Persona library
Ready-made personas for the users every site has. Start from these, then add the personas that are specific to your app.
Every site has screen-reader users, phone users and people who have never seen it before. The library gives you a persona for each, so a first run covers them without writing a cast from scratch.
The library
Screen-reader user
Moves by headings, landmarks and link text and is not sent screenshots.
Catches Controls with no name, headings out of order, and focus lost after a dialog closes.
Keyboard-only user
Uses only the keyboard. The engine refuses every click.
Catches Controls that Tab skips, focus you cannot see, and menus you cannot leave.
Phone on a slow connection
Works on a 390 pixel screen with one thumb and little patience.
Catches Small tap targets, close-packed buttons and long pages with no clear way to the part you need.
200 percent zoom
Browses a laptop-sized window with the zoom set to 200 percent.
Catches Cut-off text, sideways scrolling, overlapping controls and sticky bars that cover the page.
First-time visitor
Knows nothing about your product and gives it five minutes.
Catches Jargon, no clear first step, and empty screens that do not say what to do.
Non-native English reader
Reads English as a second language and translates long words.
Catches Idioms, long sentences, unexplained terms and dates in a local format.
Older adult
Reads every word, takes time over each screen and avoids surprises.
Catches Small text, low contrast, time limits and controls that appear only on hover.
Viewer, editor and admin
Three personas on the same app, one for each permission level.
Catches A viewer who can edit, an editor who can reach admin pages, and controls that show and then refuse.
How to use a library persona
A cast is a folder of personas. Copy a persona into your own cast and write it a scenario for a job in your app, such as “renew a loan” or “change a password”. The persona brings its way of using a page and your scenario brings the job.
What it does not replace
A persona is a model. The screen-reader persona is not sent screenshots and works from the page’s text, outline and controls. It catches missing names and a broken reading order. It does not replace a session with a real screen reader and a person who uses one every day. The phone persona uses a phone-sized window and gives up early on a heavy page. It does not slow the network.
The permission pattern
Viewer, editor and admin are three personas rather than one. Run all three through the same scenario, and any difference in what each can reach is a permission finding.