The first thing most of us designers are taught is the concept of personas and the necessity of them when it comes to UX and product design. However, knowing is different from applying and it can be difficult to know where to begin when we’re asked to create these personas.

我们大多数设计师都从中学到的第一件事是角色角色的概念，以及UX和产品设计中角色角色的必要性。 但是，知道与申请不同，当我们被要求创建这些角色时，可能很难知道从哪里开始。

This step-by-step guide will take you through the process of persona creation, using a case study I recently concluded, and hopefully aid you in creating your personas.

本循序渐进指南将使用我最近完成的案例研究 ，引导您完成角色创建的过程，并希望可以帮助您创建角色。

The creation process outlined here is adapted from a 7-step guideline provided by Alan Cooper in his book About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design (2007). I highly recommend that you check out his book and especially his chapter on personas for a more detailed look at personas and persona creation.

本文概述的创建过程是根据Alan Cooper在他的《 关于面Kong3：交互设计的本质》(2007)一书中提供的7个步骤的指南进行的。 我强烈建议您阅读他的书，尤其是他关于角色的章节，以更详细地了解角色和角色创建。

大纲 (Outline)

• What are personas?

  什么是角色？

• Why are personas important?

  为什么角色很重要？

• 3 steps to persona creation

  创建角色的3个步骤

什么是角色？ (What Are Personas?)

Personas are user archetypes for a product or set of tools within a product. As archetypes, personas do not represent singular users but are representatives of a group of users that share similar behaviors, goals, and needs.

角色是产品或产品中工具集的用户原型 。 作为原型， 角色不代表单个用户，而是代表一组具有相似行为，目标和需求的用户。

In most cases, personas are developed from the information gathered through interviews with users or target users. They consist of 1 to 2-page descriptions of behaviors, goals, frustrations, skills, and environment. There will usually be 2–5 personas for a product or set of tools within a product and one persona will typically be the primary focus of the designs.

在大多数情况下，角色是从通过与用户或目标用户的访谈中收集的信息中发展而来的。 它们由1到2页的行为，目标，挫败感，技能和环境描述组成。 一个产品或产品中的一组工具通常会有2–5个角色，而一个角色通常是设计的主要重点。

为什么角色很重要？ (Why Are Personas Important?)

You can not design an effective product without a deep understanding of the user or the target audience. Personas help in building empathy and understanding of the users you’re designing for. This allows you to identify with users and be an advocate for them when making design decisions. This can help you to avoid unfocused designs or self-referential designs (designing for yourself) that can lead to loss of profit, customer/user confidence in your product and/or company, and possibly even injury or loss of life.

没有对用户或目标受众的深入了解，您就无法设计出有效的产品。 角色有助于建立同理心和了解您要为其设计的用户。 这使您可以与用户标识并在制定设计决策时成为用户的拥护者。 这可以帮助您避免注意力不集中的设计或自我参考的设计(自行设计)，这些设计或设计会导致利润损失，客户/用户对您的产品和/或公司的信心，甚至可能造成伤害或生命损失。

创建角色的3个步骤 (3 Steps to Persona Creation)

1. Collect & Organize Data/Information收集和整理数据/信息
2. Identify Patterns识别模式
3. Make it Complete完成它

To describe the different steps of persona creation I am going to go through how I created personas for a case study I recently concluded. The case study was a design for a mobile and web application that would help personal fitness trainers keep track of their clients, manage their client’s needs, and run their business.

为了描述角色创建的不同步骤，我将介绍如何为最近结束的案例研究创建角色。 案例研究是针对移动和Web应用程序的设计，该应用程序将帮助私人健身教练跟踪客户，管理客户的需求并开展业务。

步骤1：收集和整理数据/信息 (Step 1: Collect & Organize Data/Information)

So this first step is really about learning and collecting information about your users through interviews.

因此，第一步实际上是关于通过访谈学习和收集有关用户的信息。

1.1 Ad-Hoc Personas

1.1临时角色

However, when I did this step before I even started interviewing, I created ad-hoc personas (i.e., provisional personas), to quickly get an understanding of my users and to prepare my line of questioning for the interviews. You don’t have to do this in your projects but I did to get an understanding of the product domain.

但是，当我在开始面试之前执行此步骤时，我创建了临时角色(即临时角色)，以快速了解我的用户并为面试做好准备。 您不必在您的项目中执行此操作，但是我确实是要了解产品领域的。

The process I took to create the ad-hoc personas was I researched personal trainers and the type of users that use personal trainer apps. I looked through the reviews and comment sections of existing personal trainer apps to get a basic understanding of goals and frustrations based on what worked and didn’t work. I also perused personal trainer and fitness forums to form an understanding of the kind of people that would use a personal trainer app. After my research, I came up with the four groups of users I hypothesized would use the app: a virtual trainer, an in-person private trainer, an inexperienced client, an experienced client.

我创建临时角色的过程是研究私人教练和使用私人教练应用程序的用户类型。 我浏览了现有私人教练应用程序的评论和评论部分，以基于有效和无效的条件对目标和挫败感有了基本的了解。 我还细读了私人教练和健身论坛，以了解使用私人教练应用程序的人群。 经过研究，我得出了我认为可以使用该应用程序的四组用户：虚拟培训师，面对面的私人培训师，经验不足的客户，经验丰富的客户。

It is recommended that when creating ad-hoc personas you include images to start building that connection and empathy to your users. However, the images you select should be sketches or non-specific illustrations (if you’re not a great artist like me). Even though your ad-hoc personas are based on some research, they are not based on direct data gathered through interviews of the exact users of your product. Likewise, the description of your personas should not be very specific.

建议在创建临时角色时，包括图像以开始建立对用户的联系和同情。 但是，您选择的图像应该是草图或非特定的插图(如果您不是像我这样的伟大艺术家)。 即使您的临时角色是基于某些研究的， 他们也不是基于对您产品的确切用户的采访中收集的直接数据 。 同样，您的角色描述也不应太具体。

1.2 Interviews

1.2面试

To get trainers to interview I went to my local gym and spoke with a manager about interviewing some of his trainers. I didn’t go too much into detail about my project but I told him that I would be asking the trainers questions relating to their day-to-day process and how they interacted with clients in a digital medium. I was also referred to additional trainers from the trainers I interviewed at my local gym.

为了让培训师进行面试，我去了当地的体育馆，并与一位经理谈了采访他的一些培训师的问题。 我没有对我的项目进行过多的详细介绍，但我告诉他，我将向培训师询问有关他们的日常流程以及他们如何与数字媒体互动的问题。 我还从当地体育馆接受采访的培训人员中转介到其他培训人员。

On the day of the interviews, I met the trainers at their respective gyms and was able to interview them in their environment. I would have liked to shadow them as they interacted with a few clients but due to privacy reasons, this was not possible. Ideally, for interviews, you want to conduct something that’s called an ethnographic interview where you interview the interviewee in the environment that they use the product in and shadow or spend the day watching them interact with the product in real-time.

在采访的那天，我在各自的体育馆会见了培训师，并能够在他们的环境中采访他们。 当他们与一些客户互动时，我希望遮蔽他们，但是由于隐私原因，这是不可能的。 理想情况下，对于访谈而言，您想要进行一种人种学访谈，即在被访者使用产品并对其进行遮蔽或花一天时间观察他们与产品进行实时交互的环境中采访被访者。

The interviews were semi-structured, meaning that I did come with a preset list of questions, but I allowed the conversations to flow based on the responses and comments that the trainers made. I also made sure to record the conversations using recording software on my computer. Recording conversations allows you to go back and review the conversations for important information.

访谈是半结构化的，这意味着我确实附带了预设的问题列表，但是我允许对话基于培训者的回答和评论而进行。 我还确保使用计算机上的录制软件录制对话。 记录对话可让您返回并查看对话以获取重要信息。

Immediately after the interviews, I jotted down any notes concerning attitudes, goals, or frustrations that were expressed by the interviewees. You want to do this immediately after since your observations are still fresh in your mind and they may not be captured during recordings. Also, all interviews should be transcribed, either the same day or a few days later, to make searching for quotes and information quicker and easier.

访谈结束后，我立即记下了受访者表达的有关态度，目标或挫败感的任何笔记 。 您想在之后立即执行此操作，因为您的观察仍然记忆犹新，并且在录制过程中可能不会捕获它们。 另外， 应在同一天或几天后抄录所有采访记录 ，以更快，更轻松地搜索报价和信息。

步骤2：找出模式 (Step 2: Identify Patterns)

After you’ve collected your information, the next steps involve using that information to create your personas. This first begins by identifying behavior patterns among your interviewees.

收集信息后，接下来的步骤涉及使用该信息来创建您的角色。 首先，从确定受访者的行为模式开始。

2.1 Behavior Variables

2.1行为变量

To identify these patterns, you want to meticulously go through your notes and transcripts and pull out any instances where the interviewee expresses a set of behavioral variables. Alan Cooper describes these variables as:

为了识别这些模式，您需要仔细地浏览笔记和笔录，并提取出受访者表达一系列行为变量的所有实例。 艾伦·库珀(Alan Cooper)将这些变量描述为：

Activities — What the user does; frequency and volume

活动-用户的行为； 频率和音量

Attitudes — How the user thinks about the product domain and technology

态度-用户对产品领域和技术的看法

Aptitudes — What education and training the user has; capability to learn

能力-用户接受了哪些教育和培训； 学习能力

Motivations (i.e.; Goals) — Why the user is engaged in the product domain

动机(即目标)-用户参与产品领域的原因

Skills — User capabilities related to the product domain and technology

技能-与产品领域和技术相关的用户功能

For my case study, I was able to identify 13 variables. It’s important to keep in mind that every project will vary so the number of variables under each category will also vary.

对于我的案例研究，我能够识别出13个变量。 重要的是要记住，每个项目都会有所不同，因此每个类别下的变量数量也会有所不同。

2.2 Map Variables

2.2映射变量

After identifying the behavior patterns for each interview subject, you want to map each interviewee against each variable. I want to point out that some of these variables might represent behaviors on a spectrum. For example, in my project, experienced trainer to inexperienced trainer. Or the variables might be more definite choices. Such as manual tracking vs digital tracking. It doesn’t matter the precise point that subjects are mapped to but more so their placement in relation to other subjects. You ultimately want to arrive at an accurate representation of subject clusters for each variable.

在确定每个采访对象的行为模式之后，您想要针对每个变量映射每个受访者。 我想指出的是，其中一些变量可能表示频谱上的行为。 例如，在我的项目中，经验丰富的培训师到经验不足的培训师。 或者变量可能是更确定的选择。 例如手动跟踪与数字跟踪。 主题被映射到的精确点无关紧要，更重要的是它们相对于其他主题的位置。 您最终希望获得每个变量的主题簇的准确表示。

Once the mapping is complete you want to look for clusters that occur across multiple ranges. Depending on how many variables you identify, similar clusters across 5 or more variables will likely signify a significant behavior pattern that will form the basis of a single persona.

映射完成后，您要查找跨多个范围的群集。 根据您识别的变量数量， 跨越5个或更多变量的相似集群可能表示一个重要的行为模式 ，该行为模式将构成单个角色的基础。

I need to point out that correlation does not imply causation. Just because behaviors cluster together does not mean that there is a valid pattern. While you’re identifying patterns make sure to keep this in mind and only highlight those patterns that have a valid connection.

我需要指出， 相关性并不意味着因果关系。 仅仅因为行为聚集在一起并不意味着存在有效的模式。 在确定模式时，请务必牢记这一点，并仅突出显示具有有效连接的那些模式。

步骤3：完成 (Step 3: Make it Complete)

3.1 Synthesize Characteristics

3.1综合特征

For each significant behavior pattern, go through your notes and synthesize the information concerning those cluster subjects. Briefly jot down characteristics relating to goals, frustrations or pain points, the use environment, and other relevant information that would relate to the eventual product use. Also, name your personas using an alliteration format that relates to the type of user your personas is. For example, Chrystal the Corporate Trainer and Paul the Private Trainer. Alliterating the names helps in remembering and further connecting your personas to your product.

对于每种重要的行为模式，请仔细阅读注释并综合有关那些集群主题的信息。 简要记下与目标，挫折或痛点，使用环境以及可能与最终产品使用有关的其他相关信息的特征。 另外，请使用与您的角色类型有关的用户名的提名格式来命名您的角色。 例如，公司培训师Chrystal和私人培训师Paul。 命名名称有助于记住角色并将其进一步连接到产品。

Once synthesized, check your mappings and characteristics to see if there are any gaps in information. Also, check your personas to make sure that they vary enough between each other to represent the diverse behaviors of your users. If you come across similar personas, remove one of them, or reassess your data to determine if there is any information that you missed or if more interviews need to be conducted.

合成后，请检查您的映射和特征以查看信息中是否存在任何空白。 另外，请检查您的角色以确保它们之间的差异足够大，以代表用户的各种行为。 如果遇到类似的角色，请删除其中之一，或者重新评估您的数据以确定是否缺少任何信息，或者是否需要进行更多采访。

3.2 Expand Descriptions

3.2展开说明

The characteristics that you jot down are a great framework, but they, unfortunately, leave much of your personas lacking.

您记下的特征是一个很好的框架，但是不幸的是，它们使您的许多角色缺乏。

Expand the description of your personas by creating a narrative that is 1–2 pages in length. By its nature, when you create a narrative there will be some fictional information to create a comprehensive story and humanize your persona. However, the vast majority of your narrative should be backed by the information gathered from your interviews.

通过创建长度为1-2页的叙述来扩展对角色的描述。 从本质上讲，当您创建叙事时，会有一些虚构的信息来创建一个全面的故事并人性化您的角色。 但是，您的 绝大多数叙述都应以访谈中收集的信息为依据。

The narrative I created began by introducing the personas in terms of his/her job and then went on to describe a brief day-in-the-life of the persona as it directly related to the product. I also included a section for goals and frustrations that are represented by quotes taken from my interviews.

我创建的叙述是从介绍角色的工作开始的，然后继续描述与产品直接相关的角色的日常生活。 我还提供了一个关于目标和挫败感的部分，这些部分由我的访谈中引用的内容来表示。

To complete your personas include images to represent them and add any demographic information. To further deepen the connection to your personas, you want to choose photographs to be added to your narratives. This is in contrast to the sketches used when creating ad-hoc personas. These photographs should represent your personas by expressing any relevant demographic information and ideally hint at the environment that the user will use the product.

要完成您的角色，请包括代表他们的图像并添加任何人口统计信息。 为了进一步加深与角色的联系，您想选择要添加到叙事中的照片。 这与创建临时角色时使用的草图相反。 这些照片应通过表达任何相关的人口统计信息来代表您的角色，并在理想情况下暗示用户将使用该产品的环境。

When adding in demographic information, I would error on the side of less is more. Unless relevant to the use of the product, I would avoid including age, race, income, marital status, or geographical location. If not relevant, information like this can be distracting and lead to bias (unintended or otherwise).

在添加人口统计信息时，我会在少即是多的方面犯错误。 除非与产品的使用相关，否则我将避免包括年龄，种族，收入，婚姻状况或地理位置。 如果不相关，则此类信息可能会分散注意力，并导致偏见(意料之外或其他原因)。

3.3 Assign Persona Types

3.3分配角色类型

The final touch to your personas is to designate the persona types. It’s important to designate persona types because it helps to focus your designs and serves as a decider when considering adding or removing features. Remember to keep to the adage of design for the primary, accommodate the secondary (tertiary, quaternary, etc.). Cooper describes the 6 persona types as:

对您的角色的最后修改是指定角色类型。 指定角色类型非常重要，因为它有助于集中您的设计并在考虑添加或删除功能时充当决策者。 记住要遵守主要设计的格言，容纳次要 (第三，第四等)。 库珀将6种角色类型描述为：

Primary — primary target/user; only 1 persona

主要-主要目标/用户； 只有1个角色

Secondary — can be satisfied by the primary but has additional requirements

中学-小学可以满足，但还有其他要求

Supplemental — satisfied by a combination of the primary and secondary requirements

补充-通过主要和次要要求的组合满足

Customer — need of customers and not end-users

客户-客户而非最终用户的需求

Served — not users of the product but are directly affected by the use of the product

服务-不是产品的用户，而是直接受到产品使用的影响

Negative — users that the product is not built to serve

负面消息-用户认为该产品无法投放

I made Paul my primary persona because the majority of the trainers I interviewed were private trainers. I made Chrystal my secondary persona because, as a corporate trainer, she has additional requirements from private trainers. Technically, the trainer’s clients would be a served persona, but I didn’t do any interviews with clients, so I didn’t feel comfortable creating a persona with so little data.

我将Paul当作主要角色，因为我采访的大多数培训师都是私人培训师。 我将Chrystal设置为第二角色，因为作为公司培训师，她对私人培训师还有其他要求。 从技术上讲，培训师的客户将是服务对象，但是我没有与客户进行任何采访，因此我对创建具有这么少数据的用户角色感到不自在。

In summary, the process is to:

总而言之，该过程是：

1. Collect and organize your information by interviewing and taking notes. Remember to interview a wide and diverse population of your users to ensure that you get a great representation of attitudes.通过采访和做笔记来收集和整理您的信息。 请记住，要采访各种各样的用户，以确保您很好地表达了自己的态度。
2. Identify behavior patterns expressed by your users by mapping users to a set of variables and then identifying clusters within those variables.通过将用户映射到一组变量，然后识别这些变量中的群集，来识别用户表示的行为模式。
3. Put together the characteristics expressed by those clusters into personas and expand the descriptions of them.将这些群集所表达的特征汇总为角色，并扩展其描述。

Personas are great and powerful tools when it comes to the design process. However, it can be daunting to know where to begin. I hope following this guide will give you an understanding and starting point for creating exceptional personas. For a more in-depth look at personas and persona creation check out:

在设计过程中，角色是强大而强大的工具。 但是，知道从哪里开始可能会令人生畏。 我希望遵循本指南可以使您理解和起点以创建出色的角色。 要更深入地了解角色和角色创建，请查看：

• About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design

  关于Face 3：交互设计的要点

• The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and Using Personas

  基本角色生命周期：构建和使用角色的指南

• Adobe.com

  Adobe.com

• Cooper.com

  Cooper.com

View the complete case study mentioned in this post here:

在这里查看这篇文章中提到的完整案例研究：

Thanks for reading! If you got this far, let me know your thoughts. You can find me and see more of my work here: Portfolio | LinkedIn | Dribbble

谢谢阅读！ 如果您走得这么远，请告诉我您的想法。 你可以找我，看到更多的我的工作在这里： 投资组合 | 领英 运球