2 - Developing Personas and Mapping User Journeys

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Introduction to Persona Development

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Teacher
Teacher

Today, we're discussing the creation of personas. Why do you think we use personas in design?

Student 1
Student 1

Maybe to understand our users better?

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! Personas help us synthesize user data into relatable profiles. Can anyone name a key element of a persona?

Student 2
Student 2

The background information like age and socio-economic status?

Teacher
Teacher

You got it! Background info is essential. Now, letโ€™s remember it with the acronym B.E.S.T: Background, Empathy, Scenarios, and Technical proficiency.

Student 3
Student 3

What does โ€˜Empathyโ€™ mean in this context?

Teacher
Teacher

Good question! Empathy refers to understanding user emotions and behaviors. Letโ€™s summarize: personas give us a clearer view of who our users are.

Empathy Mapping

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Teacher
Teacher

Next, we explore empathy mapping. Who can explain what an empathy map includes?

Student 4
Student 4

It has four quadrants showing what users say, think, do, and feel.

Teacher
Teacher

Great! Why do you think this is useful?

Student 1
Student 1

It helps visualize the user's experience and emotions.

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! To remember, think โ€˜S.T.D.F.โ€™ for Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels. Can someone give an example of a user scenario?

Student 2
Student 2

A user might say they love an app but feel frustrated when it crashes.

Teacher
Teacher

Absolutely! Summarizing helps us identify key insights around user needs.

User Journey Mapping

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Teacher
Teacher

Now letโ€™s look at user journey mapping. Why do we create journey maps?

Student 3
Student 3

To identify user pain points throughout their experience?

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! It helps us improve their experience. Whatโ€™s one component we include in a journey map?

Student 4
Student 4

Touchpoints where users interact with the product, right?

Teacher
Teacher

Yes! Think about the emotional journey too. If we rate emotions from -5 to +5, what does a low score indicate?

Student 1
Student 1

A negative experience for the user.

Teacher
Teacher

Good! Always remember that identifying these emotions helps us create better solutions.

Introduction & Overview

Read a summary of the section's main ideas. Choose from Basic, Medium, or Detailed.

Quick Overview

This section covers the creation of personas and mapping user journeys to derive actionable insights from user research data.

Standard

In this section, we explore how to synthesize user research data through advanced persona creation and user journey mapping. Key concepts include empathy mapping, the emotional journey, and the service blueprint, all designed to enhance the understanding of user interactions and needs.

Detailed

Developing Personas and Mapping User Journeys

In this section, we dive deep into the process of synthesizing user research data into personas and user journey maps. Both tools are essential for framing user behavior within specific emotional and contextual contexts.

Advanced Persona Creation

Personas serve to humanize research data by embedding the emotional backdrop of user experiences. To craft a robust persona, several key elements must be included:
- Bio & Background: Details about the user's demographic and socio-economic context.
- Empathy Map Layers: This includes what users say, think, do, and feel, allowing researchers to visualize users' emotional states.
- Scenarios: Short narratives describing typical use cases.
- Technical Proficiency & Access: Information on users' device ownership and internet connectivity.

Empathy Mapping Workshop

To organize findings from interviews, a workshop involves four quadrants:
1. Say/Think: Direct quotes and beliefs from research.
2. Do/Feel: User behaviors and emotional states.
3. Insights & Needs: Identification of key user needs.

Persona Example

For instance, Aisha, a 13-year-old who uses visual planners, requires features like quick feedback on practice schedules and reminders to sync data.

User Journey and Service Blueprinting

Mapping the user journey reveals pain points and opportunities for improvement. Significant components include:
- Emotional Journey Curves: To visualize user emotions during different stages.
- Service Blueprint Components: These outline user actions alongside visible and internal processes supporting the service.

Creating a Detailed Journey Map

The process involves selecting a persona and task, identifying touchpoints, evaluating emotional responses at each point to aid in service design and improvement.

The section provides insight into how proper persona development and user journey mapping are indispensable for understanding user needs and improving their experiences effectively.

Audio Book

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Advanced Persona Creation

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Personas humanize data, embedding the emotional and contextual backdrop of user behavior.

Detailed Explanation

This chunk introduces the concept of personas in user design. A persona is a fictional character created based on user research to represent different user types. It helps teams understand their users better by providing context about their needs, preferences, and behaviors. By humanizing data, personas allow designers and developers to empathize with users, thereby making it easier to create user-centric products.

Examples & Analogies

Think of personas like characters in a movie. Just as a movie character has traits and motivations that drive their actions, a persona has a background, needs, and goals that direct product design. For instance, if our persona is a busy working mother, understanding her daily struggles can help developers create an app that saves her time.

Elements of a Robust Persona

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Elements of a Robust Persona

  • Bio & Background: Age, education, socioโ€‘economic context.
  • Empathy Map Layers:
  • Says: Direct quotes from research.
  • Thinks: Underlying beliefs and concerns.
  • Does: Observable actions.
  • Feels: Emotional state at each stage.
  • Scenarios: Short narratives depicting a typical use case.
  • Technical Proficiency & Access: Device ownership, connectivity.

Detailed Explanation

This chunk outlines the essential components of a well-built persona. Each element contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the user. The bio delivers demographic details, while the empathy map reveals thoughts and feelings, allowing developers to see the world from the user's perspective. The scenarios illustrate typical behaviors, and recognizing technical proficiency indicates how users might interact with a product based on their familiarity with technology.

Examples & Analogies

Imagine a persona named 'John', a 30-year-old tech-savvy banker. His profile would include his age, job, and family situation. The empathy map would show John's quotes like, 'I need this app to be fast and secure,' which reflects his needs. His scenarios might show him checking his bank balance during his commute, informing how designers prioritize speed and security features.

Empathy Mapping Workshop

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Organize findings from interviews:
1. Say/Think: Postโ€‘it sections on a large board.
2. Do/Feel: Capture behaviors and emotions.
3. Insights & Needs: Derive key user needs (e.g., โ€œNeeds quick, oneโ€‘tap data entryโ€).

Detailed Explanation

This chunk introduces an empathy mapping workshop as a technique to synthesize user research findings. By visually organizing user thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, teams can pinpoint what users need. The process involves collecting data from interviews and categorizing it into what users say, think, do, and feel. This method helps teams stay user-centered by focusing on emotional and practical aspects of user experience.

Examples & Analogies

Picture a team brainstorming around a whiteboard filled with sticky notes. They categorize insights about users into different sections: what users say about their frustrations, their feelings when using a product, and what they need. This collaborative effort reveals that many users want a simpler way to navigate an app. Without empathy mapping, these critical insights might be overlooked.

User Journey and Service Blueprinting

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Mapping journeys uncovers pain points and improvement opportunities across touchpoints.

Detailed Explanation

This section emphasizes the importance of user journey mapping, which tracks the user's experience across different interactions with a product or service. By visualizing each step a user takes, including their emotional responses, teams can identify friction points and areas for improvement. This holistic view encompasses every aspect, including what users do, what they see, and how they feel, providing insight into their experience.

Examples & Analogies

Think of a user journey map as a road map for a trip. It outlines the journey from starting point to destination, including stops along the way. If there are roadblocks or detours, these represent the user's pain points. For example, if users feel frustrated when waiting for an app to load, this moment would be marked on the journey map as a negative experience, indicating where improvements are necessary.

Creating a Detailed Journey Map

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  1. Select Persona & Task: E.g., Aisha booking a practice slot.
  2. Identify Touchpoints: Mobile app, coach interaction, calendar reminders.
  3. Emotional Track: Rate each touchpoint from โˆ’5 to +5.
  4. Service Blueprint Overlay: Show how internal processes (database sync) affect user experience.

Detailed Explanation

This chunk outlines step-by-step how to create a user journey map. It begins with selecting a persona and task to focus onโ€”such as the action of booking a practice slot. Next, it emphasizes identifying all the touchpoints the user interacts with throughout their journey, which could include various interactions with the app and coaches. Tracking emotional responses at each touchpoint allows teams to understand where users feel satisfied or frustrated. Finally, overlaying a service blueprint ensures that internal processes support or hinder user experience effectively.

Examples & Analogies

Imagine Aisha, our persona, trying to book a basketball practice session through an app. The journey map would detail her stepsโ€”from opening the app, navigating through the interface, and contacting her coach. Along the way, if she experiences delays or confusion, those moments would score negatively in her emotional track. By visualizing her journey, the design team can identify what needs to be streamlined or improved for a smoother user experience.

Definitions & Key Concepts

Learn essential terms and foundational ideas that form the basis of the topic.

Key Concepts

  • Persona: A profile representing a segment of your user base, created from user research.

  • Empathy Mapping: A technique to understand user feelings and attitudes.

  • User Journey: Steps that users take when interacting with a product.

  • Touchpoints: Specific interactions the user has with the product.

  • Service Blueprint: A comprehensive outline of the service delivery process.

Examples & Real-Life Applications

See how the concepts apply in real-world scenarios to understand their practical implications.

Examples

  • Aisha, a 13-year-old student who uses a note-taking app, and her frustrations about syncing data are captured in her persona.

  • A journey map for booking a practice slot might show user emotions peaking with excitement or plummeting with frustration.

Memory Aids

Use mnemonics, acronyms, or visual cues to help remember key information more easily.

๐ŸŽต Rhymes Time

  • When creating a persona, donโ€™t be shy, include their age, background, and why!

๐Ÿ“– Fascinating Stories

  • Imagine Aisha, the 13-year-old, who juggles school and sports. She often forgets to sync her practice times, highlighting her need for an app that reminds her.

๐Ÿง  Other Memory Gems

  • Use the acronym P.E.T. for Personas: Profile, Empathy mapping, Touchpoints.

๐ŸŽฏ Super Acronyms

B.E.S.T

  • Background
  • Emotional state
  • Scenarios
  • Technical proficiency for crafting personas.

Flash Cards

Review key concepts with flashcards.

Glossary of Terms

Review the Definitions for terms.

  • Term: Persona

    Definition:

    A fictional representation of a user that highlights their characteristics, needs, and experiences.

  • Term: Empathy Map

    Definition:

    A tool used to visualize user emotions by segmenting them into what they say, think, do, and feel.

  • Term: User Journey

    Definition:

    A visual representation of the steps a user takes to accomplish a task with your service or product.

  • Term: Touchpoints

    Definition:

    Points of interaction between the user and the product during their journey.

  • Term: Service Blueprint

    Definition:

    A diagram that visualizes the service process, including user actions and internal operations.