The Way You Hear It Is The Way You Sing It:

Early User Research and Provisional Personas

Brian Smith Reaching Across Illinois Library System

ILEAD USA – Illinois – March 2015

Who am I?

• Librarian

• Website builder for RAILS

• Work mostly with Drupal CMS

• Busy planning a big site redesign

• Created first website in the mid-1990s

• Public library board member

Who are you?

• Team FLOP

• Team Make It Count

• Team Makestravaganza

• Team Pop-Up Kits

• Team Spectra

• Technology Teamsters

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clonard_RC_Church_St_Finian_06_Detail_2007_08_26.jpg CC:by-sa

Hear It (Research)

Sing It (Develop)

we are doing

this project

for the users

The Importance of User Research

WRAP Model for Decision Making

• Widen your options

• Reality-test your assumptions

• Attain distance before deciding

• Prepare to be wrong

User research can contribute to these steps.

Secondary Statistical Data

Demographic & Comparative Data

• factfinder.census.gov

• illinoisreportcard.com

• ibhe.org/Data Bank

• IPLAR – contact rjones1@ilsos.net

• imls.gov/research

More Library User Data

Local:

• Website use statistics

• ILS data

• Strategic plan research

National:

• pewinternet.org/topics/libraries

Primary Data

Talk With People! Ask Questions!

• Community Representatives

– Network outwards from your CRs

• Library users

• Organizations that serve the same audience

• Colleagues at other libraries

– IHLS & RAILS mailing lists, RAILS Fast Facts survey

• Team members (tricky …)

Some Things to (Maybe) Ask About

• How do you usually do [something relevant to project]?

• Tell us about an experience you had doing that. • What did you like? Problems encountered? • Did you get what you wanted? What was missing? • What device(s) do you use? • What are some of your favorite websites and apps? • Do you use Facebook/Twitter/etc.? Are you on any

discussion boards or Listservs? Tell us what you do on them.

• We’re thinking X … What should be part of it to make it useful to you?

Team FATE (ILEAD USA 2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAMzH6E8VWk

User Personas

User Personas Are:

• Tools that can be used to focus development

• Hypothetical individuals who are members of major groups of users

• Fictional, but true-to-life, realistic individuals

• Based on research

• Summaries of the users’ traits and behaviors

• Concise; built on a common template

A User Persona Is Not:

• An “average” user

• An “ideal” user

• A universal representation of everyone

• What you want your users to be like

• A description of how you want your project’s/product to be used

• A complete biography of the fictional user

• You

What’s In A Persona Profile?

Depends on project, typical content includes:

• Name

• Picture

• User group represented

• Personal information (age, job, etc.)

• Technology use and habits

• Motivation – needs and goals related to your project

• “Money quote”

Start With Provisional Personas

Available User Info

Provisional Persona

User Research

Better Persona

Early provisional personas can be especially useful to make sure that all team members are on the same page.

Questions to Help Build Persona

• Identification: Age, gender, education, job?

• What’s this person’s story?

• Devices and software used?

• General online habits?

• What info/services does person need regarding your (prospective) content?

• Current sources person goes to for that stuff?

• Why would this person go to your site/resource?

• How would this person find your site/resource?

Group Exercise

Two Parts!

1. User Research

2. Create Provisional Personas

But first … Forget about your

project for now.

Think about you library catalog.

1. User Research

• Don’t use the persona sheets yet!

• Envision a couple types of library catalog user that you’ve helped (or that you are)

• For each type of user: - Some people at table ask questions - Others at table answer as that user

• Take notes!!!

Sample User Questions

• What devices do you use? (Computer, tablet, phone) • What are some of your favorite websites and apps? What

do you like about them? • Tell us about some things you’ve used the library catalog

for. • Tell us about some problems you’ve encountered with the

catalog. • Where else do you go to find things online? • What kind of books, movies, music and games do you like? • What sites, services, and stores do you go to, to get or use

video, music, books and other stuff? • What else do you do at the library? • Add your own user questions!

2. Create Provisional Personas

For each persona:

• Make up the person’s name

• Write down the name and user group

• Choose an appropriate face sticker for the user, or draw in your own

• Use information gathered in the user research stage to complete the persona sheet

Questions to Help Build Persona

• Identification: Age, gender, education, job?

• What’s this person’s story?

• Devices and software used?

• General online habits?

• What info/services does person need regarding your (prospective) content?

• Current sources used for that stuff?

• Why would this person go to you?

• How would this person find you?

Additional Resources

• usability.gov

• smashingmagazine.com/2014/08/06/a-closer-look-at-personas-part-1

• smashingmagazine.com/2014/08/13/a-closer-look-at-personas-part-2

• measuringu.com/blog/personas-ux.php

• google.com/search?q=library+personas

• Just Enough Research - $9.00 ebook from abookapart.com/products/just-enough-research

Thank you!

brian.smith@railslibraries.info