Personas, Scenarios, Journey Maps, and Storyboards

This chapter thoroughly introduces personas, the many domains it is used within, the different data collection methods, and the criticism. This chapter suggests a new process for persona creation and includes advice to practitioners and researchers who want to work with the approach. Moreover, this chapter introduces scenarios, journey maps, and storyboarding, which are viewed as methods that need to include personas to have a proper focus. Narrative theory and the use of storytelling in personas and scenarios/journeys/storyboards are described, and the relation between personas and characters and scenarios and plots are established. Finally, this chapter includes three talks on characters with scriptwriter Kevin Doyle, on persona practice with principal and UX practitioner Ilana Westerman, and on scenarios and narrative theory with Professor Austen Rainer.