Persona & User Story

Persona

What is a Persona?

A persona is a fictional character that represents a typical user. It helps teams understand user needs, behaviors, motivations, and goals.

Why use Personas?

• Create a shared understanding of the target users.
• Help prioritize features and design decisions.
• Keep the team focused on user goals and perspectives.
• Increase empathy within the team toward real users.

Key Characteristics:

• Fictional, yet realistic and based on research.
• Include demographics, behaviors, motivations, and pain points.
• Serve as reference points throughout the design process.

Limitations:

• Only as good as the data they're based on.
• Overgeneralization may lead to stereotypes.
• Must be regularly updated to remain relevant.

User Story

What is a User Story?

A user story is a short, simple description of a feature told from the perspective of the person who desires the new capability. It typically follows this format:

“As a [type of user], I want [some goal] so that [some reason].”

Why use User Stories?

• Clearly express user needs and expectations.
• Encourage collaboration between business and technical teams.
• Help prioritize tasks in agile development environments.

Characteristics of a Good User Story (INVEST):

• Independent – can be developed separately.
• Negotiable – not a fixed contract; open for discussion.
• Valuable – delivers value to the user.
• Estimable – can be estimated for planning.
• Small – sized to fit into a single sprint.
• Testable – clear criteria to determine if it's complete.

Example:

“As a user, I want to save my favorite products so I can easily find them later.”