mattgierhart/prd-v04-persona-definition

Persona Definition

Position in workflow: v0.3 Feature Value Planning → v0.4 Persona Definition → v0.4 User Journey Mapping

Personas are not demographic profiles—they are behavioral models synthesized from evidence. Every persona must trace back to CFD- research, BR- targeting rules, and FEA- features they care about.

Consumes

This skill requires prior work from v0.1-v0.3:

• CFD-* problem statements and pain points (from v0.1 Problem Framing) — Behavioral signals about what users struggle with
• CFD-* value hypotheses (from v0.1 User Value Articulation) — Evidence about what users want to accomplish
• CFD-* competitive intelligence and segment gaps (from v0.2 Competitive Landscape) — Market segmentation and underserved signals
• BR-* targeting rules (from v0.3 Moat Definition) — Constraints on which segments to pursue (switchers vs. new-to-category, etc.)
• BR-* product type classification (from v0.2 Product Type Classification) — Determines which personas matter (Clone = feature parity users; Undercut = price-sensitive niche)
• FEA-* entries (from v0.3 Features Value Planning) — Feature list to validate which features each persona cares about
• MVP-SCOPE artifact (from v0.3 Features Value Planning) — The explicit list of features defining MVP; personas map to MVP feature set only

This skill assumes v0.1-v0.3 work is complete.

Produces

This skill creates/updates:

• PER-* entries (persona definitions, confidence 2-3/5) — Behavioral profiles tied to CFD/BR/FEA evidence with acquisition channels and pricing sensitivity
• Persona coverage artifact — Map of which personas are Primary/Secondary and which product type segments they represent

All PER- entries should include:

• confidence: 2-3/5 (based on evidence tier from CFD interviews and BR targeting decisions)
• Evidence source citations (CFD-ID references + BR-ID targeting rules)
• Forward target: "Would move to 4/5 if we validate persona behaviors with 5+ actual customers"

Example PER- entry with confidence:

PER-001: The Overwhelmed Ops Manager
Source IDs: CFD-003 (pain: manual tracking), CFD-012 (value: automation), BR-041 (targeting: switchers at renewal)
Type: Primary
Confidence: 3/5 (source: 4-customer-interviews-jan-2026 + competitive-landscape confirms segment underserved)
Segment: SMB SaaS companies (10-50 employees)

Demographics:
  Role: Operations Manager / Head of Ops
  Context: Growing startup, wearing multiple hats, no dedicated tools budget
  Technical Level: Intermediate (comfortable with SaaS, not a developer)

Behavioral Profile:
  Goals: Reduce time spent on manual reporting (CFD-012)
  Frustrations: Current tools require too much setup (CFD-003)
  Decision Factors: Ease of use > feature count, must show ROI to CEO (CFD-025)
  Current Workflow: Spreadsheets + manual data entry + weekly report compilation

Product Relationship:
  Primary Value: CFD-012 ("Save 5 hours/week on reporting")
  Key Features: FEA-001 (auto-sync), FEA-003 (one-click reports), FEA-007 (dashboard) — all in MVP-SCOPE
  Pricing Sensitivity: BR-030 (SMB tier ≤$50/mo)
  Acquisition Channel: BR-041 (target at contract renewal of competing tools)

Marketing Hook: "Stop building reports. Start using them."
Next Target: "Would move to 4/5 if 5+ actual SMB ops managers validate this behavior in paid usage"

Core Constraint

Maximum 5 personas. Most products need 1-2.

If you have more than 3, you're likely over-segmenting by demographics instead of behavior. Consolidate ruthlessly.

Persona Types

| Type | Definition | When to Create | |------|------------|----------------| | Primary | Core user, drives most revenue | Always (at least 1) | | Secondary | Important but not primary buyer | If distinct needs exist | | Negative | Who we explicitly exclude | If exclusion is strategic | | Aspirational | Future target, not current focus | Only for roadmap planning |

Rule: Primary personas must link to primary revenue KPI-. If a persona doesn't influence revenue, question whether it's truly primary.

Evidence Requirements

Every persona field must link to prior stage evidence:

| Persona Field | Must Link To | Source Stage | |---------------|--------------|--------------| | Goals | CFD- value hypothesis | v0.1 User Value Articulation | | Frustrations | CFD- pain points | v0.1 Problem Framing | | Decision Factors | CFD- competitive research | v0.2 Competitive Landscape | | Key Features | FEA- entries | v0.3 Feature Value Planning | | Pricing Sensitivity | BR- pricing rules | v0.3 Pricing Model | | Acquisition Channel | BR- targeting rules | v0.3 Moat Definition |

No link = No claim. If you can't cite evidence, the attribute is assumption, not fact.

Synthesis Process

1. Pull USER TYPE from v0.1 Problem Framing (CFD-)

   • These are your candidate personas

2. Pull SEGMENTS from v0.2 Market Definition (CFD-, BR-)

   • How is the market divided? Which segments are we targeting?

3. Pull TARGETING RULES from v0.3 Moat Definition (BR-)

   • New-to-category vs. Switchers? Trigger moments?

4. Synthesize behavioral patterns from all CFD- evidence

   • What goals unite this segment?
   • What frustrations are consistent?

5. Map FEA- features to each persona

   • Which features matter most to each?
   • This informs journey mapping

6. Create PER- entries with full traceability

PER- Output Template

PER-XXX: [Persona Name]
Source IDs: [CFD-XXX, CFD-YYY, BR-ZZZ that inform this persona]
Type: [Primary | Secondary | Negative | Aspirational]
Segment: [From v0.2 market segment]

Demographics:
  Role: [Job title / function]
  Context: [Company size, industry, team structure]
  Technical Level: [Novice | Intermediate | Expert]

Behavioral Profile:
  Goals: [What they're trying to achieve — link to CFD- value]
  Frustrations: [Current pain points — link to CFD- pain]
  Decision Factors: [What influences their choices — link to CFD- research]
  Current Workflow: [How they solve this today]

Product Relationship:
  Primary Value: [CFD- value hypothesis they care about most]
  Key Features: [FEA-XXX, FEA-YYY most relevant to them]
  Pricing Sensitivity: [From BR- pricing rules]
  Acquisition Channel: [How they'll find us — from BR- targeting]

Marketing Hook: [One-sentence pitch for this persona]

Example PER- entry:

PER-001: The Overwhelmed Ops Manager
Source IDs: CFD-003 (pain: manual tracking), CFD-012 (value: automation), BR-041 (target: switchers at renewal)
Type: Primary
Segment: SMB SaaS companies (10-50 employees)

Demographics:
  Role: Operations Manager / Head of Ops
  Context: Growing startup, wearing multiple hats, no dedicated tools budget
  Technical Level: Intermediate (comfortable with SaaS, not a developer)

Behavioral Profile:
  Goals: Reduce time spent on manual reporting (CFD-012)
  Frustrations: Current tools require too much setup (CFD-003)
  Decision Factors: Ease of use > feature count, must show ROI to CEO (CFD-025)
  Current Workflow: Spreadsheets + manual data entry + weekly report compilation

Product Relationship:
  Primary Value: CFD-012 ("Save 5 hours/week on reporting")
  Key Features: FEA-001 (auto-sync), FEA-003 (one-click reports), FEA-007 (dashboard)
  Pricing Sensitivity: BR-030 (SMB tier ≤$50/mo)
  Acquisition Channel: BR-041 (target at contract renewal of competing tools)

Marketing Hook: "Stop building reports. Start using them."

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

| Anti-Pattern | Signal | Fix | |--------------|--------|-----| | Persona explosion | >5 personas | Consolidate by behavior, not demographics | | Fictional personas | No CFD- links | Every attribute needs evidence | | Demographic-only | "25-35 year old male" | Focus on behaviors and goals | | All personas are primary | "Everyone is important" | Rank by revenue potential | | Copy-paste from competitors | Generic descriptions | Ground in YOUR research | | Features without personas | Personas created but no FEA- links | Map features to who cares |

Quality Gates

Before proceeding to User Journey Mapping:

• [ ] Maximum 5 personas (ideally 1-3)
• [ ] At least one Primary persona defined
• [ ] Every persona has CFD- evidence links
• [ ] Key Features mapped from FEA- entries
• [ ] Acquisition Channel specified from BR- targeting
• [ ] Marketing Hook is specific and testable

Downstream Connections

PER- entries feed into:

| Consumer | What It Uses | Example | |----------|--------------|---------| | v0.4 User Journey Mapping | Each UJ- references a PER- | UJ-001 is for PER-001 | | v0.4 Screen Flow Definition | Persona context shapes UI | SCR-001 optimized for PER-001 tech level | | v0.9 GTM | Marketing messaging per persona | Campaign targeting PER-002 segment | | Sales Enablement | Persona-specific pitches | Discovery questions per PER- |

Detailed References

• Persona creation examples: See references/examples.md
• PER- entry template: See assets/per.md