A short presentation describing how personas can be used effectively in product / service design and cultural transformation. It raises questions about the motivations of using personas as well as their limitations. It offers a way forward for developing meaningful personas and empowering stakeholders through participatory design.

1. Personas — drivers of
empathy, engagement, and
transformation or hollow profit?
Design Thinking Rapid Learning Pathway
by Ann Longley Something New Together
© Something New Together 2020

2. Personas — Drivers of empathy, engagement and
transformation or hollow profit?
Design Thinkers Group
Ann Longley
7 March 2021

3. PROVOCATION — CONTEXT &
PURPOSE MATTERS
Whilst it is easy tear them down as
caricatures, they have an important role
to play in product development, experience
design, and social change
If designed and used effectively, they are
a tool to develop empathy, humanise
stakeholders, and even drive design
‘to reshape humanity’*
Their impact depends on who is
using them, their motivations,
capabilities and aims
*Source:Ann Light

4. TOPICS FORTODAY
The good The bad (the ugly) A way forward

5. TOPICS FORTODAY
The good The bad (the ugly) A way forward

6. WHAT IS A PERSONA?
— a fictional character that represents a
type of customer or user of your service or
product
— an archetype of a person whose
needs you are trying to understand
and meet with your product, service,
or experience

7. PART OF A DESIGNTOOLKIT
Image Source: DavidTravis

8. WHY USE PERSONAS?

9. TO CREATE A BRIDGETO CUSTOMERS
AND INFORM STRATEGIES
*Headshift user research 2014 for theRSA.org
- Exercise revisited in 2020 to include more diverse personas

10. HOWTO CREATE PERSONAS
By following a proven methodology using
insights from quantitative and qualitative
data
Interactively with front-line workers and
customers
Not by committee
*Use bespoke quantitative data to segment your customers based on shared needs and behaviours; conduct primary qualitative research to delve deeply; bring insights to life by creating personas with compelling narratives

11. CO-CREATED PERSONAS &
JOURNEY MAPS WIN
Image Source: Prince’sTrust — created and validated with young people based on customer segments

12. TOPICS FORTODAY
The good The bad (the ugly) A way forward

13. THE BAD &THE UGLY
What are their limitations? How are they diminished?
• Too specific to be useful
• Oversimplify the complexity of individuals — stereotypes, not archetypes
• Not statistically representative (if not backed up with large samples)
• May lack vision for invention (if not inspired by the art of the possible)

14. EXERCISE CAUTION
User research helps designers
understand customer needs
and motivations that can
inform design and innovation,
but not necessarily dictate it

15. TOPICS FORTODAY
The good The bad (the ugly) A way forward

16. MEANINGFUL PERSONAS
REMOVE BIASES
Image Source: Amber Westerholm-Smyth, Department of Justice: remove demographics and personalisation so they don’t end up in a drawer

17. PLAYFUL AND ACCESSIBLE
Image Source: Amber Westerholm-Smyth, Department of Justice

18. USETHEM WISELY
• Exercise judgement
• Know their strengths and
limitations
• Don’t let them hamper
innovation or a bold vision
Image Source: Cirque du Soliel

19. PRACTICE PARTICIPATORY DESIGN
TO EMPOWER AND DRIVE CHANGE
Co-design with users to make
inputs and outputs authentic
Generate genuine insights, ideas
and prototypes
Make it empowering and
memorable for participants —
boost skills and confidence —
support new mindsets and
behaviours
Image Source:. Participatory Design Workshop facilitated by Ann Longley with Lambeth Council

20. Image Sources: Design workshop facilitated by Ann Longley with Lambeth Council and the Disasters Emergency Committee

21. To unlock the full potential,
of a human-centric
approach, develop an
inclusive and participatory
design culture and capability
CREATE AN INCLUSIVE DESIGN
CULTURE & CAPABILITY

22. REFERENCES
Matthew B. Miles,A. Michael Huberman, Johnny Saldana, Qualitative Data Analysis,A Methods Sourcebook,Arizona
State University, USA
Olga Elizarova, Jen Briselli, Kimberly Dowd, Participatory Design: what it is, what it isn't and how it actually works,
Article No :1695 | December 14, 2017 | UXMag
O Devisch, L Huybrechts, R De Ridder, Participatory Design Theory: Using Technology and Social Media to Foster
Civic Engagement - 2018 - books.google.com
Handbook of Participatory Design, Edited By Jesper Simonsen,Toni Robertson, Routledge International 2013
Ann Light, Redesigning design for culture change: theory in the Anthropocene, University of Suxsex, 2019
Huffington Post, Why Steve Jobs didn’t listen to his customers
Toptal, Don’t listen to customers, — Why User Research Matters
Amber Westerholm-Smyth, Your personas probably suck. Here’s how you can build them better. 2020

23. We hope you found
this deck helpful.
Get in touch if you want to delve deeper or
need support designing sustainable change
in your organisation
Contact:
ann@somethingnewtogether.net
www.somethingnewtogether.net