Top-Down vs Bottom-Up Approaches to User Segmentation: The Best of Both Worlds

Abstract

Within the fast-paced world of Lean and Agile software development, researchers are always on the lookout for methods that allow for rapid data gathering and analysis, while still yielding robust design recommendations. This paper considers the use cases for “top-down” hypothesis testing and “bottom-up” statistical cluster analysis, within survey research on user behaviors and needs. Comparing the application of each method on the same data set shows that statistical cluster analysis can create rich data-driven personas that inform user needs and preferences and provide design teams with insightful recommendations in a short amount of time. This method also increases the potential for gaining unexpected information from quantitative data—an achievement typically viewed as within the purview of qualitative research alone. Using both approaches to the same dataset allowed us to both answer specific questions for the design team, and learn new insights from the bottom up.

A Systematic Mapping Study on Integration Proposals of the Personas Technique in Agile Methodologies

“…The integration of Personas in the Lean studies analyzed start by knowing the user groups targeted by development, either through questionnaires [ 63 ] or contextual investigations [ 64 ]. In [ 65 ], they group the results into clusters of users based on the preferences and behaviors found, customizing subsequent designs according to the patterns found in each cluster.…”

“…The second limitation shared by different studies is representing the context in which a user persona wants to perform an action, and the possible interaction with other personas within the same requirement [ 32 , 39 , 40 , 50 , 56 , 60 , 63 , 65 , 67 , 69 ]. Context issues can emerge due to the fact that personas are created independently of each other, with the purpose of solving specific existing use cases, but without accounting for how they interact [ 48 , 50 , 56 ].…”

“…After the meeting, the selection criteria were again applied to the full text of the remaining articles. Figure 1 shows the entire filtering and analysis process with the inclusion and exclusion criteria used to select a total of 28 papers [ 27 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 39 , 40 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. A complete list of the primary studies can be found in Appendix C .…”

“… Conference 2018 Scopus [ 60 ] Applying agile methods and Personas to S-BPM Forbrig P., Dittmar A. Conference 2019 ACM [ 61 ] MEX experience boards: a set of agile tools for user experience design Carvalho, C. Journal Article 2010 ACM [ 62 ] Using Work System Design, User Stories and Emotional Goal Modeling for an mHealth System Abdullah N., Grundy J., McIntosh J., How Y., Saharuddin S., Tat K., ShinYe E., Rastom A., Othman N. Journal Article 2020 IEEE [ 63 ] Crowdfunding website design with lean product process framework Perdana R.A., Suzianti A., Ardi R. Conference 2017 Scopus [ 64 ] Information security application design: Understanding your users Bhattarai R., Joyce G., Dutta S. Journal Article 2016 Scopus [ 65 ] Top-down vs. bottom-up approaches to user segmentation: The best of both worlds Mereu S., Newman M., Peterson M., Taylor E., White-Sustaita J., Yeats D. Conference...…”

Integration Strategies for the Personas technique within Agile Process (S)

“…The integration of Personas in the studies analyzed on Lean start by knowing the user groups targeted by the development, either through questionnaires [54] or contextual investigations [55]. In [56] they group the results into clusters of users based on the preferences and behaviors found, customizing subsequent designs for the patterns found in each cluster.…”