Personas/CoffeeShop

Coffee Shop Personas

If you walk into a local coffee shop today and see computer users, what operating system are they running on their laptops? Most likely not Fedora. What if we wanted to change that?

Let's think about the types of people who frequent a coffee shop with a computer:

General User Characteristics

Motivation

Why do people compute at coffee shops?

• fewer distractions at the coffee shop than at home - focus - work or study
• meet friends there - social setting - feel connected to community
• coffee and light snacks are cheap admission
• coffee is enjoyable
• wifi access while out & about
• get out of the house / don't have an office (telecommuter, consultant, unemployed)
• comfortable surroundings / creative atmosphere / nice decor / amenities (fireplace, artwork, music, good smells, stylish, comfortable chairs)
• employees know you, friendly service
• traveller (at airport, inbetween hotels, at a conference, etc.- less lonely than hotel, a place to go, place to charge your stuff)
• service - don't have to clean up after yourself

User Classification

Who uses a computer at a coffee shop?

• consultants / telecommuters
• students
• travellers
• the unemployed

References

These are some references online used to gather the information above:

• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070711085221AALUvcl
• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlM_biMTW6KHQgzJCfgMcf8jzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20070525061801AAt9QvR
• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124950421033208823.html
• http://technologizer.com/2009/08/06/coffee-shops-laptops/
• http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3720
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/aug/11/coffee-shops-laptops-free-wi-fi

Personas

Let's build two personas to represent typical coffee shop users and review them in detail. Should we want Fedora to be the choice of coffee shop goers, these personas will provide us some hints on what types of features and functionality are important to those users.

-valign="top" style="border: 0px solid white;"		Teresa Telecommuter
Demographics		Geekiness Factors	Personal Background
21-58 years old Earns a living income May have children Owns her own laptop Owns a cell phone; may or may not have data plan		Types 40+ wpm 5+ years of computer usage Has a LinkedIn account Daily email & chat user Likes to watch TV on Hulu Can install apps with some assistance	Teresa works as a writer for a print magazine. She is a regular inhabitant of a local coffee shop where she goes to get out of the house and to focus on writing articles. When she travels to meet interviewees, she also likes to interview them at coffee shops. Internet connectivity is key for her -she researches and submits her articles online.
Motivation		Scenarios
Focus and get work done away from home.		Easily and safely connect to internet, sometimes corporate VPN, while out and about. Research, write, and submit an article before the deadline. Arrange an interview (travel & scheduling) for an upcoming feature article. Meet with a co-worker (in-person) to brainstorm together on a project. Meet with a co-worker (remotely) to brainstorm together on a project. Keep deadlines and to-dos under control.
Concerns "I don't want to run up a large bill with wifi subscription or mobile broadband." "I cannot run out of power and lose work when there aren't enough outlets available at the cafe." "I am worried about getting hacked or having people I don't know connecting to my computer in the cafe." "It's important to me to organize my work, separating work from play on my computer." "I want to feel connected to my co-workers, even though we are geographically dispersed."