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1 – 10 of over 3000Misbahu S. Zubair, David Brown, Thomas Hughes-Roberts and Matthew Bates
Personae are simple tools for describing users, their characteristics and their goals. They are valuable tools when designing for a specific group of users, such as children with…
Abstract
Purpose
Personae are simple tools for describing users, their characteristics and their goals. They are valuable tools when designing for a specific group of users, such as children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). The purpose of this paper is to propose, validate and revise a methodology for creating accurate, data grounded personae for children with ASC.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed method is based mainly on Cooper et al.’s (2007) persona construction method. It proposes gathering and analysing qualitative data from users and experts to either create a new persona or extend an existing one. The method is then applied to create personae for the design of a visual programming tool for children with ASC. Based on the results of the application, observations and lessons learnt, a revised version of the method is proposed.
Findings
The method’s combined use of user data and expert knowledge produced a set of personae that have been well reviewed by experts so far. The method’s use of a questionnaire to validate personae also produced relevant qualitative feedback. On review, possible downsides of extending existing personae were identified. Therefore, a revised method was introduced, eliminating the need to extend existing personae, and stressing the importance of utilising user data, expert knowledge and feedback.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the need for a well-defined method for creating data grounded personae that accurately describe the characteristics and goals of children with ASC. Such personae can be used to design and develop more accessible and usable products.
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Tra Huynh, Adrian Madsen, Sarah McKagan and Eleanor Sayre
Personas are lifelike characters that are driven by potential or real users’ personal goals and experiences when interacting with a product. Personas support user-centered design…
Abstract
Purpose
Personas are lifelike characters that are driven by potential or real users’ personal goals and experiences when interacting with a product. Personas support user-centered design by focusing on real users’ needs. However, the use of personas in educational research and design requires certain adjustments from its original use in human-computer interface design. This paper aims to propose a process of creating personas from phenomenographic studies, which helps us create data-grounded personas effectively.
Design/methodology/approach
Personas have features that can help address design problems in educational contexts. The authors compare the use of personas with other common methodologies in education research, including phenomenology and phenomenography. Then, this study presents a six-step process of building personas using phenomenographic study as follows: articulate a design problem, collect user data, assemble phenomenographic categories, build personas, check personas and solve the design problem using personas. The authors illustrate this process with two examples, including the redesign of a professional development website and an undergraduate research program design.
Findings
The authors find that personas are valuable tools for educational design websites and programs. Phenomenography can productively help educational designers and researchers build sets of personas following the process the authors propose.
Originality/value
The use and method of personas in educational contexts are scarce and vague. Using the example contexts, the authors provide educational designers and researchers a clear method of creating personas that are relatable and applicable for their design problems.
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Shamal Faily, Claudia Iacob, Raian Ali and Duncan Ki-Aries
This paper aims to present a tool-supported approach for visualising personas as social goal models, which can subsequently be used to identify security tensions.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a tool-supported approach for visualising personas as social goal models, which can subsequently be used to identify security tensions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors devised an approach to partially automate the construction of social goal models from personas. The authors provide two examples of how this approach can identify previously hidden implicit vulnerabilities and validate ethical hazards faced by penetration testers and their safeguards.
Findings
Visualising personas as goal models makes it easier for stakeholders to see implications of their goals being satisfied or denied and designers to incorporate the creation and analysis of such models into the broader requirements engineering (RE) tool-chain.
Originality/value
The approach can be used with minimal changes to existing user experience and goal modelling approaches and security RE tools.
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Jakob Trischler, Anita Zehrer and Jessica Westman
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usability of different design methods in understanding the customer experience from a contextual and systemic standpoint.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usability of different design methods in understanding the customer experience from a contextual and systemic standpoint.
Design/methodology/approach
Three design methods (i.e. personas, observations and collaborative service mapping) were applied to analyze customer experiences in two service settings. These methods’ usability was compared across the two settings.
Findings
Personas, as informed by phenomenological interviews, provide insights into the customer’s broader lifeworld context. These insights assist in connecting with and understanding the customer experience from a dyadic customer-firm perspective. The involvement of the customer in service mapping activities supports the validation of findings and gives access to experience dimensions beyond the immediate service setting.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is limited to three design methods and is based on small samples. Future research should systematically review design methods to provide a basis for a more comprehensive evaluation.
Practical implications
To successfully capture the contextual and systemic nature of the customer experience, managers should apply interpretive approaches and actively involve selected customers as “experts of their experiences”. The study provides guidelines on how design methods can be combined and applied to a more holistic customer experience analysis.
Originality/value
The paper shows that design methods, when applied in a combined form, can support an analysis that captures both in-depth insights into the customer’s lifeworld and the complexity of value constellations.
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Francesco Ciclosi, Paolo Ceravolo, Ernesto Damiani and Donato De Ieso
This chapter analyzes the compliance of some category of Open Data in Politics with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. After clarifying the legal basis of…
Abstract
This chapter analyzes the compliance of some category of Open Data in Politics with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. After clarifying the legal basis of this framework, with specific attention to the processing procedures that conform to the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller, including open data licenses or anonymization techniques, that can result in partial application of the GDPR, but there is no generic guarantee, and, as a consequence, an appropriate process of analysis and management of risks is required.
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Georgia Beardman, Naomi Godden, Mehran Nejati, Jaime Yallup Farrant, Leonie Scoffern, James Khan, Joe Northover and Angus Morrison-Saunders
Climate change is a global issue with far-reaching environmental, social and economic consequences. As more people become aware of these consequences, pressure is mounting on…
Abstract
Climate change is a global issue with far-reaching environmental, social and economic consequences. As more people become aware of these consequences, pressure is mounting on governments and businesses to implement ambitious and required climate mitigation and adaptation plans to reduce and finally stop making the climate crisis worse. One of these strategies is just transition, which is defined as the call for climate transformation that prioritises the social and environmental needs of workers and vulnerable groups, especially in the context of transitioning away from fossil fuels, while leaving no one behind. This chapter first provides an overview of just transition through a review of the literature and bibliometric analysis. Then, it discusses just transition in policymaking, comprising reactive, proactive and transformational just transition approaches. This is followed by a discussion on barriers to just transition. Finally, the chapter offers a practical example of transformational just transition approach by reporting some preliminary findings from a case study in the coal mining town of Collie on Wilman Boodja, Western Australia.
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This paper aims to present an approach where assumption personas are used to engage stakeholders in the elicitation and specification of security requirements at a late stage of a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present an approach where assumption personas are used to engage stakeholders in the elicitation and specification of security requirements at a late stage of a system’s design.
Design/methodology/approach
The author has devised an approach for developing assumption personas for use in participatory design sessions during the later stages of a system’s design. The author validates this approach using a case study in the e-Science domain.
Findings
Engagement follows by focusing on the indirect, rather than direct, implications of security. More design approaches are needed for treating security at a comparatively late stage. Security design techniques should scale to working with sub-optimal input data.
Originality/value
This paper contributes an approach where assumption personas engage project team members when eliciting and specifying security requirements at the late stages of a project.
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Library space and services should center on library patrons and what they need. Trying to match the needs of each patron can become a daunting task. A new approach needs to be…
Abstract
Purpose
Library space and services should center on library patrons and what they need. Trying to match the needs of each patron can become a daunting task. A new approach needs to be taken – one that describes patrons and their needs in a useful way. Using an approach from marketing and product design, personas or user groups offer a unique approach to thinking and describing patron needs to assist in the identification and design of library space and services.
Methodology/approach
The identification, development, and validation of personas employs an iterative process using both qualitative and quantitative methods to first identify user patterns, then develop the patterns into meaningful descriptions, and finally to validate the personas. Once validated, additional data is collected, and, as librarians become persona-minded, the persona descriptions continue to be enriched.
Findings
The chapter provides a description of personas found in one academic library and how those personas were developed before being used to assist in library space identification and development. One unique feature of our personas was the fluid nature where patrons would shift personas depending on personal needs.
Practical implications
Personas are a practical and meaningful tool for thinking about library space and service design in the development stage. Several examples of library spaces that focus on the needs of specific personas are provided.
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Zsuzsa Koltay and Kornelia Tancheva
The purpose of this paper is to outline a fast track process Cornell used to develop a user‐focused vision and recommendations on how Cornell University Library should present…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline a fast track process Cornell used to develop a user‐focused vision and recommendations on how Cornell University Library should present itself and the information landscape to its users.
Design/methodology/approach
A consultant was hired to conduct local interviews probing audience work habits and needs and to synthesize them into composite personas segmented on the basis of “like” behavior. These “imaginary friends” helped validate and supplement user studies done elsewhere and existing quantitative data from Cornell, thus influencing all the decisions and recommendations that the team produced.
Findings
The personas can also serve as a way to effectively communicate about and develop empathy for user needs throughout planning and implementation.
Practical implications
Understanding and assessing the information seeking and managing needs, habits, and expectations of a library's audience are crucial for creating a digital library environment that is relevant to users. While anthropological studies are most meaningful, can you be sure that results produced at other institutions are complete and relevant for your own environment and purpose? The use of personas provides an effective tool that validates such comparisons.
Originality/value
Personas have been mostly used in industry, but in our process they proved a useful and relevant benchmark for the academic library environment.
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Holt Zaugg and Donna Harp Ziegenfuss
A persona describes a group of library patrons as a single person to better identify and describe user patterns and needs. Identifying personas in academic libraries can assist in…
Abstract
Purpose
A persona describes a group of library patrons as a single person to better identify and describe user patterns and needs. Identifying personas in academic libraries can assist in library planning by focusing on patrons. Initially, personas were thought to be unique to each library; additional insights led the researchers to rethink this assertion. The purpose of this paper is to determine if personas, developed in one library, are unique or more universal than previously thought.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, 903 surveys were completed across two institutions asking library patrons to identify use patterns within each library. Mean score responses were analyzed using an ANOVA, principal component analysis and RapidMiner technology. All analyses were used to identify personas with common interests and places personas in groups or neighborhoods.
Findings
The findings provide evidence for the universality of academic library personas. However, differences occur in how the personas are grouped and use different library services and resources.
Originality/value
Personas allow librarians to view patrons in a more personal way as they connect personas to specific library spaces. While the personas appear to be universal, their interactions with each other depend on specific library amenities.
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