Product development is all about knowing your audience. Every design decision or functional requirement should be made with the end user in mind. Who are they and how will they use your product? A key element to writing a great user story is to identify the end user, “As a __.” Creating personas to identify your audience is invaluable. The more you learn about your audience, the more empathy you have. Empathy allows you to better envision your users’ experience and therefore significantly improve that experience.

1. Know Your Audience
@dwilliams999 | linkedin.com/in/scrummama | ldwilliams@dminc.com
Diana Williams
Manager of Agile Delivery
BDI/Allegient - DMI Inc

2. Agenda
● Why do we need Personas?
● What is a Persona?
● How do we create a Persona?

3. Why do we need Personas?

4. 23%
Of users abandon an App after one use

5. 38%Of users use an App more than 11 times

6. 197 BEstimated Apps
will be downloaded in
2017

7. Define a successful product
On time?
Is it still successful if no one uses the product?
On budget? Within scope?

8. Alan Cooper
“If we want users to like our
software, we should design it to
behave like a likeable person.”

9. What is a Persona?

10. Persona:
the aspect of someone's character
that is presented to or perceived by
others

11. What benefits do Persona’s provide?
● Build Empathy
● Develop Focus
● Communicate - Tell a story
● Make and Defend Decision
● Remove Self from conversation

12. While we need to keep the
customer in mind, we are
designing for an end user.

13. Customer
Makes decision to buy your product
Pricing analysis
Generally not the end user of your product
Thinks in terms of value
When selling, pay attention to customers
End User
Interacts with system/product
Use base outweighs customer base
Generally not the purchaser
When designing, pay attention to users
Want software that serves their need
Users use and Customers buy

14. How do we create a Persona?

15. Goal Directed Design

16. Gathering Information
Talk to end users
You have to listen and observe
Talk to you competitors customer
Survey them (limited)
Generally you need to talk to 8 people
Create the narrative

17. Bad Questions
Do NOT ask Yes/No questions
Do NOT lead the witness
Do NOT ask would you like this feature

18. Awesome Questions
Did you have a good day today?
What made it a good day?
Tell me about your job.
What are you trying to accomplish?

19. What is the most important
part of interviewing end
users?

20. SHUT UP
and
Listen!!

21. Results
You will get their truths
Some will tell you what they think you want to know
You will get their weird idiosyncrasies
A pattern will develop
You are left with a common set of desired end states

22. Aspects of a Persona

30. Include the information you need

31. Let’s create an
AgileIndy
attendee persona

32. Name??
Stats:
Age:
Job Role:
Location:
Avg Income:
About:
Quote Goals:

33. Questions?