What is User persona?
A user persona is a short, research-based profile of a typical user group, describing their goals, tasks, frustrations and context. It is a composite rather than a real person, and helps a team make design decisions for specific people instead of an imagined average user.
Why it matters for your business
Personas keep designers, developers and stakeholders aligned on who the product serves, which makes it easier to say no to features that do not help the people using or paying for it.
A B2B portal team defines two personas, a purchasing manager who reorders in bulk and a finance clerk who downloads invoices, and designs separate dashboard shortcuts for each.