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Personas

Personas are concise, evidence-based profiles of representative users that capture goals, behaviors, pain points, and context of use. In SBOK, they are created early and then used as an input to develop epics, write user stories, prioritize the product backlog, and shape acceptance criteria throughout the project.

Key Points

  • Personas are an Input/Output artifact: created in Initiate and used across Plan and Estimate, Implement, and Review processes.
  • They connect user goals to epics, user stories, acceptance criteria, and release goals.
  • Built from research and stakeholder insights, then refined through Sprint Reviews and market feedback.
  • Each backlog item should reference at least one target persona for clarity of value.
  • Keep the set small and focused, typically one primary persona and a few secondary personas.
  • Make personas visible and accessible to the whole Scrum Team and stakeholders.

Purpose

Personas align the Scrum Team on who the product is for and what matters most to those users. They help translate real user needs into epics and user stories, support value-based prioritization, and inform acceptance criteria and Release Planning.

By grounding decisions in user behavior, personas reduce bias, improve product-market fit, and speed up conversations during backlog refinement and Sprint Planning.

Key Terms & Clauses

  • Primary persona - the main target user whose needs the product must satisfy first.
  • Secondary persona - additional user type with important but non-primary needs.
  • Anti-persona - a profile of users the product is not intended to serve, to avoid scope creep.
  • Goals and behaviors - what the user is trying to achieve and how they typically act.
  • Pain points and constraints - problems, risks, or limitations that shape design choices.
  • Context of use - environment, devices, frequency, and scenarios where the product is used.
  • Persona card - a one-page, visible artifact containing the essentials and assumptions to validate.

How to Develop/Evaluate

Development steps:

  • Collect inputs: stakeholder interviews, user interviews, analytics, support tickets, market research, and observational data.
  • Cluster user behaviors and goals; identify distinct segments with clear differences in needs.
  • Draft persona cards with a name, brief bio, key goals, behaviors, pain points, and context of use.
  • State assumptions as testable hypotheses to be validated in discovery or Sprint Reviews.
  • Socialize with the Scrum Team and stakeholders; refine based on feedback and new evidence.

Evaluation criteria:

  • Evidence-based and traceable to real data, not stereotypes.
  • Focused and actionable, fitting on a single page.
  • Directly usable in writing user stories and acceptance criteria.
  • Regularly updated as an inspect-and-adapt practice.

How to Use

  • Develop Epic(s) - frame epics by the persona goal and scenario to preserve intent.
  • Create User Stories - write stories using "As a [persona], I want... so that..." and add persona-informed acceptance criteria.
  • Prioritize Product Backlog - rank items by value delivered to the primary persona and business objectives.
  • Approve, Estimate, and Commit User Stories - ensure Definition of Ready includes a referenced persona for clarity.
  • Release Planning - group stories by persona outcomes to build incremental value slices.
  • Sprint Review - validate increments with stakeholders representing target personas and capture insights to refine personas.

Example Snippet

Sample persona card:

  • Name: Alex - Time-pressed team lead.
  • Goals: Track progress quickly; reduce status overhead; get alerts on risks.
  • Behaviors: Checks dashboards on mobile; skims summaries; dislikes complex setup.
  • Pain points: Too many clicks; delayed reports; unclear ownership.
  • Context: Remote-first, uses phone during commute, 5-10 minutes per session.

Story example:

  • As Alex, I want a single-tap daily summary so that I can spot risks without opening multiple views.
  • Acceptance criteria: Summary loads under 2 seconds on mobile; highlights overdue items; one-tap drill-down is available.

Risks & Tips

  • Risk: Stereotypes or demographics-heavy profiles that do not drive decisions. Tip: Focus on goals, behaviors, and pain points.
  • Risk: Too many personas causing dilution. Tip: Limit to essential primary and secondary personas.
  • Risk: Stale personas ignored by the team. Tip: Review and refine during backlog refinement and after Sprint Reviews.
  • Risk: Stories without persona linkage. Tip: Make persona reference part of Definition of Ready.
  • Risk: Conflicting needs across personas. Tip: Prioritize by product vision and value to primary persona.

PMP/SCRUM Example Question

The Product Owner is starting to create user stories for the next release. Which artifact should they consult to ensure each story reflects real user goals and behaviors?

  1. Sprint Burndown Chart.
  2. Personas.
  3. Definition of Done.
  4. Impediment Log.

Correct Answer: B — Personas

Explanation: Personas capture user goals and behaviors that inform user stories and acceptance criteria. The other options do not describe user needs or context.

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