Are Personas Dead?

Welcome and Introductions

Robin Brooks | 00:00–02:30
Welcome everyone. We are here today to put personas on trial. Are personas dead? Are they still useful? I am Robin Brooks, your co-host. Ryan is joining me today to both prosecute and defend our friends the personas.
Ryan, do you want to introduce yourself?

Ryan Cantwell | 02:30–03:10
Absolutely. I’m Ryan Cantwell. I’m a consultant and trainer at the Productside and I couldn’t be more excited to be here today to talk about personas and represent both sides of the argument.

Robin Brooks | 03:10–04:20
Excellent. I am Robin Brooks, I’m Director of Product here at Productside, building product management products for product managers. So it’s the best job in the world, and I’m happy to have all of you joining us today.

About Productside and How to Participate

Robin Brooks | 04:20–06:00
Okay, let’s tell you just a little bit about Productside and then we’ll get into it. We are an outcome-driven product partner. We work to help product managers and product teams transform, become more productive and process-driven, and deliver outcomes for their customers. Our core values are outcomes over outputs, truth tellers, and we are one team.
Please ask questions as we go through the webinar. We’re going to keep this engaging. We want this to be an active conversation.

Ryan Cantwell | 06:00–07:15
We will be presenting you with polls throughout so you can participate and engage. And yes — you’ll be able to come back and watch this later. You can share it with colleagues and friends as well.

Join the Product Management Leadership Community

Robin Brooks | 07:15–09:00
We have a product management leadership group on LinkedIn. If you’re not a member, I highly recommend you join and engage with this active community.

Ryan Cantwell | 09:00–10:00
Absolutely. Joining that group is important because we’re going to do a little bit of that here — engaging with your peers. And as you know, today’s discussion is personas: a beloved tool in the product management and UX toolkit.

Setting the Stage: Personas on Trial

Ryan Cantwell | 10:00–14:00
We’re using a fun courtroom theme today. We’re going to argue for and against the idea that personas are dead. We want you to form your own opinions and engage with each other.
Welcome to the courtroom of product management — a very fictional place where we debate topics and rethink the way product is practiced.
So let me introduce our players:
• Our judge: Robin Brooks
• The jury: all of you
• Representing both plaintiff and defense: me

The plaintiff alleges personas are dead — a tool of the past.
The defense argues personas are alive and well and very relevant.

Instructions to the Jury

Ryan Cantwell | 14:00–16:00
Your responsibility is to evaluate the testimony and consider all evidence. Know the rules:
We are looking at the tool — Persona profiles — and asking whether it is extinct.
Make your judgment based on the facts.
And unlike a real court case, please share your opinion in chat.

The Oath: Swearing in the Jury

Ryan Cantwell | 16:00–17:30
Raise your right hands — you will render a true verdict based upon the evidence presented.
You are officially jurors in the trial of personas.

Poll #1 – What’s Your Experience with Personas?

Ryan Cantwell | 17:30–20:00
Let’s open our first poll: what’s your experience with personas?
(Responses roll in.)

Robin Brooks | 20:00–21:00
Looks like the winner: “Occasional user of personas.” Good — that gives us a shared baseline.

Opening Remarks – Plaintiff’s Case: Personas Are Dead

Ryan Cantwell | 21:00–23:00
Here is the accusation: Persona profiles are dead because they’re often misused, outdated, and unnecessary given new tools.

Exhibit A – Personas Open the Door to Judgment

Ryan Cantwell | 23:00–29:00
We present Mary Manager — a Persona created from a pretty online template.
The flaws:
• It includes biased labels (“millennial,” “techie”).
• It contains irrelevant fluff (“favorite brands”).
• It lacks context and the “why.”
This leads stakeholders to make up their own stories, defeating the purpose.

Exhibit B – Personas Are Rarely Validated or Used

Ryan Cantwell | 29:00–34:00
Personas should be:

Created

Validated

Used
But in reality:
• They are created and never validated
• They sit in SharePoint and collect dust
• Teams build on assumptions, not facts

Thus, personas fuel misaligned product decisions.

Exhibit C – Better Alternatives Exist

Ryan Cantwell | 34:00–41:00
Three tools outperform personas:
• Empathy Maps — faster, clearer
• Jobs To Be Done Canvas — more actionable
• Journey Maps — richer context and emotional detail
Why use personas when superior tools exist?

Poll #2 – What Missteps Have You Experienced?

Ryan Cantwell | 41:00–44:00
Most common answer: personas were never validated.
Chat erupts with confirmations.

Defense Opening Remarks – Personas Are Alive and Well

Ryan Cantwell | 44:00–46:00
Now representing the defense — personas aren’t dead. They are misunderstood.

Exhibit A – Personas Give Problems a Soul

Ryan Cantwell | 46:00–50:00
A problem like “customer support inefficiencies slow response time” is abstract.
Personas give the problem a face, a name, a story.
They create empathy.
They make stakeholders care.

Exhibit B – Personas Are Powerful Storytelling Tools

Ryan Cantwell | 50:00–55:00
Personas summarize research into a relatable narrative.
Stories drive action — and personas help us tell the right story.

Exhibit C – Personas Clarify Users, Buyers, and Influencers

Ryan Cantwell | 55:00–01:02:00
The smartwatch-for-my-daughter story:
• Buyer = parent
• User = child
• Influencers = friends and other parents
Without personas, the PM for that watch would be lost.
Same applies in B2B contexts — buyers ≠ users ≠ influencers.

Poll #3 – Strongest Counterargument?

Ryan Cantwell | 01:02:00–01:04:00
Many voted: “It’s not the persona’s fault — it’s misuse.”

Closing Arguments

Robin Brooks | 01:04:00–01:05:30
I agree with the jury — personas aren’t the problem. Misuse is.

Ryan Cantwell | 01:05:30–01:07:00
Plaintiff summary:
• They open the door to judgment
• They’re rarely validated
• Better tools exist
Defense summary:
• They humanize problems
• They enable storytelling
• They distinguish users, buyers, influencers

Poll #4 – The Verdict: Are Personas Dead?

Ryan Cantwell | 01:07:00–01:09:00
Majority verdict:
“No — personas are alive and well.”

Final Consultant Takeaways

Ryan Cantwell | 01:09:00–01:13:00
Personas aren’t dead — but the way we use them should die.
• Validate them
• Keep them updated
• Remove judgment and fluff
• Make them living, breathing tools
• Use them consistently

Introducing the Productside Playbook

Robin Brooks | 01:13:00–01:16:00
We’ve updated our lifecycle toolkit — now called The Playbook.
Includes Persona templates, Jobs To Be Done, Journey Mapping, Empathy Interview templates, and more.

Upcoming Training and Course Invitation

Robin Brooks | 01:16:00–01:18:00
Our Optimal Product Management course has been fully refreshed. Upcoming sessions are available in November and December.

Q&A and Closing Remarks

Ryan Cantwell | 01:18:00–End
Join us on LinkedIn. Keep this conversation going. Thank you for being a fantastic jury today.

Robin Brooks | End
Thank you everyone — see you at the next Productside webinar.