ENTHUSIASTIC ENDORSEMENTS

FROM BOTH FOUNDERS OF THE

NIELSEN NORMAN GROUP!

Personas personified. The definitive word on why personas are better than

people in guiding your designs. Filled with case histories, sidebars, and

helpful, useful guidelines as well as deep, penetrating analyses. A big book,

and for a reason. This book is unique in that it is truly for everyone: the

practitioner, the researcher, and the teacher. Did I say this was essential

reading? Well, it is: if you use personas, if you have thought about using

them, but especially if you don't even know what they are, this is the

book for you.

—Don Norman, Nielsen Norman group &

Northwestern University; author of

Emotional Design

Personas are powerful design tools, which are that much more dangerous

if they are grounded in weak methodology. Pruitt and Adlin show you how

to do personas right and how to base them on real user data. Follow their

advice or risk disaster.

—Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman group,

author of Usability Engineering

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The Persona Lifecycle: Keeping People in Mind Throughout Product DesignJohn Pruitt and Tamara Adlin

Cost-Justifying Usability, Second EditionEdited by Randolph Bias and Deborah Mayhew

User Interface Design and EvaluationDebbie Stone, Caroline Jarrett,Mark Woodroffe, Shailey Minocha

Rapid Contextual DesignKaren Holtzblatt, Jessamyn BurnsWendell, and Shelley Wood

Voice Interaction Design: Crafting theNew Conversational Speech SystemsRandy Allen Harris

Understanding Users: A Practical Guideto User Requirements Methods, Tools,and TechniquesCatherine Courage and Kathy Baxter

The Web Application Design Handbook:Best Practices for Web-Based SoftwareSusan Fowler and Victor Stanwick

The Mobile Connection: The CellPhone’s Impact on SocietyRichard Ling

Information Visualization: Perceptionfor Design, Second Edition Colin Ware

Interaction Design for Complex ProblemSolving: Developing Useful and Usable SoftwareBarbara Mirel

The Craft of Information Visualization:Readings and ReflectionsWritten and edited by Ben Bedersonand Ben Shneiderman

HCI Models, Theories, and Frameworks:Toward a Multidisciplinary ScienceEdited by John M. Carroll

Web Bloopers: 60 Common Web DesignMistakes, and How to Avoid ThemJeff Johnson

Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User ResearchMike Kuniavsky

Paper Prototyping: The Fast and EasyWay to Design and Refine User InterfacesCarolyn Snyder

Persuasive Technology: Using Computersto Change What We Think and DoB. J. Fogg

Coordinating User Interfaces forConsistencyEdited by Jakob Nielsen

Usability for the Web: Designing Web Sites that WorkTom Brinck, Darren Gergle, and Scott D.Wood

Usability Engineering: Scenario-BasedDevelopment of Human-ComputerInteractionMary Beth Rosson and John M. Carroll

Your Wish is My Command:Programming by ExampleEdited by Henry Lieberman

GUI Bloopers: Don’ts and Dos forSoftware Developers and Web DesignersJeff Johnson

Information Visualization: Perception for Design Colin Ware

Robots for Kids: Exploring NewTechnologies for Learning Edited by Allison Druin and James Hendler

Information Appliances and Beyond:Interaction Design for ConsumerProducts Edited by Eric Bergman

Readings in Information Visualization:Using Vision to Think Written and edited by Stuart K. Card,Jock D. Mackinlay, and Ben Shneiderman

The Design of Children's Technology Edited by Allison Druin

Web Site Usability: A Designer’s GuideJared M. Spool, Tara Scanlon,Will Schroeder, Carolyn Snyder, andTerri DeAngelo

The Usability Engineering Lifecycle: A Practitioner's Handbook for User Interface Design Deborah J. Mayhew

Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt

Human-Computer Interface Design:Success Stories, Emerging Methods,and Real World Context Edited by Marianne Rudisill,Clayton Lewis, Peter P. Polson, andTimothy D. McKay

THE MORGAN KAUFMANN SERIES IN INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Series Editors:

Stuart Card, PARC ❖ Jonathan Grudin, MicrosoftJakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman Group

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THE

PERSONA L IFECYCLE

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THE

PERSONA L IFECYCLE

Keeping People in Mind Throughout Product Design

By

JOHN S. PRUITTMICROSOFT CORPORATION

TAMARA ADLINADLIN, INC.

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDONNEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO

SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO

Morgan Kaufmann is an imprint of Elsevier

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Publishing Director: Diane CerraPublishing Services Managers: Andre Cuello, George MorrisonSenior Project Manager: Angela DooleyProject Manager: Dawnmarie SimpsonEditorial Assistant: Asma StephanCover Design: Yvo RiezebosCover and Book Illustrations: Nelson AdlinTechnical Illustrations: Craig HallyText Design: Yvo RiezebosComposition: CEPHA Imaging Pvt Ltd.Illustration: Dartmouth Publishing, Inc.Copyeditor: Daril BentleyProofreader: Broccoli Information ManagementIndexer: Broccoli Information ManagementInterior printer: Hing Yip Printing, Co., Ltd.Cover printer: Hing Yip Printing, Co., Ltd.

Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is an imprint of Elsevier.500 Sansome Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94111

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

© 2006 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks or registeredtrademarks. In all instances in which Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is aware of a claim, the product namesappear in initial capital or all capital letters. Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies formore complete information regarding trademarks and registration.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher.

Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK:phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.co.uk. You may also complete your request online via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com) by selecting “Customer Support” and then “Obtaining Permissions.”

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pruitt, John.

The persona lifecycle: keeping people in mind throughout product design / John Pruitt, Tamara Adlin.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-12-566251-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-12-566251-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Product management. 2. New products. 3. Industrial research.I. Adlin, Tamara. II. Title.

HF5415.15.P79 2006

658.5'03--dc22

2006000795

ISBN 13: 978-0-12-566251-2ISBN 10: 0-12-566251-3

For information on all Morgan Kaufmann publications,visit our Web site at www.mkp.com or www.books.elsevier.comPrinted in China05 06 07 08 09 5 4 3 2 1

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vii

DEDICATION

For all the people brave enough to stand up in a room full of smart,powerful people and say,

“This doesn’t make sense. Let’s try something new.”

And for all the smart, powerful people brave enough to listen.

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ix

THE NEXT FRONTIER FOR USER-CENTERED DESIGN: MAKING USER REPRESENTATIONS MORE USABLE 2

THE PERSONA LIFECYCLE: A FRAMEWORK FOR THE PERSONA APPROACH 46

PHASE 1: FAMILY PLANNING (PLANNING A PERSONA EFFORT) 66

PHASE 2: CONCEPTION & GESTATION (CREATING PERSONAS) 162

PHASE 3: BIRTH & MATURATION (LAUNCHING AND COMMUNICATING PERSONAS) 272

PHASE 4: ADULTHOOD (USING PERSONAS) 344

PHASE 5: LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AND RETIREMENT (ROI AND REUSE OF PERSONAS) 432

CONTENTS

1

23456

7

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CONTRIBUTED CHAPTERS:

USERS, ROLES, AND PERSONAS 498by Larry Constantine

STORYTELLING AND NARRATIVE 520by Whitney Quesenbery

REALITY AND DESIGN MAPS 556by Tamara Adlin & Holly Jamesen

MARKETING VERSUS DESIGN PERSONAS 602by Bob Barlow-Busch

WHY PERSONAS WORK: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE 642by Jonathan Grudin

APPENDIX A- G4K ORGANIZATIONAL ARCHETYPE AND SAMPLE PERSONA 665APPENDIX B- EXAMPLE PERSONAS FROM REAL PROJECTS 682APPENDIX C- SAMPLE IMAGE RELEASE FORM 691REFERENCES 693CONTRIBUTOR INDEX 707SUBJECT INDEX 709 ABOUT THE AUTHORS 723ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR 724

x C O N T E N T S

8

9

10

11

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book has consumed us for several years and we simply couldn’t have done it without each

other and without the help of dozens of people, including most notably our families, friends, and

colleagues who helped us just keep going through what felt like endless months of work. There are

a few people we simply must acknowledge by name.

Holly Jamesen-Carr, who was one of the original members of our persona workshop squad and

was going to co-author the entire book with us, but got married and ran off to Washington, D.C.

instead to pursue her passion for environmental work. Many of her ideas are in this book, and

we’re thrilled that she decided to co-author the chapter on Mapping with Tamara.

Chauncey Wilson, who was (luckily for us) recruited to be one of the original peer reviewers of

our manuscript and kept working with us throughout the revision process. Chauncey, your help

was invaluable. Thank you for pushing us to answer difficult questions.

Ginny Redish and Mary Beth Rettger, who have the distinction of both participating in our initial

persona workshops and reviewing our draft manuscripts. Ginny, your comments were beyond

insightful, and Mary Beth, your enthusiasm carried us through some difficult revisions. Big thanks

also to reviewers Sarah Bloomer and Terry Roberts, who provided invaluable suggestions in

their reviews of our manuscript in all its many drafts. We thank you for your time and for your

encouragement.

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We’re very proud to include chapters by some of the best usability, HCI, and customer

experience experts around: Whitney Quesenbery, Larry Constantine, Jonathan Grudin, Bob

Barlow-Busch, and Holly Jamesen. Thanks for spending your non-existent time writing your

wonderful chapters.

Thanks to the Nielsen/Norman Group, especially Jacob Nielsen and Don Norman themselves,

who helped us polish our ideas by inviting us to participate in their international User

Experience conferences. It’s been wonderful to have your support and we’ve loved every

minute of your conferences—especially the priceless moments in the “teachers’ lounge” listen-

ing to Tog tell jokes.

The idea for the ‘persona lifecycle’ arose quite naturally from two energizing days of work-

shops in 2001 and 2002 at the Usability Professional’s Association (UPA) annual conferences.

We want to thank all of our participants; your ideas, experiences, and insights helped us

develop the Persona Lifecycle and inspired us to include as many ‘stories from the field’ as

we could. Whether or not you contributed written content directly, all of you contributed the

stories and experiences during the workshops that served to bring this book to life. From UPA

2001: Anna Rutgersson, Bryan Kirschner, David Fore, Dawn Taketa, Ginny Redish, Heather

McQuaid, Janice James, Julie Nowicki, Karen Eliasen, Mary Beth Rettger, Matthew Lee, Merryl

Gross, and Rosa Gudjonsdottir. From UPA 2002: Nathalie Barthe, Len Conte, Brenda D’Angelo,

Caroline Jarrett, Rhiannon Jones, Lori Landesman, Sandra Maples, Bob Murata, and Damian

Rees. The ‘all stars’ who participated both years: Robert Barlow-Busch and Judee Humberg.

Dan Gallivan, you inspired Tamara more than she can say. Thanks for pushing her to explore

creative solutions and to look past corporate shenanigans. Thanks to Larry Tesler, who went

out of his way to ensure that Tamara could continue to work on her book when she joined

Amazon.com. We owe our intro paragraphs to you, Larry. Phil Terry, you are responsible for

many of the connections that resulted in lots of the sidebars for this book. You are an inspi-

ration, a master connector, and a true leader in the art and science of understanding users.

Thanks to the folks at Morgan Kaufmann who wheedled, prodded, and cajoled us to finish

a book we said ‘would only take a few months, really!’ Diane Cerra, thanks for inviting us

to write this book and sticking with the ever expanding deadlines. Asma Stephan, you are a

miracle of organization. Julio Esperas, thank you for your design help and for bringing

Yvo Riezebos into the project. Yvo, your enthusiasm and creativity are wonderful and we love

the look of our book—no one else could have brought all these elements together the way you

did. We also thank Jakob Nielsen and Jonathan Grudin again for recommending our work to

Morgan Kaufmann in the first place. Finally, thank heavens for Dawnmane Simpson, who

flew in like an angel to escort us through the last hectic month of our publishing marathon.

xii A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

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Thanks to Craig Hally and his graphic talents for creating the persona lifecycle illustration con-

cept and for bringing our fictional G4K case study personas to life in expressive example posters.

Thanks to Nelson Adlin and his cavalcade of creatures. They seem to inhabit our manuscript

quite happily, and of course Tamara is especially proud to include her daddy’s art in the book.

Thanks to Jesica Pruitt for her endless patience and support, and willingness to give up her

husband for countless weekends and evenings. Also, thanks to Ms. Madeline Grace Pruitt,

who kindly scheduled her own birth to coincide perfectly with the completion of this book.

Thanks to Mark Patterson and Chris Nodder for encouraging John to explore the idea of

personas, when the approach seemed so wildly new, ill defined, and untested.

We wrote most of this book during many long saturdays in the Bellevue Public Library.

Thanks to the librarians for not noticing our scam, in which we signed up separately so that

we could reserve the private study rooms for inordinate amounts of time.

Finally, we’d like to thank Alan Cooper for the inspiration that his book The Inmates are

Running the Asylum gave us and so many other people interested in designing software that’s

easy for regular people to use.

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S xiii

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FOREWORD

I’m very pleased to see this book published. Not only is it an effective, useful, and thorough

treatment of an exciting and relevant new interaction design tool, but it represents a clear

recognition of the profound sea change that has swept through the software industry in the last

few years. That change, of course, is the shift from post-facto testing as a means of improving

software behavior to pre-facto design.

Through our Cooper U division, my company, Cooper, offers training in persona-based interaction

design. At a recent session, a senior usability professional at a major software company—obviously

apprehensive about directly questioning me—asked me why I “had changed my opinion regarding

the effectiveness of usability.” What she was referring to was my tendency, a decade ago, to

publicly describe traditional usability practices as ineffective and irrelevant, and my more recent

stance of detent, or even outright enthusiasm for contemporary usability practitioners.

Although my questioner was bravely asking me a tough question—one that she clearly expected

to generate some squirming and backpedaling on my part—the question provoked instead a

relaxed smile. She was surprised, but not unhappy, to hear my answer. I replied that I had not

changed my opinion at all but rather the practice of usability had changed. It no longer consists

primarily of user testing of existing products, but instead now focuses on designing software

before construction begins.

In effect, the practice of “usability” has transformed into the practice of “interaction design.” In

doing so, usability has become far more effective and, as my interlocutor implied, my relationship

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to it has changed. It is simply that from her point of view, it looks like I have moved rather

than that an entire profession has shifted.

Arguably, what gave the profession the strongest nudge towards its new-found emphasis on

design was Chapter Nine of my book, The Inmates are Running the Asylum, published in

1999. In that chapter I wrote for the first time about my invention: personas. I had already

been using personas to great effect at my company for four years and had been using them in

a primitive form for more than a decade before that.

It is immensely gratifying to see the influence one short chapter has had on the software busi-

ness. The mere fact that personas have been so widely embraced shows just how extensive the

pent-up desire was to make the change from merely evaluating software that programmers

had designed to a more proactive stance of designing what those programmers should build.

In The Inmates, my intent was to write a manifesto for executives, exhorting them to gain con-

trol of their businesses by gaining control of the design of their software. It was never

intended to be a how-to book of interaction design. The main purpose of describing personas

in Chapter Nine was simply to show that my notions of interaction design were far more rig-

orous than the word “design” might conjure up in the mind of an exec whose only other expo-

sure to the term was in the context of advertising.

Interaction design is a complex and difficult craft and requires good tools like any other. The

popularity of personas has exploded because they are the foundational tool upon which the

practice of interaction design rests. Interaction design is about making a particular group of

humans effective at achieving a narrow set of goals. Because using personas is a remarkably

powerful technique for bringing those humans and their objectives into focus, it becomes the

most critical tool for designing the behavior of software.

In this volume, John Pruitt and Tamara Adlin give us the most complete description to date

of what personas are, along with useful instructions on how to apply them. While other

usability textbooks might devote a chapter to personas, this is the first one to give the topic

the full attention it deserves. They unstintingly present the strengths and weaknesses of

personas, along with detailed descriptions of how to introduce them to your organization,

including particular emphasis on overcoming the wave of protest that is to be expected in any

high-tech organization when non-programmers introduce a new idea.

Pruitt and Adlin also demonstrate their talent for unearthing real-world stories of how

early adopters have applied personas. In this volume they gather together some of the most

useful experiences from the field in applying personas, including voices of our most capable

practitioners sharing their own wisdom gained in the heat of battle. These stories are pre-

sented as easily digestible sidebars scattered throughout the book.

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Any usability professional will find this book indispensable, but you don’t have to be a

software designer to benefit from its contents. Anybody whose work depends on software

quality (and that’s about everyone these days) will find personas—and this book—a useful

tool for improving the quality of your software and the success of your business.

Alan Cooper

Chairman

Cooper

www.cooper.com

24 August 2005

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