Good Personas vs Bad Personas
Bad (Persona Theater)
'Meet Sarah, 32, lives in Brooklyn, likes yoga and avocado toast, uses an iPhone 15...' This tells you nothing about how to design the product.
Good (Behavior-Based)
'Power Organizer: Uses the product daily, creates 5+ projects per week, invites team members frequently. Primary motivation: reducing the number of tools. Key frustration: slow bulk operations.'
Building Personas
- Interview 8-12 users (minimum)
- Identify behavioral patterns (not demographics)
- Group by behavior similarity
- Name each group descriptively (not with fake names)
- Include: goals, frustrations, current tools, key behaviors
- Exclude: demographics that don't affect product decisions
Persona Format
## [Descriptive Name] (e.g., 'The Power Organizer')
### Behaviors
- [Specific, observable actions]
### Goals
- [What they're trying to achieve]
### Frustrations
- [What blocks them currently]
### Key Quote
- [Real quote from interviews]
### Design Implications
- [Specific decisions this persona informs]