[Sigia-l] testing profiles, personas, scenarios against users

[Sean Patrick Coon]

Eric Sheid wrote:

>> What's the point of devloping personas and scenarios otherwise if they
>> aren't going to be used in testing? At the very least, the usability
>> testing protocol should include screening the recruited candidates against
>> the user profiles and user personas, and a sanity check of the user
>> scenarios.
> 
> Does anyone actually test their user personas (et al) against actual
> users, or do we assume we've got it right and then just rely on testing
> the prototypes which are developed from those personas? Afterall, if the
> personas and scenarios are off base, then any prototype developed from
> them will also be off base, but the testing of the website prototype is
> usually interpreted as meaning that the development went askew, not that
> the input data is actually wrong.

At Datek, we're presently developing our design personas based on marketing
personas AND user research.

Without a representative sampling of users interviews, our personas were
somewhat accurate, but exempt of any precision. So after watching hours of
recently taped interviews of existing customers, we've come to understand
details of their trading patterns and have discovered scenarios of their
day-to-day interaction with the site. This additional info is proving to be
key in adding the extra layer of detail needed to make our personas come to
life.

If the personas --> goals --> task analysis --> interface designs are not
validated at each point, referring to both the previous deliverables AND
consistently to the design personas, the final interface solution(s) will
most likely be off base.

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sean patrick coon | m: 646-554-0271 | http://www.apperceptive.com