Project Overview

Quarry Integrated Communications (www.quarry.com) is a consulting firm providing a full range of services including communications planning, advertising and communication arts, public relations, database and direct marketing, Web and digital development, and interaction design and usability. The example personas discussed here were created by Quarry Integrated Communications during a project with their client RealSuite Incorporated (www. realsuitesoftware.com). They can also be downloaded as PDFs by visiting personas.quarry.com.

RealSuite is a subsidiary of BLJC, Canada s leading outsourced provider of commercial real estate services. RealSuite offers a Web-hosted enterprise software product used by experts in leasing, facilities management, and occupancy planning.

Quarry was hired to redesign the user interface for a RealSuite software module used by project managers to coordinate work such as office renovations, moves and relocations, building repairs, and construction.

Persona creation

This project followed Quarry s Design Builder process, a framework for designing digital products that build brand through the user experience. A key step in the first phase of Design Builder is the creation of personas following contextual field research with current and potential users. For this project, the field research was conducted by a team of three people: Robert Barlow-Busch, Design Lead (Quarry), Emily Christofides, Customer Insight Specialist (Quarry), and Mark Mulholland, General Manager of Projects & Workspace Solutions (BLJC).

The research involved 31 participants across Canada, in cities such as...