…Let me HEAR my user’s call.
What is a user’s mental model? Our mental model is an explanation of our thought process about how something works in the real world. A designer may think they know the best design solution for their user. So does the engineer, or the product manager. However, our assumptions about what works best for users without a deeper understanding of that user’s mental model may lead to poor results.
What is a user persona? In order to mirror the user’s thought process, designers use personas as a bridge to have a better understanding of the user’s mental model. Personas help build empathy with target users. They make it easier for designers to focus on the users’ world. They help share insights with the stakeholders to gain consensus on various features, make defensible decisions reflecting the users’ exact needs, and gauge the designs’ effectiveness through their eyes. That’s why designers use the ‘distilled essences’ of real users: personas.
Product Name: ePath Learning nGage
ePath Learning nGage™ is a validated compliance training LMS solution developed specifically for regulated companies including life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device organizations. nGage LMS helps to alleviate the administrative struggles and technical burdens typically associated with delivering complex, organization-wide compliance training programs.
PROJECT:
Creating personas in order to have a better understanding of Learning Management System users
RESULT:
Six personas are created for the project: Four primary personas, one secondary persona and one complementary persona.
Primary persona: nGage’s primary persona needs to be a common user type that is both important to the business success of nGage and is needy from a design point of view. This is usually a beginner user or a technologically challenged one.
Secondary persona: nGage’s secondary persona needs to be very different from the primary persona. Secondary persona may be a power user or a serious novice who is comparatively less valuable from a business standpoint but costs the company a lot in customer support.
Complementary persona: nGage’s complementary persona should have radically different needs for nGage, who may even need a specialized design of their own. The third persona is called “complementary,” because it shows a different side of the product, a side we might not have seen otherwise.
It’s generally recommended to keep the total number of recommended personas between three to five. The exception is when the user base is very diverse, such as in Amazon, or Sony. Overall, it’s also better to have a small collection of well-defined personas than a larger collection of nebulous ones.
DESIGNS:
Primary Persona 1 (Esperanza)
Esperanza is an employee in one of ePath’s clients. She has ‘user’ status in nGage LMS.
Click to read the persona in detail.
Design Notes:
- Esperanza is into reflective design, rationalization and intellectualization of a product is important to her.
- Make things visible and easy to read. Avoid using symbols that are hard to understand.
- Avoid using overlapping information. Keep things simple, step by step through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. Keep her informed about her system status.
- Avoid designs that require multitasking.
Primary Persona 2 (Frank)
Frank is an employee of one of ePath’s potential clients. He will have ‘system admin’ status in nGage LMS.
Click to read the persona in detail.
Design Notes:
- Frank cares about behavioral design. Pleasure and effectiveness of use is important to him.
- Make things easy to track, so that he will always feel in control.
- Avoid interfaces where he has to go through extended dialogues.
- Make sure the site architecture is organized in the most efficient way possible.
Prioritize content.
Primary Persona 3 (Dave)
Dave is the executive VP of one of our clients. He has “user” status in nGage LMS.
Click to read the persona in detail.
Design Notes:
- He likes products with visceral value, appearance is very important to him.
- Minimize Dave’s memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible.
- He should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of nGage should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.
- Design considering his tactile issues due to his Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Primary Persona 4 (Sheila)
Sheila is an employee in one of our clients. She has “user” status in nGage LMS.
Click to read the persona in detail.
Design Notes:
- Sheila is a gamer. She’s likely to be very familiar with gamification elements.
- Make sure she understands the terminology. Our LMS should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms.
Secondary Persona (Patricia)
Patricia is not using nGage LMS, but the nGage Authoring Tool only for her school projects.
Click to read the persona in detail.
Design Notes:
- She’s always searching for new ways to teach. Flexibility, freedom and efficiency of use would help.
- She seeks flow state, so, make sure the UI is doesn’t disrupt the flow. Information should always be clear, in a natural and logical order and to the point.
- Try to get rid of any redundant symbol or content that may be out non-essential.
- Avoid distractions unless it’s for error prevention.
- Be consistent and follow standards, so that she shouldn’t have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing.
Complementary Persona (Joshua)
Joshua is an E-Learning expert. He’s using nGage LMS demo version.
Click to read the persona in detail.
Design Notes:
- Joshua has mild ADHD. He gets distracted easily. Design to keep things precise, simple and to the point.
- Dialogues in our LMS should not contain information that is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of irrelevant information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility, eventually putting Joshua off the trail.