Summary
The events and experiences of the last several years have exposed gaps in our awareness of - and practice around - connecting with people across the broadest range of human perspectives. Too often, as we've built services and complementary products, we have bypassed the hard questions around identity. To improve design decision-making, many organizations are using new approaches to ask a broader range of questions to more people. We'll discuss strategies for how to connect with the broadest range of people as well as how to represent insights that drive more inclusive design decision-making.
Key Insights
-
•
Personas should focus on user goals, motivations, and barriers rather than demographics or superficial traits.
-
•
Context of use narratives enrich personas by addressing intersectional identities and situational factors affecting user experience.
-
•
Frequent, semi-structured 'mini empathy interviews' provide valuable evolving user insights beyond traditional annual research.
-
•
Inclusive design anticipates a broad spectrum of human perspectives, not just the majority demographic (80%) but also smaller, marginalized groups (20%).
-
•
Public and nonprofit sectors often operate under tight budget constraints but innovate creatively to meet diverse user needs.
-
•
Engaging stakeholders and affected communities as co-designers in research fosters more relevant and effective outcomes.
-
•
Tools like empathy maps, journey maps, and user stories complement personas and context of use to guide design decisions.
-
•
Intersectionality includes both persistent and situational identity elements, plus factors of visibility to systems and data.
-
•
Behaviors such as seasonal service needs or temporary disabilities (e.g., broken wrist) highlight the dynamic nature of user contexts.
-
•
Designing with accessibility features from the start often benefits the entire user base, not only those with specific disabilities.
Notable Quotes
"We can no longer think of users as flat personas; we have to enrich those concepts with intersectional identities."
"Alan Cooper created personas to stop developers building features just because they're cool to build, not because users need them."
"It's not the demographics or names that should drive personas, but what people are really trying to do."
"The context of use framework helps teams understand that different experiences aren't bad, just different."
"Inclusive design isn't an add-on; it should be part of the minimum viable product to serve diverse human perspectives."
"Sometimes accommodating 20% of users with special needs improves the experience for the entire 100%."
"Mini empathy interviews embedded in regular research uncover evolving user stories that quantitative data alone misses."
"Nonprofits often treat communities served as stakeholders, which drives authentic inclusion in design."
"People are individuals first and part of communities second, which adds complexity to designing effective personas."
"Design teams need diverse perspectives because our own experiences cloud our judgment about user needs."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Customizability is about meeting people where they are, whether that’s on mobile, desktop, voice interaction, or different communication channels."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
November 29, 2023
"Check the people on the board and the advisors because that tells you a lot about the company’s true values."
Max Gadney Andrea Petrucci Joshua Stehr Hannah WickesAssessing UX jobs for impact in climate
August 14, 2024
"The key to managing a design team is to not just ignore problems but keep talking about them, even if there’s no quick fix."
Shipra Kayan Tess DixonHow Tess Dixon Facilitates Team Engagement and Collaboration at Condé Nast Using Miro
October 1, 2021
"We recommend pausing the focus on NPS score to coach behaviors that drive long-term customer relationships."
Bob Baxley Sara Asche Anderson Sharon Bautista Frank Duran Jamie Kaspszak Abbey Smalley Sylas SouzaTheme 4: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Fighting for the underdog means making the case for user experience in language that resonates with decision makers."
Janaki KumarInnovate with Purpose
June 14, 2018
"You don’t have to be a designer to participate; over 90% of our community are not design professionals."
Lona MooreScaling Design Beyond Designers
June 11, 2021
"Everyone bounces off this at first, but you just have to start, be humble, and get better with practice."
Giff ConstableFinancial fluency for product leaders: AMA with Giff Constable
April 11, 2024
"Is this enough? Can Civic design do more? There’s a crisis and pressing need for us to evolve our practice."
Meghan Hellstern Joanne DongThe Next 100 Years of Civic Design: How Might We Better Rise to Meet the Challenges of Today and Tomorrow?
December 10, 2021
"An everything chat bot is almost certainly not how you’re going to build it; realistically you’re building three apps in a trench coat."
Sarah BarrettAI in Real Life: Using LLMs to Turbocharge Microsoft Learn
February 13, 2025
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What trends are emerging regarding the disappearance or evolution of the experience architect role within UX and service design?
What are the key organizational challenges UX designers face according to the 2025 State of UX Design survey?
How does Claude Code function as an AI agent using tools in a loop?