Persona Validation
Ensure your personas stay accurate and useful over time
Your Progress
Section 4 of 5Are Your Personas Still Accurate?
You created personas 6 months ago. Your product has changed. Your users have evolved. Your market shifted.
Are your personas still true? Or are you making decisions based on outdated assumptions?
Here is how to validate and update personas continuously.
Validate Your Persona
Persona Validation Checklist
Check if your persona is still accurate and useful. Be honest.
Start checking items to validate your persona.
How to Validate Personas
Validation is not a one-time thing. Here is a simple process:
Find 3-5 Users Who Match Persona
Use your CRM, analytics, or support tickets to identify users who fit the persona profile.
Share Persona with Them
"We created this persona. Does this sound like you? What is missing? What is wrong?"
Test Key Statements
Read goals, pain points, and behaviors out loud. Do users nod in agreement? Or do they say "actually..."?
Look for Patterns
If 3 users say the same thing is wrong, update the persona. One user = outlier. Three = pattern.
Update and Share Changes
Make changes. Announce to team: "We updated Marcus persona based on validation interviews."
Track Persona Freshness
Persona Update Tracker
Track when personas were updated and when they need review.
Add personas to track their update status
Signs Your Persona Is Wrong
1. Users Do Not Recognize Themselves
You show the persona to real users. They say "That is not me at all."
2. Product Decisions Feel Off
You build features for Marcus, but nobody uses them. Something is misaligned.
3. Team Debates Get Heated
"Marcus would never do that!" "Yes he would!" Nobody agrees on what persona wants.
4. Usage Data Contradicts Persona
Persona says users need mobile app. Analytics show 98% desktop usage.
5. Market Has Shifted
Remote work changed everything. Your personas from 2019 are now fiction.
When to Update Personas
Quarterly Reviews
Set calendar reminder. Every 3 months, validate personas against recent user interviews.
After Major Launches
Shipped big feature? Did it change user behavior? Update persona to reflect new reality.
Market Shifts
Competitor launched game-changing feature? Economic downturn? Update personas to match new context.
Usage Surprises
Analytics show unexpected behavior? Users using product in ways you did not predict? Investigate and update.
Team Stops Using Them
If team no longer references personas, they are probably stale. Refresh them to restore trust.
Continuous Validation Strategy
Do not wait for quarterly reviews. Build validation into your workflow:
- •During every user interview, ask if persona still feels accurate
- •Review analytics monthly—do behaviors match persona?
- •Ask support team: "Are customers asking questions our personas would ask?"
- •When decisions feel hard, ask: "Is our persona still right?"
Key Takeaways
- •Validate personas every 3 months by showing them to real users.
- •If 3+ users say something is wrong, update the persona immediately.
- •Watch for signs: users do not recognize, decisions feel off, data contradicts.
- •Update after major launches, market shifts, or when team stops using them.
- •Build continuous validation into user interviews and analytics reviews.