Here’s a list of NN/g’s most useful introductory articles and videos about personas and related topics. Within each section, the resources are in recommended reading order.
What Is a Persona?
A persona is a fictional, yet realistic, description of a typical or target user of the product. It is used to promote empathy, increase awareness and memorability of target users, prioritize features, and inform design decisions. The following resources define personas in depth and compare personas to other related artifacts.
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Number |
Link |
Format |
Description |
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1 |
Article |
Overview of personas and the benefits of using them |
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2 |
Video |
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3 |
Article |
Comparison of personas and jobs-to-be-done and when to use each |
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4 |
Video |
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5 |
Article |
Comparison of personas and archetypes and when to use each |
How to Create Personas
The following resources will help you determine the scope of your personas, understand the process for creating them, and avoid common pitfalls during the creation process.
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Number |
Link |
Format |
Description |
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1 |
Just-Right Personas: How to Choose the Scope of Your Personas |
Article |
How to determine whether narrow- or broad-scope personas are better suited for your goals |
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2 |
Video |
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3 |
Article |
3 different ways to create personas and the benefits and challenges of each |
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4 |
Video |
How to use statistical data to make qualitative personas more precise |
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5 |
Article |
Data from 216 companies on persona-creation budgets and timelines |
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6 |
Video |
How to look for similarities in various attributes during the persona-creation process |
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7 |
Article |
Guidance on when and how frequently to make updates to personas |
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8 |
Article |
Common pitfalls that cause personas to fail and how to avoid and overcome them |
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9 |
Video |
How to Use Personas
There are several ways personas can be used throughout the design process, from informing design decisions, recruiting participants for research studies, guiding expert reviews, and segmenting analytics data. The following resources provide guidance on how to apply personas once they have been created.
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Number |
Link |
Format |
Description |
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1 |
Article |
How to leverage personas to influence design in scenario-mapping workshops |
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2 |
Video |
How to use personas to evaluate and compare design features to inform work priorities |
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3 |
Article |
How to use personas with website analytics to uncover trends in data and derive UX insights |
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4 |
Video |
Ways to fit personas into Agile environments |
