“The Persona Lifecycle” by John Pruitt and Tamara Adlin

“The Persona Lifecycle” is a book written by John Pruitt and Tamara Adlin that explores the concept of personas and how they can be used in product development. The book outlines a process for creating and using personas, which are fictional characters that represent different types of users or customers. The authors argue that personas can help product teams understand the needs and goals of their target audience, leading to more effective product design. The book covers topics such as how to conduct research to create personas, how to use personas in the product development process, and how to maintain and update personas over time. The book provides practical examples and case studies to illustrate the concepts discussed and includes tools and templates that can be used to create and use personas.

The 10 most important recommandations

The book details the process of creating personas, from research and data analysis to the final product. The authors also provide recommendations for how to use personas effectively in product development.

1. For product managers: Use personas to guide product development by understanding the needs and goals of different user groups. Example: A product manager for a fitness app could use personas to understand the different motivations and challenges of users looking to lose weight, build muscle, or improve their overall health.
2. For product designers: Use personas to inform design decisions by understanding the context and constraints of different user groups. Example: A product designer for a transportation app could use personas to understand the different transportation needs and preferences of users living in suburban, urban, and rural areas.
3. For product marketing managers: Use personas to develop effective marketing strategies by understanding the pain points and decision-making processes of different user groups. Example: A product marketing manager for a financial management app could use personas to understand the different financial goals and concerns of users in different income brackets.
4. Use personas to gain a deeper understanding of user behaviors and motivations.
5. Use personas to identify key user needs and pain points.
6. Use personas to create a shared understanding of users within the product team.
7. Use personas to guide user research and testing.
8. Use personas to inform the development of user stories and scenarios.
9. Use personas to evaluate the effectiveness of existing products and features.
10. Use personas to anticipate the needs and wants of future users.

How to create a persona

According to “The Persona Lifecycle” by John Pruitt and Tamara Adlin, the steps to build a persona for a product are:

1. Research and Discovery: This is the initial step where the involved stakeholders are the product team, sales, customer service, and users. The activities include conducting interviews, surveys, and focus groups to gather information about the target audience. For example, a product team for a meal delivery service would conduct interviews with customers to understand their meal preferences, dietary restrictions, and budget constraints.
2. Synthesis and Analysis: This step involves analyzing the data collected in the previous step. The stakeholders are the product team, user research, and marketing. The activities include organizing the data, identifying patterns, and creating a persona template. For example, a product team for a meal delivery service would analyze the data collected from the interviews and identify patterns in meal preferences, dietary restrictions, and budget constraints to create a persona template for their target audience.
3. Persona Development: In this step, the persona is created based on the data and patterns identified in the previous step. The stakeholders are the product team, user research, and marketing. The activities include creating a persona document that includes the persona’s demographic information, goals, pain points, and decision-making criteria. For example, a product team for a meal delivery service would create a persona document that includes the persona’s demographic information such as age, income, and location, goals such as healthy eating, pain points such as limited time to cook, and decision-making criteria such as budget.
4. Persona Validation: This step involves validating the persona with the target audience to ensure its accuracy. The stakeholders are the product team, user research, and marketing. The activities include conducting usability tests, surveys, and interviews to gather feedback on the persona. For example, a product team for a meal delivery service would conduct usability tests with their target audience to gather feedback on the persona and make any necessary adjustments.
5. Persona Implementation: This is the final step, where the persona is integrated into the product development process. The stakeholders are the product team, user research, and marketing. The activities include creating user stories, design guidelines, and marketing strategies that align with the persona. For example, a product team for a meal delivery service would create user stories and design guidelines that align with the persona, such as creating a meal plan that caters to the persona’s dietary restrictions, and a marketing strategy that targets the persona’s age and location.

John Pruitt and Tamara Adlin

John Pruitt and Tamara Adlin are authors and user experience experts. They have written several books and articles on the topic of personas and user experience design, and have presented their work at conferences and workshops around the world. They are known for their expertise in the field of user research and persona development, and have worked with numerous organizations to help improve their products and services through a better understanding of their users.