Personasid

Personasid is an Estonian term used to denote multiple personas or user profiles that represent segments of a user base. In fields such as user experience design, marketing, and product development, personasid are semi-fictional characters grounded in real user data. They serve as tangible representations of user needs, goals, and behaviors to help teams communicate and align around common targets.

Typically, a personasid profile combines demographic and psychographic details with observed or reported behaviors. Common elements include a name, age range, occupation, technology proficiency, goals, tasks, pain points, and scenarios in which the product or service would be used. Quotes from interviews or surveys may be included to give voice to the character. The creation process usually involves data collection through interviews, surveys, analytics, and field observations, followed by synthesis, segmentation, and validation with stakeholders. Documentation is usually organized on a persona sheet or profile template that can be shared across cross-functional teams.

Uses of personasid include guiding product requirements, prioritizing features, shaping user journeys, and communicating user needs during design reviews and testing. They help to keep decisions user-centered and to align stakeholders around common use cases. However, there are criticisms: personas can become stereotypes if based on selective data, may become outdated, or oversimplify diverse user experiences. To mitigate this, teams often update personasid regularly, base them on diverse data sources, and use multiple profiles to reflect variation within user groups. Ethical considerations include privacy and consent when collecting and applying user data. See also: persona and user-centered design.