[Sigia-l] Personas vs Business Needs?

[Jonathan Baker-Bates]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: sigia-l-bounces at asis.org 
> [mailto:sigia-l-bounces at asis.org] On Behalf Of Ziya Oz
> Sent: 21 July 2006 21:42
> To: SIGIA-L
> Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] Personas vs Business Needs?
> 
> Jonathan Baker-Bates:
> 
> > are you not interested in observing users to inform your 
> judgement here?
> 
> Absolutely. Which is why I said:
> 
> >> Substitute "personas" with "usage patterns" (either 
> FIELD-OBSERVED or
> >> conjectured)
> 

Ah, didn't spot that, sorry.

> (Incidentally, if you go back into the archives of this list, 
> you'd see fairly long, periodic discussions on personas. 
> There's almost never any consensus on its definition, how 
> they are supposed to be used, who it's supposed to help, why 
> they are/aren't best practice, etc. That usually tells me 
> that personas belong to a class of lucrative devices that 
> promise far more than they deliver. But I digress.:-)

Yes, I had a look at the weekend and you're not wrong there. For some
reason though I have a notion that there is a "right" way of using
personas which has something to do with Alan Cooper. So my next stop on
this to read him (again) in the context of the issues I'm encountering.

Jonathan


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