Universal Principles of UX

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Don’t base personas on assumptions.

“Eighteen-year-old Charlie is on her first month-long backpacking trip through Thailand with her two close friends from Amsterdam. She wants to experience as much as possible and tries to pack in as many sights and activities as possible. She’s not much of a planner and usually goes along with whatever her friends want. However, she hates wasting time, and since she wakes up earlier than her friends, she would like to be able to do things by herself in the morning.”

The above is an example of a fictional archetype, or persona, based on previously done research and real data, whose characteristics represent the needs, goals, behavior patterns, pain points, and attitudes of a larger group of real people. ...