From persona to techsona

Abstract

In this paper we introduce the notion of techsona, as a possible counterpart design instrument to personas. We use a case study to illustrate a design process where techsonas help pinpoint technological ideas and alternatives and analyze these systematically. While a persona captures "imagine a user..", a scenario "imagine a situation..." the techsona gives the missing piece of "imagine a technology..." We show how a recently developed activity theoretical model can serve both as a framing for techsonas and as an analytical interface between personas and techsonas. The paper discusses the potentials and problems of the techsona and concludes that the techsona truly helps with a missing piece in persona and scenario-based design. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.