skip navigation
Go to Foraker Design
Usability First
Your Online Guide to Usability Resources
Home
Resources
Intro to Usability
Courses
Books
Humor
Links
Methods
Glossary
Search
Categories
A-Z Index
Submit a Term
Job Postings
Applications
Website Design
Usability ROI
Accessibility
Groupware
Consulting
Site Tools
Site Map
About Us
Feedback
Foraker Design Foraker
Design

Usability Glossary: persona


a description of a specific person who is a target user of a system being designed, providing demographic information, needs, preferences, biographical information, and a photo or illustration. Typically, multiple personas are developed in the early stages of design that represent the spectrum of the target audience. Personas are one piece of a "scenario", the other piece being a description of how this person would typically interact with the system being designed.

The point of developing personas is to avoid the trap of designing for the "average" user that doesn't actually exist, and instead to make sure that the system will work for somebody specific rather than no one in particular.

see also

demographics
environmental profile
scenario
target audience
target configuration
user profile

categories

Glossary Categories > Usability Methods
Glossary Categories > Accessibility > User Profiling

© 2002-2010 Foraker Design - Provider of Usability & Web Design Services Foraker Design