Why Personas Work: The Psychological Evidence

Abstract

This chapter addresses the psychological foundations of persona usage. The chapter describes the theories and findings that explain their effectiveness. The reason behind persona engagement is reviewed that leads to better design. Understanding personas without any underlying psychology is difficult. By understanding how persona works, one can design better personas, select appropriate complementary methods, and embed personas in effective processes. Data from psychological studies and artistic experience indicate that one naturally and generatively creates and engages with detailed representations of people. Personas bind into this powerful human capability. Most of the people do not naturally reason about extensive statistical summaries, but they do reason effortlessly about people, real or fictional. With the power of personas comes the need to be accurate in constructing them. Evidence suggests that stereotypes might suffice for short projects, but richer personas are better for longer-term use. Personas address weaknesses in some of the major methods that can be used with them. They may be useful in situations in which participatory design is not feasible. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.