation is a guess. A persona that sits in a PDF is useless. We will fix all of this.
Key Takeaways
- •Personas are research-based archetypes that make user insights memorable and actionable for teams.
- •Personas (narrative, empathy-focused) are different from segments (statistical, marketing-focused).
- •Research-based personas are best, but proto-personas can work early if you validate them later.
- •Personas without research or validation are dangerous fiction that lead to bad decisions.