Persona mistakes to avoid

Jared Spool picks on 5 mistakes he's observed in development teams using personas. There's a fair amount of effort involved in putting the user at the centre of your design in this way, so it makes sense not to fall into these traps and waste the effort you've put in.



The potential benefits from persona use are clear. As Jared says:

The best designs come from everyone on the team having a deep understanding of what it's like to be a user. When they all share that same understanding, it's easy to create designs that meet the users' needs.

His 5 persona boo-boos are:

1. Keep Team Members Away from the Research
2. Shortcut Your Research
   
3. Try To Keep The Research In Your Head
   
4. Keep Personas General Purpose
   
5. Bury the Personas Right Away
   

5 Ways To Suck Value Away From Your Persona Projects - article by Jared Spool