David A. Siegel
ABSTRACT
Quantitative market research and qualitative user-centered design research have long had an uneasy and complex relationship. A trend toward increasingly complex statistical segmentations and associated personas will once again increase the urgency of addressing paradigm differences to allow the two disciplines to collaborate effectively.
We present an instructive case in which qualitative field research helped contribute to abandoning a "state of the art" quantitative user segmentation that was used in an attempt to unify both marketing and user experience planning around a shared model of users. This case exposes risks in quantitative segmentation research, common fallacies in the evolving practice of segmentation and use of personas, and the dangers of excessive deference to quantitative research generally.
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Digital Library
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Index Terms
- The mystique of numbers: belief in quantitative approaches to segmentation and persona development
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