Alternative plays: Empathy Mapping, Journey Mapping
Follow-up plays: Assumptions Mapping, Perfection Game, Plus / Delta, User Story Mapping, Value Proposition Mapping
Timing: Discovery
Prep time
1-2 hours
Run time
60-90 minutes
Group size
3-12
Why: Humanize user research data to better guide daily design decisions
When: Useful to align team members around user needs, and foster empathy in the design process
This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.
A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.
Reserve your deck!Instructions for running this play
- Explain each section of the persona template:
Name, role, and face: It is easier to relate to personas when they look as if they represent a real person.
Behavioral demographic: Demographic information that is likely to impact user behavior.
Needs, desires, wants & pains: The user’s motivations, fears, and aspirations related directly or indirectly to your product or service.
Possible tasks and scenarios: The persona will come to life and only has real value when you start thinking about how the person acts in specific situations in relation to your product or service. - If you already have done Value Proposition Mapping or Empathy Mapping for your customer segments, then make them more concrete using the persona template.
- Let the group specify entirely new personas or personas based on your existing customer segments.
- Playback your personas to gather feedback and make updates. Consider using Perfection Game or Plus/Delta exercises for gathering feedback.
Tips to perfect this play
Master and adapt the play to fit your context and needs.
Tip: Prior research
Allocate 1-2 hours for gathering user research data and preparing materials prior to the workshop
Tip: Follow up with journeys
Use the persona profiles as a basis for mapping user journeys or creating empathy maps
Tip: Validate the result
Validate the prototype personas with actual users through user interviews or feedback sessions to ensure their accuracy and relevance.
This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.
A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.
Reserve your deck!- UX Research: Empathy Mapping and Proto-Personas by Sara Fortier
