I *think* Rosan was referring to a more operational/functional
description of how personas work. What exactly are the mechanisms that
let these obvious generalisations of 'persons' stand in for the real thing?
Todd, I don't think that's contained in your answer. That said, I think
it would be an interesting research area to study how personas work, so
that we might be able to decide what about them is more than a "sales
pitch".
Cheers.
Fil
Todd Warfel wrote:
> How they work is that they provide context and a framework for making
> decisions. That's how they work. That's how personas allow us to be more
> focused in our efforts.
>
> Think of it this way. When you tell friends or family a story that
> begins with "Remember Bob, the guy from high school that crashed into
> the general store in his daddy's car when he was 12?" Now the audience
> has context. They know Bob. They can relate to Bob. And in knowing Bob,
> they know what he likes, what he doesn't like, what his personality is.
> Where he grew up. They know the fact that he never left the small town
> and is now the Sherif.
>
> One important point is that for personas to be effective, they need to
> provide the following:
> * Enough background information about the character to inform decisions
> (strategy, business, design)
> * Task/goal based information that describes how they will use the
> product, or a competitive product
>
> On Oct 27, 2005, at 5:24 AM, Rosan Chow wrote:
>
>> the fact that HOW it works/informs design is not made explicit
>>
>
>
> Cheers!
>
> Todd R. Warfel
> Partner, Design & Usability Specialist
> Messagefirst | making products & services easier to use
> --------------------------------------
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> --------------------------------------
> In theory, theory and practice are the same.
> In practice, they are not.
>
>
>
--
Prof. Filippo A. Salustri, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Ryerson University Tel: 416/979-5000 x7749
350 Victoria St. Fax: 416/979-5265
Toronto, ON email: [log in to unmask]
M5B 2K3 Canada http://deed.ryerson.ca/~fil/
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