PLEI Portal Project Personas

Public Legal Education & Information Network

PLEI Portal Personas

What is a Persona?

“A persona is a user archetype you can use to help guide decisions about product features, navigation, interactions, and even visual design. By designing for the archetype – whose goals and behaviour patterns are well understood – you can satisfy the broader group of people represented by that archetype.”

-- Kim Goodwin, Cooper (a design firm)

Why use personas for the PLEI Portal?• The PLEI Portal aims to be an entry point for

all British Columbians to legal resources and services aimed at the public, to “public legal education and information” (PLEI)

• There are over 4 million people in British Columbia

• The challenge becomes understanding how to design the Portal to support such a diverse user base in finding what they’re looking for

• So we’ve researched the needs and characteristics of our potential users, and developed a set of PLEI Portal personas to capture some key themes

PLEI Portal personasWe’ve created six personas:

• the help seeker: Chelsea Campbell

• the independent problem solver: Rani

Singh

• the info seeker: Timothy Lee

• the helper: Sarah Duncan

• the educator: Jorge Lamas

• the learner: Matthew Gilmore

the help seeker

Personal Profile• 23 year-old Caucasian woman• Two children & pregnant• Lives in Port Alberni• Is on social assistance• Common law spouse is an

occasionally employed roofer• English speaker• High school dropout, low

literacy• No computer at home; uses

computer occasionally at cousin’s house

• Limited familiarity with Internet but does text message friends on her cell

ScenarioChelsea is assaulted by her partner during an argument after he got fired (again) for smoking marijuana on the job. Fed up and afraid, she goes to stay with her cousin, bringing her two children. Chelsea is worried that her partner will hurt her and the children, and shouldn’t he be pitching in money for her and the kids?

Chelsea’s cousin suggests they seek out help on the Internet. They want to find information about keeping safe and options of where to live. Her cousin googles “women’s shelter port alberni”. A transition house is in the top five results. Feeling anxious and wanting to stay anonymous, Chelsea decides to phone, noting down the number. Chelsea’s cousin follows a link from the transition house to the Portal. On the map of services, she sees that there are several transition houses in her community, as well as a legal aid office. Chelsea worries that getting a lawyer will make her partner more upset, but she notes down that number in case.

Her cousin follows a pathway on the Portal to related information on family law topics. She looks under restraining orders and child support, and prints off two summary sheets.

Key Differentiators

• Needs a person to help solve problems

• Is likely to be in crisis

Goals & Triggers

• Goal: to find someone to help with information, next steps & advocacy

• Goal: to stay anonymous; doesn’t want community to know of problem

• Trigger: in crisis • Trigger: cousin searches for help

on the Internet, and from a relevant result they link in to the Portal

Tasks (I want to…)• Find somebody who can help

with legal problems• Locate support services in the

local area that are relevant to the legal issues at hand

• Print a map showing location of support services

• Find summary information on topics

• Contact someone by phone

Personal Context• High need for support• Not familiar with the system,

and doesn’t want to get involved with it (adverse to the system; unaware of legal aid)

• Needs help from family/friends• Never used Portal before; likely

to be unpredictable and infrequent user

Chelsea Campbell

“I look to my family for help.”

1

the help seeker

Personal Profile• 23 year-old Caucasian woman• Two children & pregnant• Lives in Port Alberni• Is on social assistance• Common law spouse is an

occasionally employed roofer• English speaker• High school dropout, low

literacy• No computer at home; uses

computer occasionally at cousin’s house

• Limited familiarity with Internet but does text message friends on her cell

ScenarioChelsea is assaulted by her partner during an argument after he got fired (again) for smoking marijuana on the job. Fed up and afraid, she goes to stay with her cousin, bringing her two children. Chelsea is worried that her partner will hurt her and the children, and shouldn’t he be pitching in money for her and the kids?

Chelsea’s cousin suggests they seek out help on the Internet. They want to find information about keeping safe and options of where to live. Her cousin googles “women’s shelter port alberni”. A transition house is in the top five results. Feeling anxious and wanting to stay anonymous, Chelsea decides to phone, noting down the number. Chelsea’s cousin follows a link from the transition house to the Portal. On the map of services, she sees that there are several transition houses in her community, as well as a legal aid office. Chelsea worries that getting a lawyer will make her partner more upset, but she notes down that number in case.

Her cousin follows a pathway on the Portal to related information on family law topics. She looks under restraining orders and child support, and prints off two summary sheets.

Key Differentiators

• Needs a person to help solve problems

• Is likely to be in crisis

Goals & Triggers

• Goal: to find someone to help with information, next steps & advocacy

• Goal: to stay anonymous; doesn’t want community to know of problem

• Trigger: in crisis • Trigger: cousin searches for help

on the Internet, and from a relevant result they link in to the Portal

Tasks (I want to…)• Find somebody who can help

with legal problems• Locate support services in the

local area that are relevant to the legal issues at hand

• Print a map showing location of support services

• Find summary information on topics

• Contact someone by phone

Personal Context• High need for support• Not familiar with the system,

and doesn’t want to get involved with it (adverse to the system; unaware of legal aid)

• Needs help from family/friends• Never used Portal before; likely

to be unpredictable and infrequent user

Chelsea Campbell

“I look to my family for help.”

1

The help seeker has a high need for supportNeeds a person to help solve problemsIs likely to be in crisis

Personal Profile• 61 year-old South Asian woman• Married with two adult children• Lives in Kamloops• Has been in Canada 25 years• Punjabi speaker, with fair

English • Formerly a homecare worker,

but failing eyesight forced her to quit working last year

• Husband is retired, Punjabi speaker with little English

• Computer at home but she doesn’t use it unless son is there to help her; uses computer occasionally at public library, where staff are very helpful

• Unfamiliar with Internet

Personal Context• Very organized, organizes

everything for the whole family• Some familiarity with legal

system through her daughter’s divorce

• First time on Portal; might be a regular user while working through situation

ScenarioRani’s 86-year-old mother died of Alzheimer’s, leaving no will. Her father died four years earlier, leaving everything to Rani’s mother. After years of care home costs, the estate is worth less than $20,000. Rani heard from a friend that given the modest estate, Rani may want to apply her organizational skills to handle the estate herself.

Rani goes to the public library, looking for information on the steps to take and how to. Wanting to be thorough, Rani asks the librarian for help, who suggests the book BC Probate Kit as well as the Portal. With the librarian’s help, Rani searches. She has trouble reading the screen, so maximizes the display font. She learns that the local courthouse library has procedural manuals that lawyers use. She notes the location and hours. Following a pathway to related information, she sees there is a class upcoming in her community on estates law.

Rani is also interested in summary information in Punjabi to print off for her husband and his relatives. She links from the Portal to multilingolegal.ca, where she finds and prints the Punjabi version of a Dial-a-Law script on point.

Key Differentiators

• Wants to find out how to resolve her legal problem by herself

Goals & Triggers

• Goal: to get her legal problem fully dealt with; she hates loose ends

• Goal: to find all the information on her problem, including the procedure and how to

• Trigger: librarian at local public library suggests the Portal as a good place for forms and how to information

Tasks (I want to…)• Find legal procedures and how

to• Find forms• Find definitions of legal terms• Find info in languages other

than English • Find out about law-related

classes in the community• Return to a page to continue

process in future sitting• Print documents/forms to

read/fill out offline

Rani Singh“It’s up to me to get us through this, but I’m not sure how to go about it.”

the independent problem solver

2

Personal Profile• 61 year-old South Asian woman• Married with two adult children• Lives in Kamloops• Has been in Canada 25 years• Punjabi speaker, with fair

English • Formerly a homecare worker,

but failing eyesight forced her to quit working last year

• Husband is retired, Punjabi speaker with little English

• Computer at home but she doesn’t use it unless son is there to help her; uses computer occasionally at public library, where staff are very helpful

• Unfamiliar with Internet

Personal Context• Very organized, organizes

everything for the whole family• Some familiarity with legal

system through her daughter’s divorce

• First time on Portal; might be a regular user while working through situation

ScenarioRani’s 86-year-old mother died of Alzheimer’s, leaving no will. Her father died four years earlier, leaving everything to Rani’s mother. After years of care home costs, the estate is worth less than $20,000. Rani heard from a friend that given the modest estate, Rani may want to apply her organizational skills to handle the estate herself.

Rani goes to the public library, looking for information on the steps to take and how to. Wanting to be thorough, Rani asks the librarian for help, who suggests the book BC Probate Kit as well as the Portal. With the librarian’s help, Rani searches. She has trouble reading the screen, so maximizes the display font. She learns that the local courthouse library has procedural manuals that lawyers use. She notes the location and hours. Following a pathway to related information, she sees there is a class upcoming in her community on estates law.

Rani is also interested in summary information in Punjabi to print off for her husband and his relatives. She links from the Portal to multilingolegal.ca, where she finds and prints the Punjabi version of a Dial-a-Law script on point.

Key Differentiators

• Wants to find out how to resolve her legal problem by herself

Goals & Triggers

• Goal: to get her legal problem fully dealt with; she hates loose ends

• Goal: to find all the information on her problem, including the procedure and how to

• Trigger: librarian at local public library suggests the Portal as a good place for forms and how to information

Tasks (I want to…)• Find legal procedures and how

to• Find forms• Find definitions of legal terms• Find info in languages other

than English • Find out about law-related

classes in the community• Return to a page to continue

process in future sitting• Print documents/forms to

read/fill out offline

Rani Singh“It’s up to me to get us through this, but I’m not sure how to go about it.”

the independent problem solver

2

The independent problem solver is self-reliant, but may be an inexperienced computer userWho wants to find out how to resolve their legal problem by themselves

Personal Profile• 46 year-old Chinese man• Married with a 10 year-old

daughter• Lives in Surrey in new

subdivision • Works as financial planner with

credit union• Was born in Hong Kong, came

to Canada at age 12• Speaks English fluently, but

first language is Cantonese, which he speaks at parent’s house

• Uses computer at home and work; uses Internet often to research investments, follow sports; uses blackberry constantly

• Coaches daughter’s softball team

Personal Context• Wants to be part of the

solution, to avoid conflict and red tape

• Familiar with the legal system, through work and otherwise (two good friends are lawyers)

• Periodic user of the Portal, returns from time to time for variable reasons

ScenarioTimothy’s new neighbours in the Rise-and-Shine Estates in Surrey have three large, intimidating Rottweilers, one of which recently gave his daughter a terrible scare, lunging at her as she passed on the sidewalk. The neighbours are two brothers, out-of-work and rumored to have links to a local chapter of the Hells Angels.

Timothy wants to learn what his rights and options are in relation to (a) building a high fence between his property and his neighbours’, and (b) complaining about the neighbours’ dogs.

At the suggestion of a co-worker, Timothy goes to the Portal. He tries keyword searching. He finds some summary information about neighbours and fences, and reads it on the screen. He determines that a municipal bylaw likely applies to limit the height of his fence; wanting to dig deeper, he links to the local municipal bylaws site to find the specific bylaw that applies. Returning to the Portal, he sends the link to the summary information to a lawyer friend, with a note asking if she knew of any further information he should look at. He then follows a pathway leading to related information on neighbours and animals.

Key Differentiators

• Wants to learn if he has a legal aspect to his situation

Goals & Triggers• Goal: to see if he can handle the

situation on his own• Goal: to get enough information,

in words he understands, to make a decision about next steps

• Trigger: a co-worker tells him the Portal is better than Google for legal information

Tasks (I want to…)• Find summary information on

topics• Find legal procedures and how

to• Find underlying laws relating to

his legal situation• Find information in languages

other than English • Notify someone else about a

page • Follow pathways between

related information• Contact someone by email

Timothy Lee“I’m not sure whether the answer is out there, but if it is, I’m going to find it.”

3 the info seeker

Personal Profile• 46 year-old Chinese man• Married with a 10 year-old

daughter• Lives in Surrey in new

subdivision • Works as financial planner with

credit union• Was born in Hong Kong, came

to Canada at age 12• Speaks English fluently, but

first language is Cantonese, which he speaks at parent’s house

• Uses computer at home and work; uses Internet often to research investments, follow sports; uses blackberry constantly

• Coaches daughter’s softball team

Personal Context• Wants to be part of the

solution, to avoid conflict and red tape

• Familiar with the legal system, through work and otherwise (two good friends are lawyers)

• Periodic user of the Portal, returns from time to time for variable reasons

ScenarioTimothy’s new neighbours in the Rise-and-Shine Estates in Surrey have three large, intimidating Rottweilers, one of which recently gave his daughter a terrible scare, lunging at her as she passed on the sidewalk. The neighbours are two brothers, out-of-work and rumored to have links to a local chapter of the Hells Angels.

Timothy wants to learn what his rights and options are in relation to (a) building a high fence between his property and his neighbours’, and (b) complaining about the neighbours’ dogs.

At the suggestion of a co-worker, Timothy goes to the Portal. He tries keyword searching. He finds some summary information about neighbours and fences, and reads it on the screen. He determines that a municipal bylaw likely applies to limit the height of his fence; wanting to dig deeper, he links to the local municipal bylaws site to find the specific bylaw that applies. Returning to the Portal, he sends the link to the summary information to a lawyer friend, with a note asking if she knew of any further information he should look at. He then follows a pathway leading to related information on neighbours and animals.

Key Differentiators

• Wants to learn if he has a legal aspect to his situation

Goals & Triggers• Goal: to see if he can handle the

situation on his own• Goal: to get enough information,

in words he understands, to make a decision about next steps

• Trigger: a co-worker tells him the Portal is better than Google for legal information

Tasks (I want to…)• Find summary information on

topics• Find legal procedures and how

to• Find underlying laws relating to

his legal situation• Find information in languages

other than English • Notify someone else about a

page • Follow pathways between

related information• Contact someone by email

Timothy Lee“I’m not sure whether the answer is out there, but if it is, I’m going to find it.”

3 the info seeker

The info seeker wants to learn if they have a legal aspect to their situationTo get enough information to make a decision about next steps

Personal Profile• 32 year-old Aboriginal woman• Married with two children, age

6 and 8• Part-time worker at Terrace

Family Services; 5 years on the job

• High school education & some training

• English speaker• Avid joiner; is on Friendship

centre Board, ultimate frisbee team, book club, etc.

• Husband is seasonally employed logger

• Uses computer at home, mostly to download music to her iPod

• Experienced in finding & using info, but not a power user of Internet

Personal Context• Quite familiar with the legal

system, having seen child apprehensions and family law disputes up close

• Feels overloaded at work, with too many clients, not enough time, and not enough resources

• Frequent user of Portal, both for client issues and to stay on top of new stuff

ScenarioAs part of her community involvement, Sarah runs a moms & tots group. One woman who attends has been recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The woman has recently quit her job, and has so far had no success in trying to get disability benefits. She is distraught and asks Sarah to assist.

Sarah selects the Portal from her bookmarks list. Having little time, she wants to quickly find information on entitlement to disability benefits and a guide on how to apply. She browses by topic, locating summary information. Growing impatient, she eventually finds how to information. She downloads and prints the information to hand to her client. She quickly recommends the how to information as useful, wanting to see it appear more prominently on the site for next time!

Sarah then wants to find a local advocate who can assist the client in making a claim for benefits. Sarah follows a pathway from the how to information to finding someone to help, indicating that she’s looking within a 100 km distance of Terrace. She locates contact information for a local advocate.

Key Differentiators

• Assisting someone as a helping professional

Goals & Triggers• Goal: to find resources and

services that can extend the help she can provide her clients

• Goal: efficiency – to find things fast, not have to sift through endless results

• Goal: to stay on top of new services and information

• Trigger: a client has an issue that may have a legal dimension

Tasks (I want to…)• Print a page/document to give to

client• Locate support services in the

local area• Find contact info for support

services• Find somebody who can help

client with legal problems• Find info in languages other

than English• Notify a client about a page • Recommend a page/document

as useful• Find out about new content on

Portal

Sarah Duncan“It’s sure nice to have help when I’m helping someone.”

4 the helper

Personal Profile• 32 year-old Aboriginal woman• Married with two children, age

6 and 8• Part-time worker at Terrace

Family Services; 5 years on the job

• High school education & some training

• English speaker• Avid joiner; is on Friendship

centre Board, ultimate frisbee team, book club, etc.

• Husband is seasonally employed logger

• Uses computer at home, mostly to download music to her iPod

• Experienced in finding & using info, but not a power user of Internet

Personal Context• Quite familiar with the legal

system, having seen child apprehensions and family law disputes up close

• Feels overloaded at work, with too many clients, not enough time, and not enough resources

• Frequent user of Portal, both for client issues and to stay on top of new stuff

ScenarioAs part of her community involvement, Sarah runs a moms & tots group. One woman who attends has been recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The woman has recently quit her job, and has so far had no success in trying to get disability benefits. She is distraught and asks Sarah to assist.

Sarah selects the Portal from her bookmarks list. Having little time, she wants to quickly find information on entitlement to disability benefits and a guide on how to apply. She browses by topic, locating summary information. Growing impatient, she eventually finds how to information. She downloads and prints the information to hand to her client. She quickly recommends the how to information as useful, wanting to see it appear more prominently on the site for next time!

Sarah then wants to find a local advocate who can assist the client in making a claim for benefits. Sarah follows a pathway from the how to information to finding someone to help, indicating that she’s looking within a 100 km distance of Terrace. She locates contact information for a local advocate.

Key Differentiators

• Assisting someone as a helping professional

Goals & Triggers• Goal: to find resources and

services that can extend the help she can provide her clients

• Goal: efficiency – to find things fast, not have to sift through endless results

• Goal: to stay on top of new services and information

• Trigger: a client has an issue that may have a legal dimension

Tasks (I want to…)• Print a page/document to give to

client• Locate support services in the

local area• Find contact info for support

services• Find somebody who can help

client with legal problems• Find info in languages other

than English• Notify a client about a page • Recommend a page/document

as useful• Find out about new content on

Portal

Sarah Duncan“It’s sure nice to have help when I’m helping someone.”

4 the helper

The helper is experienced with computers and the legal system Who wants to find legal resources and services that extend the help they can provide clientsAnd to stay current with developments

Personal Profile• 28 year-old Hispanic man• Single• High school teacher in

Vancouver, spent two years as a substitute teacher and is now in his first year as a full-time teacher

• Lives in east Vancouver co-op• Bilingual; speaks English and

Spanish• Good computer skills; uses it

mostly for email, social networking (he blogs about local music) and watching YouTube videos

Personal Context• Modest familiarity with the

legal system (had two run-ins with the police as a rebellious teen)

• Self-sufficient personality and likes to forge his own path

• First time on Portal, but will likely come back periodically through the school year

ScenarioOne month into Jorge’s first year as a full-time high school teacher, the teacher of the Law 12 class retires suddenly. Jorge is asked to take over.

Passionate about wanting to inspire his students, but having nothing beyond the basic teacher resource package for the course, Jorge sees a posting on a teacher’s discussion forum suggesting the Portal for law-related lesson plans.

Jorge wants to teach on a law topic that his students will care about, perhaps something dealing with online music and copyright law, or cell phone contracts. He sees that by doing topic searches and refining the results by the type of information “educational materials” turns up two very promising lesson plans. He downloads the lesson plans to his document folder on the school network. Excited, he adds a tag to the lesson plans to help him find them on a future visit to the Portal. He follows a pathway to related information on consumer law, scanning for definitions of terms and other key concepts for additional context.

Key Differentiators

• To find resources he can use in teaching others about the law

Goals & Triggers• Goal: to teach others about the

law and get them excited about learning

• Goal: to tap in to events that fit with the school year calendar

• Trigger: a posting on a teacher’s discussion forum suggests the Portal as a good place to find lesson plans on law topics

Tasks (I want to…)• Find resources for teaching

others about law topics • Find out about law-related

events and learning opportunities in the community

• Find definitions of legal terms• Find out about new content on

the Portal by specific topics of interest

• Bookmark or tag pages on the Portal for returning to them easily

Jorge Lamas“I want my students to get excited about what they’re learning.”

5 the educator

Personal Profile• 28 year-old Hispanic man• Single• High school teacher in

Vancouver, spent two years as a substitute teacher and is now in his first year as a full-time teacher

• Lives in east Vancouver co-op• Bilingual; speaks English and

Spanish• Good computer skills; uses it

mostly for email, social networking (he blogs about local music) and watching YouTube videos

Personal Context• Modest familiarity with the

legal system (had two run-ins with the police as a rebellious teen)

• Self-sufficient personality and likes to forge his own path

• First time on Portal, but will likely come back periodically through the school year

ScenarioOne month into Jorge’s first year as a full-time high school teacher, the teacher of the Law 12 class retires suddenly. Jorge is asked to take over.

Passionate about wanting to inspire his students, but having nothing beyond the basic teacher resource package for the course, Jorge sees a posting on a teacher’s discussion forum suggesting the Portal for law-related lesson plans.

Jorge wants to teach on a law topic that his students will care about, perhaps something dealing with online music and copyright law, or cell phone contracts. He sees that by doing topic searches and refining the results by the type of information “educational materials” turns up two very promising lesson plans. He downloads the lesson plans to his document folder on the school network. Excited, he adds a tag to the lesson plans to help him find them on a future visit to the Portal. He follows a pathway to related information on consumer law, scanning for definitions of terms and other key concepts for additional context.

Key Differentiators

• To find resources he can use in teaching others about the law

Goals & Triggers• Goal: to teach others about the

law and get them excited about learning

• Goal: to tap in to events that fit with the school year calendar

• Trigger: a posting on a teacher’s discussion forum suggests the Portal as a good place to find lesson plans on law topics

Tasks (I want to…)• Find resources for teaching

others about law topics • Find out about law-related

events and learning opportunities in the community

• Find definitions of legal terms• Find out about new content on

the Portal by specific topics of interest

• Bookmark or tag pages on the Portal for returning to them easily

Jorge Lamas“I want my students to get excited about what they’re learning.”

5 the educator

The educator wants to find resources they can use in teaching others about the law

Personal Profile• 19 year-old Caucasian man• Single • Lives in Kaslo, and is attending

Simon Fraser University as an online student (he loves the Kootenays lifestyle)

• Taking first year courses through the arts faculty, including a criminology course

• Has his own laptop (a MacBook), daily user of Internet, instant messaging, email

Personal Context • No familiarity with legal system• Doesn’t feel he needs a lot of

support; prefers to find stuff on his own

• First time user of Portal; unlikely to come back unless a Google search leads him back in future

ScenarioIn his first year criminology course at SFU, Michael has an assignment due in two days. The topic is to compare the rights of teenagers in their interactions with police, as between Canada and the United States.

Michael wants to find information exclusively through his computer, and in a form that he can drop quickly into a document. He searches in the university library’s online journals and catalogue, finding a lot of information, but much of it is academic in nature. He wants something more practical. He tries googling his topic. In the top five results is the Portal page for a CBABC Dial-a-Law script “Young People and Criminal Law”. He copies and pastes some information into his document, editing on the fly into his own words.

He follows a pathway on the Portal to related information by topic, and finds two BC Civil Liberties Association publications, including the “Arrest Handbook”. Scanning the materials leads him back online to find information on the American Civil Liberties Union website about rights on arrest, revealing the US side of the question.

Key Differentiators

• To find information for his class projects and assignments

Goals & Triggers

• Goal: To complete a class assignment

• Goal: To find an answer exclusively through the computer, preferably in one sitting

• Trigger: Class assignment has a due date in two days, and when he googles his topic, arrives on Portal

Tasks (I want to…)• Find summary information on

topics• Find definitions of legal terms • Notify someone else about a

page • Follow pathways between

related information• Copy and paste information from

a page into a document• Contact someone by email or

instant messaging

Michael Gilmore“I want an answer without having to get up from my computer.”

6 the learner

Personal Profile• 19 year-old Caucasian man• Single • Lives in Kaslo, and is attending

Simon Fraser University as an online student (he loves the Kootenays lifestyle)

• Taking first year courses through the arts faculty, including a criminology course

• Has his own laptop (a MacBook), daily user of Internet, instant messaging, email

Personal Context • No familiarity with legal system• Doesn’t feel he needs a lot of

support; prefers to find stuff on his own

• First time user of Portal; unlikely to come back unless a Google search leads him back in future

ScenarioIn his first year criminology course at SFU, Michael has an assignment due in two days. The topic is to compare the rights of teenagers in their interactions with police, as between Canada and the United States.

Michael wants to find information exclusively through his computer, and in a form that he can drop quickly into a document. He searches in the university library’s online journals and catalogue, finding a lot of information, but much of it is academic in nature. He wants something more practical. He tries googling his topic. In the top five results is the Portal page for a CBABC Dial-a-Law script “Young People and Criminal Law”. He copies and pastes some information into his document, editing on the fly into his own words.

He follows a pathway on the Portal to related information by topic, and finds two BC Civil Liberties Association publications, including the “Arrest Handbook”. Scanning the materials leads him back online to find information on the American Civil Liberties Union website about rights on arrest, revealing the US side of the question.

Key Differentiators

• To find information for his class projects and assignments

Goals & Triggers

• Goal: To complete a class assignment

• Goal: To find an answer exclusively through the computer, preferably in one sitting

• Trigger: Class assignment has a due date in two days, and when he googles his topic, arrives on Portal

Tasks (I want to…)• Find summary information on

topics• Find definitions of legal terms • Notify someone else about a

page • Follow pathways between

related information• Copy and paste information from

a page into a document• Contact someone by email or

instant messaging

Michael Gilmore“I want an answer without having to get up from my computer.”

6 the learner

The learner wants to find information for their class projects and assignmentsAnd preferably to find an answer exclusively through the computer

Next steps for the PLEI Portal Project• The PLEI personas are part of a user needs

package that also includes a task matrix (what tasks users are going to do on the PLEI Portal, rated by frequency and importance)

• The user needs package is informing the development of:– an information architecture for the Portal (how

information on the site is organized) – a wireframe prototype of the Portal (a clickable

prototype of what the user will see)

• The prototype will be user tested

• The site will be built based on the tested prototype

Comments, questions?• Please pass along any comments or

questions about the PLEI Portal Personas, or any aspect of the PLEI Portal Project, to:

Drew Jackson, Web Librarian, BC Courthouse [email protected]

Public Legal Education & Information Network

PLEI Portal Personas