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Dictionary entry

persona

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A fictional but research-based profile of a typical user — with a name, goals, needs, and frustrations — that a team keeps in mind so design decisions stay grounded in real people rather than guesses.

Synonyms

  • user persona

Related terms

In plain words

  • the made-up 'typical customer' the team designs for
  • a stand-in profile for your users

Usage example

We built three personas from our interviews, and 'Busy Priya' ended up shaping the whole checkout flow.

Don't confuse with…

  • empathy mapA persona is a profile of who the user is; an empathy map organizes what one user says, thinks, does, and feels.

Categories

  • UX research

Related-term graph

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Focus term

Directly related

Two hops away

  • Relatedpersona related of empathy map
  • Relatedpersona related of mental model
  • Relatedmental model related of affordance
  • Relatedmental model related of consistency
  • Relatedempathy map related of journey map
  • Relatedempathy map related of persona

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