Aims of the activity and description of target group
The participants create one or more personas that are representative of people from their target group. Personas represent people when they themselves are not present (e.g. during the planning phase or the later evaluation). Personas illustrate the needs, questions and interests as well as the background of the target group and facilitate identification with the audience.
Personas should be present in the daily environment of the project team, e.g. hanging on the walls as posters. This helps the team to focus on the needs and backgrounds of the participants. For example, if there is a question when participants are not present, the team can ask themselves “What would Persona X think about it?”. The activity is suitable for researchers and citizens in a group or individual learning setting. Session #2, Activity 1 should be carried out beforehand.
Resources, Materials needed
- Paper, pen, color pencils
- Images of people, either from magazines, newspapers or printed from the web.
Duration
60 minutes (Might take longer depending on the amount of personas. Participants should finish at least one persona and finish the rest after the workshop.)
Step 1 – Identify relevant roles in each group (10 minutes)
Take your analysis from the previous Activity 1We now want to identify 2-4 people and their roles that are most important to our topic and the project. First, look at the most important group you identified in the last activity:
- Which people play a crucial role within this group? Think about the most relevant roles.
- Who is relevant for your topic?
- Who is relevant for realizing the project?
In the end, you should find about 2-4 main roles for which we will create personas in the next step. If you don't find enough relevant roles in the first group, include the second most important group as well and make sure you cover the most relevant roles.
Step 2 - Name the personas (5 minutes)
We will now create a persona for each main role. Take a large sheet of paper for each main role. Think of a first name for each persona and write it on the top of the paper together with the role.
Step 3 – Find a main picture for each persona (5 minutes)
Give your persona a face. Find a picture in a magazine or on the Internet that shows a person who represents your persona. For internal use you can use most images available, but pay attention to image rights and copyright, when you plan to publish your personas. Add the images to the poster.
Step 4 – Add personal information for each persona (10 minutes)
For each persona add:
- Age
- Job
- education (if it applies for your project)
- favorite leisure activity
- language skills (if it applies for your project)
- experience with Citizen Science
Add other information that might be relevant for your project.
Step 5 – Write a short biography for each persona (15 minutes)
Describe in 3-4 sentences the biography of your persona.
E.g. „Linda moved from Romania to Germany with her parents when she was 3 years old. She finished school at the age of 16 and started a vocational training in a fashion boutique. Before she could finish the training she got pregnant and gave birth to Leo when she was 19 years old. Her second child Anna was born 5 years later. One year ago, Linda started working in a supermarket for 3 days a week.“„
Step 6 – Add the needs and goals of each persona (5 minutes)
Divide the remaining space on the paper into 3 columns. In the first column, list the needs and goals of each persona. Focus on general needs and goals, but also on those that could be relevant to your project.
E.g. „Linda wants a good future for her kids.. She wants to return to a full-time job, so the family can afford a bigger appartment and holidays. Linda wants to spend a good time with her family as often as possible.“
Step 7 – Add the pains and frustrations of each persona (5 minutes)
List what pains each persona. Focus on general pains and frustrations but also the ones that might be relevant for your project.
E.g. „Linda is sick of the daily discussions with Leo about his media usage. She is tired of controlling all digital media devices. Linda has the feeling that she can‘t catch up with all the technological progress. Linda is frustrated because there is no family members nearby to help her with the kids.“„
Step 8 – Add the dreams of each persona (5 minutes)
List in the 3rd column what each persona dreams of. List general dreams but also the ones that might be relevant for your project.
E.g. „A day where no kid asks for digital media.. Knowing everything about the Internet.. No people with bad intentions.. Running her own boutique.. Own a house.. A vacation with the family in the Caribbean.“„
Persona when it's finished:
Learning Outcomes - which skills are addressed?
Participants are able to create personas that can be used during the project to keep in mind the audience and to have their biographies, needs and frustrations in mind.
How do you check the outcomes are reached?
Participants have created one or more personas that are relevant for their project.
De-Briefing questions
- Do you have the impression that you picked the most relevant personas?
- How did you feel about putting yourself in these person's shoes?
- How has taking the perspective of your volunteers changed your view of the project?
Further links and readings
- CareerFoundry (2019): How To Create A User Persona. https://yewtu.be/watch?v=DvV7ZcRVQ4g (last viewed 02/06/2024)
- Dawson, Sam (2020): How to create a persona in 9 simple steps. https://www.easyagile.com/blog/how-to-create-a-persona-in-9-simple-steps/ (last viewed 02/06/2024)
- Lewrick, M. et. al (2018): The Design Thinking Playbook. Mindful Digital Transformation of Teams, Products, Services, Businesses and Ecosystems. Chapter 1. Understand Design Thinking. https://www.sitepoint.com/premium/books/the-design-thinking-playbook/read/1/kn87531l/ (last viewed 02/06/2024)