A hermeneutic inquiry into user-created personas in different Namibian locales

Abstract

Persona is a tool broadly used in technology design to support communicational interactions between designers and users. Different Persona types and methods have evolved mostly in the Global North, and been partially deployed in the Global South every so often in its original User-Centred Design methodology. We postulate persona conceptualizations are expected to differ across cultures. We demonstrate this with an exploratory-case study on user-created persona co-designed with four Namibian ethnic groups: ovaHerero, Ovambo, ovaHimba and Khoisan. We follow a hermeneutic inquiry approach to discern cultural nuances from diverse human conducts. Findings reveal diverse self-representations whereby for each ethnic group results emerge in unalike fashions, viewpoints, recounts and storylines. This paper ultimately argues User-Created Persona as a potentially valid approach for pursuing cross-cultural depictions of personas that communicate cultural features and user experiences paramount to designing acceptable and gratifying technologies in dissimilar locales.

Reconceptualising Personas Across Cultures: Archetypes, Stereotypes & Collective Personas in Pastoral Namibia

“…This specific study condenses the findings presented at CaTaC by Cabrero et al [9]. The study holds persona as research foci, while it belongs to a larger project where personas are co-created with urban and rural Namibian societies from different ethnic groups, namely ovaHerero, ovaHimba, Ovambo and Khoisan [10,11,12,13,14].…”

“…The conversation drifted into a self-stereotypical account of ovaHerero men (reiterating the significance of the men's hat, stick and chair as recurrently noted in other sittings stated in Cabrero et al [14]) with a further emphasis on the ecologies of the context (i.e. homestead, holy fire, cooking fire and cattle) rather than the persons themselves.…”

“…This we have observed through practical studies with persona as research foci, and whereby results have shown vital differences between UCD persona as it currently is and the methods to elicit data representative of the users for whom technological products or services may eventually be aimed at [10,11,12,13,14].…”

“…This scaffolds from our theoretical appreciation [26] and practical study [10,11,12,13,14], and from inspiring, hands-on projects such as those presented as follows:…”

A Critique of Personas as representations of "the other" in Cross-Cultural Technology Design

“…In urban and pastoral Namibia we probed various methods aimed at persona co-creations with ovaHerero [3], ovaHimba [4], Ovambo [7] and Khoisan [5] ethnic groups.…”