The Research to Action team have been very busy lately redesigning the functionality and usability of the R2A website. Not only have we been addressing the look and feel of the site, we have also been assessing how to deliver information to site users as effectively as possible. This is not an easy process; in order to work how a site should navigate, you first have to be sure of what information needs to be included and how it should be categorised.

To aid this site development, we underwent a process of user experience modelling by creating fictional profiles of a group of R2A users. These so-called ‘user personas’ are a well-known method for ensuring that the content of a website meets the needs of those that will be using it. They represent typical individuals within the target audience for R2A. We created eight personas in total and each had different goals and motivations for using the site.

With the user personas we were able to create five different typical user journeys to the R2A site, while taking a step back and approaching the content from different perspectives. This enabled us to truthfully asses whether the content is structured in a clear and beneficial way for our users.

In this short video, Pier Andrea Pirani from Euforic Services and I (Betty Allen from CommsConsult Ltd.) explain our method of persona testing and what we hope to achieve by the end of this process.