Personas and a user‐centered visioning process

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to outline a fast track process Cornell used to develop a user-focused vision and recommendations on how Cornell University Library should present itself and the information landscape to its users. Design/methodology/approach -A consultant was hired to conduct local interviews probing audience work habits and needs and to synthesize them into composite personas segmented on the basis of "like" behavior. These "imaginary friends" helped validate and supplement user studies done elsewhere and existing quantitative data from Cornell, thus influencing all the decisions and recommendations that the team produced. Findings -The personas can also serve as a way to effectively communicate about and develop empathy for user needs throughout planning and implementation. Practical implications -Understanding and assessing the information seeking and managing needs, habits, and expectations of a library's audience are crucial for creating a digital library environment that is relevant to users. While anthropological studies are most meaningful, can you be sure that results produced at other institutions are complete and relevant for your own environment and purpose? The use of personas provides an effective tool that validates such comparisons. Originality/value -Personas have been mostly used in industry, but in our process they proved a useful and relevant benchmark for the academic library environment.

Invoking the User from Data to Design

“…In 2010, Koltay and Tancheva noted "using personas is a relatively new development and, to our knowledge, has only rarely been applied to an academic library setting." 22 A survey of the library literature discussing personas corroborates this shortage. In 2005, Heather Cunningham wrote about personas she created by synthesizing existing qualitative data in the form of surveys with usability testing by undergraduates in one discipline.…”

Wykorzystanie metody person w projektowaniu usług bibliotek szkół wyższych

“…Pracownicy Biblioteki Uniwersytetu Cornella z pomocą konsultanta z TKG Consulting LLC posłużyli się metodą person w trakcie badań mających na celu odświeżenie wizerunku biblioteki poprzez nakierowanie usług na potrzeby użytkowników (Koltay & Tancheva, 2008). Stworzone osobowości zostały wykorzystane nie tylko w pierwszej (wizualnej) fazie projektowania nowej bibliotecznej witryny internetowej, ale były także pomocne przy wyborze najtrafniejszych rozwiązań technicznych tworzonego serwisu.…”

Tapping the User Experience to Design a Better Library for Engineering and Textiles Students and Faculty

“…Among the increasingly common UX tools are personas, fictitious characters embodying core traits of specific end user groups. Personas are beginning to appear in the library literature pertaining to web design projects, 5,6 but as far as the authors can tell, they are just now being written about as tools for library space and service design. 7 Personas are becoming more commonplace in the burgeoning service-design community and architecture / space design outside the library sphere.…”