A persona is only useful if it changes a decision.

Look for the tension

Age and income describe an audience, but they rarely explain a choice on their own. Goals, constraints and competing priorities help us understand why someone might choose one option over another.

Connect the research to the work

A persona should help a team make choices about messaging, content, product experience or media. If it cannot guide any of those decisions, it may need a clearer strategic purpose.

Keep it open to revision

Personas are working interpretations of evidence. Revisit them when new research or behavior challenges the assumptions behind them.