User Persona Creation Tips

Creating a set of user personas can really help in designing a great user experience.

There are many kinds of users and the vast majority of them won't be like you. The sysadmins are mostly Level 3 skilled computer users, but most of our users will be Level 1 or 2.

User Persona Design

The Distribution of Users’ Computer Skills. There are four levels of technological proficiency users show when interacting with software.

• “Below Level 1” = 14% of Adult Population. Can do basic tasks. For example: Select the obvious button: Send, or Delete.
• Level 1 = 29% of Adult Population. Can reason out and do multi-step tasks. For example: find all emails from John Smith.
• Level 2 = 26% of Adult Population. Can handle more abstract but well-defined tasks. For example: “You want to find a sustainability-related document that was sent to you by John Smith in October last year.”
• Level 3 = 5% of Adult Population. Can handle highly abstract and ill-defined tasks. For example: “You want to know what percentage of the emails sent by John Smith last month were about sustainability.”
• Can’t Use Computers = 26% of Adult Population. This is learned helplessness, they learned that they couldn't use computers from very badly designed programs.

Designing for Accessiblity

Something to be aware of is that users are often limited in some way. It might be needing glasses or having carpel tunnel syndrome. There are quick notes on accessible design that make the UX easier for everyone.

Designing for users with color blindness

• Use both colors and symbols
• Keep it minimal
• Use patterns and textures to show contrast
• Be careful with contrasting colors and hues
• Avoid certain color combinations that are difficult to distinguish
• Test page in different filters [1].

Designing for users with low vision

• use good contrasts and a readable font size
• publish all information on web pages (HTML)
• use a combination of colour, shapes and text
• follow a linear, logical layout -and ensure text flows and is visible when text is magnified to 200%
• put buttons and notifications in context

Designing for users with physical or motor disabilities

• make large clickable actions
• give form fields space
• design for keyboard or speech only use
• design with mobile and touchscreen in mind
• provide shortcuts

Designing for users of screen readers

• describe images and provide transcripts for video
• follow a linear, logical layout
• structure content using HTML5
• build for keyboard use only
• write descriptive links and heading - for example, Contact us

Designing for users who are deaf or hard of hearing

• write in plain English
• use subtitles or provide transcripts for video
• use a linear, logical layout
• break up content with sub-headings, images and videos
• let users ask for their preferred communication support when booking appointments

Designing for users with dyslexia

• use images and diagrams to support text
• align text to the left and keep a consistent layout
• consider producing materials in other formats (for example, audio and video)
• keep content short, clear and simple
• let users change the contrast between background and text

Designing for users on the autistic spectrum

• use simple colours
• write in plain English
• use simple sentences and bullets
• make buttons descriptive - for example, Attach files
• build simple and consistent layouts