Presented at Total Customer Experience, February 2015, by: • Jordan Girman, group user experience director, EA • Shane Johnston, lead experience planner, EffectiveUI Personas and journey maps are becoming more commonplace these days, as companies realize the value of understanding their customers beyond their age, gender and income. Getting a clear picture of customers’ needs, goals, motivations and attitudes plays a critical role in designing products and solutions that resonate with your audience. But what happens after the project is complete and the personas are delivered? In many cases, they may live in posters on the wall, or in a PowerPoint presentation in a file. How do companies make sure that their investment in this important research actually serves its purpose? EA conducted a large ethnographic research project with user experience agency EffectiveUI, where 25 NHL and UFC gamers were observed playing their respective games and interviewed on expectations, perceptions and motivations. The result was a set of comprehensive persona profiles that clearly define EAs audiences for these specific games. Through the lens of EA’s experience, this session will cover how to embark on a persona project within a large corporate culture, as well as how to keep personas alive beyond the deliverable and make them prevalent within the organization.

1. GETTING INTO THE GAME: HOW EA PUT USER
RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE

2. HI…
SHANE JOHNSTON
LEAD EXPERIENCE PLANNER, EFFECTIVE UI
www.linkedin.com/pub/shane-johnston/58/92b/6b1/en
https://twitter.com/shanebjohnston
shane.johnston@effecitveui.com
JORDAN GIRMAN
USER EXPERIENCE DIRECTOR, EA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangirman
https://twitter.com/moonwaffle
jgirman@ea.com

3. AGENDA:
• CONTEXT
• WHY PERSONAS
• SELECTING A VENDOR
• EFFECTIVE UI’s APPROACH
• PUTTING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE
• WHAT’S NEXT
• SUMMARY

6. ELECTRONIC ARTS IS A NERDY PLACE TO WORK.
The social awkwardness is palatable
when you walk in the building.
The ratio of pony tails to females
working in the studio is off.
If you are wearing a suit people assume
that you are selling something or here to
fix the copy machine.

7. digital experience @ EA
Often you will go for lunch and people
will pull out their DSs…

8. ELECTRONIC ARTS IS A NERDY PLACE TO WORK.
AT THE SAME TIME IT IS THE MOST ACCEPTING
CORPORATE WORKING ENVIRONMENT I HAVE
EVER BEEN IN.

9. digital experience @ EA
Toys are common place and almost a
symbol what you are into…

11. digital experience @ EA
You have a bunch of people who were
potentially alienated in high school and
you toss them in an environment with
like minded people who not only are
into the same things but genuinely
appreciate them.
Because of this people stay at EA for
much longer than most places. Being
34 years old and have been at EA for 16
years is not uncommon

12. EVERYONE IS A GAMER, SO PEOPLE FEEL THAT
THEY ARE DESIGNING FOR THEMSELVES. WE
WANT TO CHANGE THE CONVERSATION FROM,
“WHAT WOULD I DO” TO “WHAT WOULD THE
PLAYER DO”

13. WHY PERSONAS
Different teams working from different
view point. Marketing working from one
point and development working from
another.
Lots of data but no one was using it.

14. USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN IS A NEW THING
FOR THE GAME TEAMS AT EA SPORTS.
When I first started all people wanted
me to do was UI and wireframe.
Process of research first and design
based off of that research was not
common place

15. RESEARCH WAS FOR MARKETING

16. THE RESEARCH OUR TEAMS WERE GETTING
WAS FOR HOW PEOPLE BUY. WHAT THE
GAMES TEAM NEEDED WAS FOR HOW
PLAYER ENGAGED.

17. GAME DESIGNERS CONTACT WITH PLAYERS
WAS MAINLY WITH THE HARDCORE THROUGH
FORUMS AND SOCIAL MEDIA, WHERE
HARDCORE PLAYERS WOULD COMMENT.

18. 1 ALIGN
Building consensus around a
clear and consistent view
Organizing increasing amounts
of data
2 INSPIRE
Ethnographic and about real
people creating a realistic view
of the people we design for
Allowing designers to separate
themselves from the design
3 VALIDATE
Back up design decisions
Help with stakeholder reviews
Ensure you are testing against
the players the product was
designed for
PERSONA CAN

19. SEEKING AN OUTSOURCER

21. PERSONAS ARE ARCHETYPES OF
REAL USERS

22. ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH FOCUSED ON:
• Behaviour
• Motivation
• Environment (context)
• Social Structure

23. What does organization hope to learn?
How can we make the learnings relevant?
How will they use what they learn?
EffectiveUI’s APPROACH

24. Adoption / Socialization / Utilization

25. A TRADITIONAL APPROACH
ResearcherStakeholder Customer

26. EffectiveUI’s APPROACH
Stakeholder/Researcher Customer

31. GET THE TEAM INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH
THE PROCESS OF CREATING A PERSONA IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE
FINAL RESULTS. BY BRINGING DESIGNERS INTO THE PROCESS YOU GET
BETTER BUY-IN FOR THE OUTCOME, MORE TRUST IN THE PERSONAS
AND MORE PERSPECTIVES CONTRIBUTING THE FINAL RESULTS

33. Persona Group
Co-operative Offline Modes
Online Co-operative Play
Integrated Communications
Gameplay Imperatives
Gamer’s Journey
Pain Points
Incompatible Online Community
Lack of Social Currency
Motivations
�����������Control
Challenge
Authenticity
Social
Narrative
Self Improvement
������������������
2
After a long day at work, Kevin will
typically unwind with the members of his
old junior league hockey team over a
couple of EASHL games. He typically
plays left wing and takes pride in making
a great assist. The game gives him a way
to stay in touch with his old teammates
as they are now located all across the
country. He firmly believes in the
philosophy of “it’s better to lose togeth-
er than win alone”.
3
1
1
2
Contact
Status
PerformanceExtrinsicRewards
Mastery
CharacterEnvironmentPre-established
Scenario
ProjectionSelfImposedChallenge
PredictableChallenge
VariableChallenge(Human)
Sport
Event
Organization
Values
100+900
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WingmanKevin
Kevin
Context of Play
Team Based
Online Co-op 2
1
Affinity
NHL = Moderate to High
Sport = Low to Moderate
Training and Goal Oriented
On-boarding
Franchise FanFranchise Fan
Sports FanSports Fan
Franchise AthleteFranchise Athlete
Franchise GamerFranchise Gamer
Sports GamerSports GamerSports AthleteSports Athlete
I play EASHL with my best
friend who lives in
Boston, we used to
play hockey juniors
together, this is
primarily how
we stay in
touch.
Persona Group
When Nathan was younger, he often created his
own make-believe hockey teams. He would work
for hours designing the jerseys, rosters, and
details of the stadiums. Nathan now brings that
same spirit of creation to the NHL game. He
expects that the game will provide him with a
rich NHL narrative experience or allow him to
construct his own. He will spend hours custom-
izing every detail of a team or player. He will
then use those teams or players to recreate
NHL events or do things that would never exist.
NarrativeNathan
Gameplay Imperatives
Gamer’s Journey
Pain Points
Repetitive Storylines
Restricted Customization
Nathan
Motivations
�����������Control
Challenge
Authenticity
Social
Narrative
Self Improvement
������������������
2
3
1
1
2
Contact
Status
PerformanceExtrinsicRewards
Mastery
CharacterEnvironmentPre-established
Scenario
ProjectionSelfImposedChallenge
PredictableChallenge
VariableChallenge(Human)
Sport
Event
Organization
Values
400
+600
500
+500400
+600
300
+700
300
+700
200
+800
100+900
500
+500400
+600
100+900
500
+500400
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500
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+700
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200
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400
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Context of PlayAffinity
NHL = Moderate NHL Team = High
Sport = Low to Moderate
Training and Goal Oriented
On-boarding
Character Based
Sandbox 2
1
Deep story / career modes
Variable sub-plots
Vast customization
Franchise FanFranchise Fan
Sports FanSports Fan
Franchise AthleteFranchise Athlete
Franchise GamerFranchise Gamer
Sports GamerSports Gamer
Sports AthleteSports Athlete
I’ve recreated the Denver
Cutthroats in the game.
I’ve found a mascot
that is similar, I’ve
got the colors
accurate,
uploaded their
intro music
and goal
sounds.
Persona Group
Glenn views himself as a hockey fan, but more
importantly, as an ex-athlete of hockey. He
plays in a rec. league, but he knows his glory
days are behind him. He cares deeply about the
ethos and philosophy of hockey and brings his
knowledge of the sport to the game. The way he
plays hockey is closely linked to how he plays
the game. Glenn is not great at video games in
general, but that’s OK with him. He doesn’t
need to master the game and is often OK with
losing as it reflects the reality of the sport.
Legend Glenn
Specialization of Style
In-Game Sporting Culture
Player Performance Feedback
Gameplay Imperatives
Context of Play
Gamer’s Journey
Pain Points
Lack of Technical Gameplay
Unrealistic/Inauthentic AI
Glenn
Motivations
�����������Control
Challenge
Authenticity
Social
Narrative
Self Improvement
2
3
1
1
2
Contact
Status
PerformanceExtrinsicRewards
Mastery
CharacterEnvironmentPre-established
Scenario
ProjectionSelfImposedChallenge
PredictableChallenge
VariableChallenge(Human)
Sport
Event
Organization
Values
400
+600
200
+800
200
+800
400
+600
400
+600
400
+600
400
+600
500
+500500
+500300
+700
700
+300
400
+600
400
+600
100+900
300
+700
300
+700
100+900
Affinity
NHL = High Sport = High
Training, Enculturation, and Meaningful
Learning
On-boarding
Offline Hero
Couch Mode 2
1
������������������
Franchise FanFranchise Fan
Sports FanSports Fan
Franchise AthleteFranchise Athlete Franchise GamerFranchise Gamer
Sports GamerSports Gamer
Sports AthleteSports Athlete
I call the game my
virtual whiteboard,
it allows me to
incorporate
things from the
ice into the
game and
vice versa.

34. HOW ARE WE USING PERSONAS

35. PRACTICE

36. PRACTICE
THERE HAS TO BE AN UNDERSTANDING THAT USING PERSONAS TAKE
PRACTICE. WE AS A GROUP ARE GOING TO SUCK AT FIRST BUT THE
MORE WE USE THEM MAKE THE BETTER WE WILL BE AND THE MORE
WE WILL NEED THEM.

38. STORY TELLING
STORY TELLING IS A PART OF OUR COLLECTIVE SOCIETY. SO TELL
STORIES. MAKE THE PERSONAS REAL. THE MORE STORIES THAT ARE
TOLD THE MORE REAL THEY BECOME. THE EASIER THE DATA IS TO
UNDERSTAND.

39. VIDEOS

42. MEETINGS/DISCUSSIONS

43. MEETINGS
BRINGING THE PERSONAS INTO MEETINGS SO EVERYONE STARTS WITH
THE SAME POINT OF VIEW. HERE IS THE PROBLEM SO HOW WOULD BOB
THE PERSONA HANDLE IT. CHANGE THE FOCUS OF THE DISCUSSION TO
THE PLAYER.

44. DOCUMENTATION

46. VALIDATION AND TESTING

47. TESTING
YOU HAVE TO TEST AGAINST WHO YOU DESIGNED FOR.
USE THE PERSONAS TO HELP GUIDE RECRUITING.
RESULTS WILL BE MORE SIGNIFICANT.

48. EXECUTIVE REIVEWS

49. DEVELOPMENT

50. • Personas used to focus developers on
real people and their challenges
• Personas help identify appropriate
technologies and assess feasibility
• Personas used to determine accessibility
requirements
DEVELOPMENT

51. WHATS NEXT
MORE RESEARCH
MORE PRACTICE
MORE ADDOPTION

54. Persona Group
Glenn views himself as a hockey fan, but more
importantly, as an ex-athlete of hockey. He
plays in a rec. league, but he knows his glory
days are behind him. He cares deeply about the
ethos and philosophy of hockey and brings his
knowledge of the sport to the game. The way he
plays hockey is closely linked to how he plays
the game. Glenn is not great at video games in
general, but that’s OK with him. He doesn’t
need to master the game and is often OK with
losing as it reflects the reality of the sport.
LegendGlenn
Specialization of Style
In-Game Sporting Culture
Player Performance Feedback
Gameplay Imperatives
Context of Play
Gamer’s Journey
Pain Points
Lack of Technical Gameplay
Unrealistic/Inauthentic AI
Glenn
Motivations
�����������Control
Challenge
Authenticity
Social
Narrative
Self Improvement
2
3
1
1
2
Contact
Status
PerformanceExtrinsicRewards
Mastery
CharacterEnvironmentPre-established
Scenario
ProjectionSelfImposedChallenge
PredictableChallenge
VariableChallenge(Human)
Sport
Event
Organization
Values
400
+600
200
+800
200
+800
400
+600
400
+600
400
+600
400
+600
500
+500500
+500300
+700
700
+300
400
+600
400
+600
100+900
300
+700
300
+700
100+900
Affinity
NHL = High Sport = High
Training, Enculturation, and Meaningful
Learning
On-boarding
Offline Hero
Couch Mode 2
1
������������������
Franchise FanFranchise Fan
Sports FanSports Fan
Franchise AthleteFranchise Athlete Franchise GamerFranchise Gamer
Sports GamerSports Gamer
Sports AthleteSports Athlete
I call the game my
virtual whiteboard,
it allows me to
incorporate
things from the
ice into the
game and
vice versa.

56. SUMMARY
• Bring the people using
the research into the
research
• Tell stories about that
persona to create
empathy
• Business and the
Users are included in
the process
• Requirements written in
the context of the
personas
• Personas are the
discussion point in every
meeting
• Include the personas in the
documentation (including
thoughts, concerns and
opportunities)
• Personas used to focus developers
on real people and their challenges
• Personas help identify appropriate
technologies and assess feasibility
• Personas used to determine
accessibility requirements
• Marketing plan matches designer
plan
• Participants for usability testing
screened to match personas
• Testing scripts designed to match
key motivations and goals
Adoption Socialization Utilization

57. READING
• It’s Our Research, Tomer Sharon
• About Face 3, Alan Cooper
• The Essential Persona Lifecycle, Tamara Adlin and John
Pruitt

58. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
QUESTIONS?