Personas changing over time: Analyzing variations of data-driven personas during a two-year period

Soon Gyo Jung, Bernard J. Jansen, Joni Salminen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

One of the critiques of personas is that the underlying data that they are based on may stale, requiring further rounds of data collection. However, we could find no empirical evidence for this criticism. In this research, we collect monthly demographic data over a two-year period for a large online content publisher and generate fifteen personas each month following an identical algorithmic approach. We then compare the sets of personas month-over-month, year-over-year, and over the whole two-year period. Findings show that there is an average 18.7% change in personas monthly, a 23.3% change yearly, and a 47% change over the entire period. Findings support the critique that personas do change over time and also highlight that changes in the underlying data can occur within a relatively short period. The implication is that organizations using personas should employ ongoing data collection to detect possible persona changes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI EA 2019 - Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9781450359719
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2 2019
Event2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2019 - Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duration: May 4 2019May 9 2019

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityGlasgow
Period5/4/195/9/19

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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