User Persona
Updated 2026-08-13
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A persona is a composite character built from real user research that condenses the goals, behaviors, and frustrations of a target segment into a single recognizable figure. The core proposition is that design decisions improve when the user is a specific person rather than an abstraction, because specifics surface constraints that generalities hide. The qualification is that personas must be grounded in actual research, since invented personas merely launder the team's own assumptions. Keeping the set small preserves focus.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Decision test: ask what this specific persona would do rather than what users in general would do. - Grounding check: verify each persona detail traces back to real research rather than to assumption. - Focus guard: keep the persona set small so decisions do not fracture across incompatible needs.
Anchor fast decisions
Abstract user categories are compatible with any design, so they provide no constraint and no way to detect a bad decision. A specific character with concrete goals and constraints makes some options visibly wrong, which forces the trade-off into the open. Because the character is stable across the project, different team members reach consistent conclusions about the same choice.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_(user_experienceverified
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