Methods of creating user personas for your mobile app.

User personas are representations of your apps end-users who help in the shaping of the (UX) user experience design during the development of the app. App Development Warrington bases on the idea that user personas help understand the human-machine interaction that guides developers into the formulation of apps that are well-liked and meet the needs of your target audience. The development team should, however, do some research to understand your target audience’s behaviors, interests, challenges, etc. and strategically use this insight to make apps that will suit them. There are various styles of formulating user persona. They typically vary with the budget, timelines, available research and type of project however this articles outlines a stepwise procedure of treating user personas as follows;

Data collection and research.

The effectiveness of user personas depends on the accuracy of capturing data and understanding of individuals who are going to use the final product. App Development Warrington advises app development teams to conduct an interview, do observational studies, behaviours, etc. and collect data as accurately as possible considering this data will influence the accuracy of their representations. Blue Whale Media, a giant in the website, app development among other areas however disclosed that field research and studies are not always conducted by all organisations. Sometimes entirely fictional personas are used based on competitive analysis or web analytics.

Analysis of the research data.

This step involves the identification of the various behavioural patterns and characteristics of the target group sample which you used for the field research. Their clear identities begin to form once their various behaviours and traits are grouped leading to several personas resulting from the data. App Development Warrington recommends the elimination of those groups which don’t contribute to the overall goal of the app and keep those which are beneficial in shaping the UX design of the app.

Create and prioritise the various user personas.

This stage involves the actual creation of the user-persona representations from the collected data. A few components that should be included in the persona description include the name, gender, a picture, goals for the usage of the product, etc. App Development Warrington cautions against the use of too many details because it can discredit the effectiveness of the persona as an analytical tool. In essence, the persona reorientation only needs to be realistic and accurately represent the end user’s characteristics.

Interaction reactions.

Personas can only be valuable in scenarios when they actively interacting with the app. scenarios illustrate how they will interact with the product to fulfil the overall goal of persona creation. App Development Warrington believes that this is the process through which the development team determines core user journeys and product user flow.

Validation with the product team.

The project needs to share the final personas with the entire team. All players including stakeholders should internalise these personas and build an association with them over time. App Development Warrington found out that more often than not the team would start to refer to these personas as real individuals and decisions will, therefore, evoke some empathy towards these representations and consequently the end-users. App development requires time, investment and research to come up with a successful and user-friendly application. Contact us today to get professional app development services that would ensure the success of your mobile app idea.