01 / Developing Personas

Personas have been used by marketers for decades, and they are invaluable in shaping a product that will be valuable to users from different backgrounds and of differing abilities. In this episode of the Product Momentum Podcast, hosts Sean and Joe first discuss personas and their role in the software development process. They then proceed to interview Jeremy Durham from Paychex. Jeremy is the Director of Portfolio, Strategy, and Implementation at Paychex and talks about his experience developing personas for its software platform with a broad user base – virtually everyone that works does or could use Paychex software.

Personas are valuable because they help everyone on your software product development team to empathize with the users of your products. A great persona is one that helps your team inform those subtle feature decisions that can inspire and connect with your users. In fact, an accurate persona that is representative of your users can make an impact on your product experience that results in a truly differentiated experience. Jeremy explains that it is important to clarify personas before crafting your overall vision, and especially before you start building your product. 

Listen to this episode to hear more from Jeremy Durham, Sean, and Joe, including:

• How to use the DISC model to shape personas
• Integrating product lines to improve user experience
• Paying attention to your user base, not just industry trends