The Effect of Experience on Persona Perceptions

User perceptions of personas affect the adoption of personas for decision-making in real organizations. To investigate how experience affects the way an individual perceives a persona, we conduct an experimental study with individuals less and more experienced with personas. Quantitative results show that previous experience increases several important perceptions, including willingness to use, empathy, likability, and completeness. Results suggest that methods that increase experience (e.g., training, workshops, scenarios) should be applied alongside persona deployment, as desirable persona perceptions increase with individuals' experience.