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