Before embarking on any intranet or website design project, it is important to understand the needs of your users. It is then possible to identify the features and functionality that will make the intranet or website a success, and how the design can support users with different goals and levels of skill. There are many ways to identify the needs of users, such as usability testing, interviewing users, discussions with business stakeholders, and conducting surveys. However
one technique that has grown in popularity and acceptance is the use of personas: the development of archetypal users to direct the vision and design of a web solution. Personas allow you to identify and communicate user needs efficiently and effectively. By developing 'stand in' users, based on real user data, the design team can concentrate on designing for these archetypal users with the confidence that the needs of the broader user base will be meet. Teamed up with other user-centred design tools and techniques, such as task analysis and usability testing, personas will place you in good stead to deliver a useful and usable solution.