Bootstrap personas, jobs, needs, and desired outcomes: the user side of every product graph.
personav0.1.0When to run it
When the team has shipped without a clear user model — features are accumulating but the question "who is this for?" gets different answers from different people. Also the right move after a customer-segment shift.
What you'll have at the end
1-3 persona entities (resist the urge to create more), each connected to the jobs they pursue, the needs those jobs surface, the desired_outcome entities they would accept as success, and the switching_cost entities that block movement from the current solution.
Common starting point
One primary persona. Identify three jobs they're trying to make progress on. Surface the needs that emerge from each.
Sequence summary
Seven steps: anchor (persona) → jobs → job steps → needs → desired outcomes → switching costs → participants (research-resolved, optional).
Capture 1–3 user archetypes you are building for. Keep the set small: one persona per distinct mental model.
Name the jobs each persona is trying to get done. What progress are they trying to make?
Decompose each job into the observable steps a persona walks through (when this is useful).
Capture what each persona requires to make progress on each job: the explicit asks and gaps.
Frame measurable success criteria each persona would accept: the “done” signal for the job.
List what stops each persona from moving from their current solution: the friction to overcome.
Optional, post-research: research-resolved instances of personas (real people you spoke with).