Re: Desktop personas (draft)

[Dan Winship <danw novell com>]

Alex Hudson wrote:
> [It's also valid to argue that personas are not a useful tool; many
> people hold that viewpoint. I don't, personally, but there are
> significant limitations to how you can use it IMHO]

There's a huge difference between "personas are not a useful tool" and 
"personas are not a useful tool *for marketing*". You wouldn't figure 
out a marketing strategy by doing videotaped interactive user testing of 
our slogans, or making functional paper prototypes of marketing plans. 
And you wouldn't make usable software by holding a focus group meeting 
or buying advertising time during the Super Bowl. Usability and 
marketing are totally different things, and of course you're going to 
need different tools for them.

-- Dan