Title: The Persona Lifecycle: Keeping People in Mind Throughout Product Design
Authors: John Pruitt, Tamara Adlin
Publication date: May 5, 2006 (Morgan Kaufmann / Elsevier). Some catalogs simply list 2006.
Pages: 724.
Value for PMs & founders
A full lifecycle playbook for data-driven personas that align teams and improve product decisions—from planning and creation to rollout, day-to-day use, and measuring ROI.
Summary
The book lays out five phases—Family Planning, Conception & Gestation, Birth & Maturation, Adulthood, Lifetime Achievement & Retirement—with concrete deliverables, templates, and a running case study. Contributed chapters (e.g., Users, Roles & Personas; Storytelling & Narrative; Marketing vs. Design Personas; Why Personas Work) round out the method with evidence and practice.
3 community-reported takeaways
-
Research-based personas (not marketing segments) lead to better design decisions; keep them grounded in real user data. Nielsen Norman Group+2userfocus.co.uk
-
Lifecycle thinking matters—success hinges on adoption and ROI as much as creation; follow the phases deliberately. Internet Archive
-
Storytelling & scenarios make personas memorable and actionable for teams. wqusability.com
Buy online
-
Elsevier / Morgan Kaufmann (publisher page) — eBook. Elsevier Shop
-
Amazon (US) — print/Kindle listings. Amazon
-
Barnes & Noble (US) — listing. Barnes & Noble
-
O’Reilly Online — eBook access. O’Reilly Media
Author of Impact Factories / Co-founder of Shy Robotics and Product Whys / Head of Product at Dassault Systèmes / Engineer passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship
Full bibliography here
