Digging deeper to understand your users

TLDR: Despite resource limitations, this Content Audit project successfully utilised proto-personas to gain a deeper understanding of user needs. By consolidating and refining persona data into meaningful ‘chunks’, and effectively communicating findings to stakeholders, lead to a deeper comprehension of users for all involved. This empowered us to move forward with the next stage – using experience maps to uncover user behaviour and emotions.

Gather your troops

(or the data you have)

The quote “You can only play the team put in front of you” underscores the importance of adaptability and resourcefulness in the face of constraints, accept the challenges that a sometimes regulated design environment offers and always, always deliver. It would be perfect to have customer surveys, stakeholder interviews, analytics rationalised down into meaningful chunks, and have access to every piece of data you desire, but sometimes you have to go with what you’ve got.

Despite resource constraints and tight timelines of this Content Audit / Inventory project we adapted and  utilised proto-personas as a foundation. These were then rationalised in bucketed or grouped personas to fit the project plan.

Navigating the complexity of proto-personas

Sometimes larger organisations outside of the traditional trendy agile environment are very very fresh to these more advanced UX strategies, so adapting your approach to your audience is a key skill for the modern-day UX designer. When personas are agreed and validated and the only ‘source of truth’ – sometime you have to run with them.

Use desk research to form your own vision of your users

Actually absorbing that data is also important, time spent at this stage of your research is key for informing a future IA.

Dig deeper to understand your users Problems Needs and Goals

Really understanding your personas, or what could be grouped as your audience types will actually lead to a more deeper understanding of who, what, why and when of your users types. Common themes or Commonalities gradually rise to the surface, visualising those is where your skills as a UX designer, or a hybrid service designer start to flourish.

Next steps

Consolidating this vast amount of data into proto-persona groups, or bucketed persona types, is demonstrating the service designer within you. Sorting into focused Outcomes really helps to get your point across to your stakeholders quickly and easily. This then informed the next stage ; Using Experience Maps to understand your users better.

Get in touch

This is but part of a selec­tion of design articles spindlelegs gen­er­ated for the creative community out there. Please con­tact us fur­ther to dis­cuss if your brand really wants to ben­e­fit from this new immer­sive expe­ri­ence here: [email protected] If something has peaked your interest. Please leave a comment below. Using Experience Maps to understand your users better