Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@codyromano
Created November 3, 2018 19:03
Show Gist options
  • Save codyromano/5f81708a4be723be78b900c491926e25 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save codyromano/5f81708a4be723be78b900c491926e25 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.

Living persona project (working title)

Problem

For-profit companies define user archetypes called “personas” before developing a product. A typical persona includes a face, a name and a problem description. “I’m Jamal, a premed student, and I need books for next semester. Can I find them on Amazon.com?”

In combination with quantitative research, personas offer a window into customers’ thoughts and feelings. It’s frighteningly easy to build something useless when you haven’t fleshed out the underlying problem.

Most nonprofits don’t have evidence-based personas for the communities they serve because the research is expensive and time consuming. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem: it costs money to gather stories about people who need your help, yet the narratives are essential to grant writing.

Terminology

“provider” - a local government or not-for-profit organization that designs community service initiatives.

“participant” - a community member who benefits from a provider’s services

Proposed solution

Create a digital platform that makes it easier for providers to curate personas for the communities they serve.

As a participant, I want to safely and anonymously describe a problem I’m having. This could be anything: substance abuse, obesity, depression, financial literacy. I may or may not want providers to contact me and offer help.

As a provider, I need personas to ensure my program addresses participants’ needs. I’m especially concerned about the quality and structure of this data. If the stories are trustworthy and well crafted, I can use them in grant applications. The platform should let me connect with willing participants.

Design goals

  1. Accessibility: Providers can access personas anytime at no cost.
  2. Safety: Participants can safely share their stories because the platform lets them know what data is being collected.
  3. Privacy: Participant information will never be sold or shared with third parties except when the participant asks to be connected to a provider.

Alternatives considered

  • Pay a consultant: Consulting companies offer market research services, and some of them cater to nonprofit organizations. This may be a superior option for providers with unique data gathering requirements who can stomach the cost.

  • Do it yourself: Providers can craft their own evidence-based personas by combing through public datasets and interviewing participants. This is time consuming compared to the proposed solution, but first-hand research may be necessary if the problems you’re tackling are unique to a particular community.

Open questions

  • What’s the most appropriate technical design for this “digital platform”? Is it a website, a native app, an embedded device — or something different? The answer depends on how providers and participants intend to use it.
  • What do participants need in order to feel safe sharing the stories?
  • What data format would be most useful to providers for grant applications?
  • What would be the regulatory restrictions on saving and sharing participants’ stories if the narratives involved medical info?
  • Should the platform cater to all kinds of public interest programs (obesity, substance abuse, financial literacy, etc.) or should the focus be limited to specific issues? While a “one-stop shop” would be useful, it creates more complexity in terms of user experience design.
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment