User Personas

User personas give a name and face to your users. They are discovered by examining your main user groups. Personas are not divided along demographic lines, but rather by the different types of personalities and skill sets that set groups of users apart from one another (e.g., distinguished different motivations, goals). Personas are then used to focus design around the primary personas using your product.

The following two personas are examples of the two main users of the Clemson Area Transit (CAT) bus.

Female user:

  • Age: 26
  • Job: Teaching Assistant in Forestry department
  • Hours: 9-5
  • Income: $10k/ year
  • Family: Married, no children
  • Goals: Graduate in May 2008 with a PhD in Forestry

Fran is an extremely focused 26-year-old forestry graduate student who lives at a distance too far to walk to campus. Fran manages her time very carefully between her schoolwork, assistantship, and her new husband, Jerry. In her precious spare time, Fran goes to the Central Recreation Center to work out and unwind.

Due to the fact that she and her husband subsist on two small graduate student stipends, Fran is very “budget-minded” and cuts corners to save whenever possible. She uses the CATbus system as her main source of transportation during the week and has practically memorized the map. She realizes it would be even more efficient to also use the CATbus on weekends, but since she
no longer uses the map, she is unaware of the weekend schedule.

Male user:

  • Age: 21
  • Job: Full-time Student
  • Hours: Varies
  • Income: Parents, as needed
  • Family: Single
  • Goals: Graduate in 5 years or less

Oscar is a fun-loving but responsible business student. He is 21 and his parents’ credit card (which he has access to) is his main source of income. His most prized accomplishment thus far is becoming president of his fraternity, Delta Chi and he enjoys living within walking distance of campus with a few of his fraternity brothers. Oscar’s schedule varies with the day and matches his laid-back personality.

While he usually uses his car for transportation, Oscar generally puts the CATbus system to work after-hours in order to get home safely from downtown. He finds the map to be less than helpful and relies on 710-CATS to find bus information. Oscar’s frustrations with the map stem from his inability to properly navigate the schedule and bus stops. His goal with the CATbus map system is to be able to choose the correct bus, since he has gone the wrong direction more than once on
the bus transit.

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