Persona Examples

Overview

Below are examples from a former classmate, and they capture, sucinctly, the persona requirements for user docs. Remember, the Persona Research is more involved. Some of you might say, "hey, I wrote multiple paragraphs...is that wrong?" You can keep your multiple paragraphs; I just want the class to know you don't have to do that much to fulfill this assignment.

New Examples for You--Josh W.

Miss Campbell. Miss Campbell is an elementary school teacher. She is single, never married, and dedicated to her work. She loves her job and feels as though she was born to do it. She spends hours every day planning her lessons for her students, and dedicates most of her time trying to come up with inventive and fun ways to teach the children reading and math. She believes that a hands-on approach to teaching is essential for a student’s growth and development. She spends many hours a week online searching new lesson plans and ideas to help make the learning experience fun and fulfilling for the students. Because of increasing budget cuts in education by the federal government, Miss Campbell finds herself having to spend her own money for classroom supplies. Miss Campbell, being a teacher, is seriously underpaid and can hardly afford to pay the rent on her apartment, let alone classroom supplies.

She is constantly on the search for inexpensive, but inventive ways to educate her students. 

Jordan Westfield.  Jordan is a camp counselor during the summer months in Western North Carolina. He spends a lot of his time at the camp taking care of children between the ages of 10 and 13. Jordan likes to take the children on outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, swimming, etc… 

Sometimes the weather does not accommodate all of Jordan’s plans for outdoor activities, and he and the campers must find things to do indoors to occupy their time.  He tries to find activities that are constructive and hands-on.  He is not a believer of having the children sit and watch movies all day during a rain storm, but would rather they do more mind-engaging activities that could bring some entertainment in a more resourceful way. At the camp, Jordan does have access to the internet, but the campers do not. There is also a variety of resources that Jordan has access to for his campers, such as art supplies, board games, snacks, and exercise equipment.

Rebecca Smalls: Rebecca is a teenager who works as a babysitter. She is 16 years old, and is saving money to buy herself a new Ford Mustang convertible. Rebecca enjoys using her portable tablet computer, and takes it with her almost everywhere she goes. She finds it useful to do some schoolwork while babysitting while the kids are napping, eating, or watching television. She also uses it to catch up with her friends on social networking sites, listen to music, watch videos, download music, and play games.

She has also found it useful to find things to do with the kids that she is babysitting.  She tries to find fun games and activities to do with the kids that will keep both the kids and herself somewhat entertained.

Rebecca does not like to be bored, and becomes frustrated easily when faced with challenges that can become too demanding or complex.  She uses the tablet frequently to occupy idle time when she feels herself becoming too bored, and uses it to find answers to questions or situations when she does not have the energy to figure it out for herself, which is becoming frequently more and more often. 

Older Examples for You

Johnny Quest

Johnny Quest is a college student at UNC Charlotte. His major is Software Information Systems. Johnny is a Caucasian, 21 years old male who grew up in North Carolina. He comes from a middle class family that focuses on family needs. Growing up with technology, Johnny has a computer literacy skill level of 8. During his spare time, he enjoys playing his guitar, streaming movies and television shows on Netflix, and playing an abundance of video games. Johnny considers himself an excessive technology user. His personality traits include an easy-going, friendly guy that loves to help people with their problems.

This is a picture of Johnny Quest:

Of course, you should also cite the image if you didn't create it yourself. Also, I've italicized the computer literacy sentence because it's relative. Instead of giving a number, let your description highlight the persona's techno-literacy.

Joanna Moore

Joanna Moore is a professor at UCLA. She teaches Political Science and is considered an expert in her field of study. Joana is a female, 34 year-old Indian woman from India. She comes from a high class family. Her father owns a software company so she has been exposed to technology for since she was a child. Additionally, her field of study uses software applications to present her data in graphs. Joanna has a computer literacy skill of 9. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening, and following politics. Joana considers herself a moderate technology user. Her personality traits include an approachable, intelligent, curious woman that has a thirst for knowledge. This is a picture of Joanna Moore.

This is a picture of Joanna Moore:

Of course, you should also cite the image if you didn't create it yourself. Also, I've italicized the computer literacy sentence because it's relative. Instead of giving a number, let your description highlight the persona's techno-literacy.

Gunther Stoop

Gunther Stoop is farmer that lives in Maine. He earned a High School degree and decided that school was not for him so he started planting. Gunther is a 50 year-old, Caucasian, male originally from Arizona. During his childhood, he was not exposed to technology due to the fact that his family had no money. Because of this, Gunther has a computer literacy skill of 6. He can complete basic tasks on a computer such as checking the weather or his email. In his spare time, he enjoys physical labor, plays the fiddle and watches the news. Besides using the television and internet for the news or weather, he has little exposure to technology. Gunther considers himself a low technology user. His personality traits include being a reserved, open-minded, quiet individual that appreciates the small things in life.

This is a picture of Gunther Stoop:

Of course, you should also cite the image if you didn't create it yourself. Also, I've italicized the computer literacy sentence because it's relative. Instead of giving a number, let your description highlight the persona's techno-literacy.