TABLE OF CONTENTS Imagine all the people, sharing all the world. You may say I m a dreamer, but I m not the only one
John Lennon, lyrics from Imagine
We would like to introduce you to Tanner, shown in Figure 1.1. Tanner is a nine-year-old boy who loves to skateboard, play video and computer games, and generally run wild all of which he prefers to do instead of schoolwork. Tanner doesn t sit still for long, and would rather spend time interactively on the PC than watch TV. Tanner s mom is Laura, who likes to say that Tanner holds the record for most Band-Aids required for a single human being. Tanner is a pretty regular kid, except in two significant ways:
Tanner is the most influential member of a product development team at a midsize software company.
Tanner is imaginary.
This book is all about powerful imaginary people personas who can help you build products that real people actually like to use. Personas are detailed descriptions of imaginary people constructed out of well-understood, highly specified data about real people. We believe that when you use data to create personas, and use personas in a thoughtful way during the product development process, you will:
Increase your products usability, utility, and general appeal
Streamline your teams processes and improve your colleagues abilities to work together
Enable your company to make business decisions that help both your company and your customers
Improve...
