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Module 4: Advanced Personas

This module explores how to model advanced personas, including multiple personas, persona traits, and external persona referencing.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • Define multiple personas in a journey
  • Link steps to external or global personas
  • Express motivations, adaptations, and emotional reactions
  • Model personas outside of events using global persona blocks

Global vs Local Personas

Global personas are declared at the top level, outside any event. These are reusable across the file and can be referenced within steps or other personas.

Persona: Registered User
  Traits: { age_group="30s", familiarity="high" }
  Experience: Feels confident navigating interface

Local personas appear inside an event. They reflect an experience specific to a given context.

Event: Purchase Completion
  Step: Confirm order
    User: Buyer
    Action: Reviews order and confirms
    UI-Element: Checkout Page

  Persona: Buyer
    Experience: Relieved the process was quick
    Metrics: { satisfaction=9 }

Scenario 1: Reusing External Persona

Declare a persona globally, then refer to them in multiple events.

EBNF-Version: 1.1
Syntax-Version: 1.0
Journey-Title: Shopping Experience

Persona: Frequent Shopper
  Traits: { loyalty_status="Gold" }
  Experience: Feels confident using the mobile app

Event: Browse Products
  Step: Search catalogue
    User: Frequent Shopper
    Action: Enters keywords
    UI-Element: Search Bar

Event: Add to Cart
  Step: Select product
    User: Frequent Shopper
    Action: Taps 'Add to Cart'
    UI-Element: Product Page

Scenario 2: Adaptation and Emotional Response

Show how a persona changes as a result of an event.

Event: Receive Negative Feedback
  Step: Read review
    User: Product Owner
    Action: Reads user complaint
    UI-Element: Admin Dashboard

  Persona: Product Owner
    Adaptation: Becomes more cautious about future releases
    Experience: Disappointed but reflective
    Metrics: { mood="low" }

Best Practices

  • Use global personas when referencing the same individual across multiple events
  • Adaptations describe changes in attitude or strategy
  • Combine Experience: and Metrics: to capture both subjective and quantifiable states

Next: Module 5: Conditional Logic & Branching.