http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/User-Centered-Design/Personas A listing of the most recently indexed works about Design and Web Design and User Centered Design and Personas in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/User-Centered-Design/Personas http://tc.eserver.org/33015.html http://tc.eserver.org/33015.html Personas are "hypothetical archetypes" of actual users. They are not real people, but they represent real people during the design process. A persona is a fictional characterization of a user. The purpose of personas is to make the users seem more real, to help designers keep realistic ideas of users throughout the design process. http://tc.eserver.org/33016.html http://tc.eserver.org/33016.html Generally, user group profiles are not developed for all user groups, rather they are developed for the primary user groups and for user groups that designers don't know well. Because many designers start out with little or no knowledge of accessibility issues, adding accessibility considerations to user group profiles is particularly important. http://tc.eserver.org/28957.html http://tc.eserver.org/28957.html The Web is about self-service and self-service is about simplicity and convenience. You've got a small screen and every time you add something extra to that screen you make the world more complicated for your reader. You must make very difficult choices if you want your website to work. You can't serve everybody, and if you try to you will serve nobody. http://tc.eserver.org/28432.html http://tc.eserver.org/28432.html Site Personas are analogous to User Personas. Whereas User Personas represent typical individuals in your target user base, together with goals and motivations, the Site Persona represents the site, embodying its brand and its goals. I often find it helpful to picture my web sites as information flowing both ways between the site and users. The Dialogue Process is a way to optimise your web site interactions by scripting them as conversations between your two types of persona. http://tc.eserver.org/22077.html http://tc.eserver.org/22077.html Before embarking on any intranet or website design project, it is important to understand the needs of your users. It is then possible to identify the features and functionality that will make the intranet or website a success, and how the design can support users with different goals and levels of skill.