Wikimedia Mobile engineering/Personas

The following is a list of personas that are relevant to mobile features development.

Reader, non-contributor (-1)

Rita

Professor in Sao Paulo

Speaks English and Portuguese

• Accesses the mobile site sporadically, via a Google search
• Doesn't distinguish between Google and Wikipedia – it's all "the Internet"
• Only spends a minute or two to find what she's looking for; rarely scrolls past the lead
• Values ease, speed, and a user-friendly interface

Mark

Accountant in London

Only speaks English

• Accesses the site directly via an app while commuting
• May spend the whole commute reading articles or clicking around on links
• Loves reading Wikipedia but doesn't consider himself to be an expert in anything, so not interested in contributing
• Values an immersive reading experience without clutter or interruption

Reader, possible contributor (0)

Albert

Office worker in Phoenix

Only speaks English

• Passionate hobbyist; accesses Wikipedia via search for information on his favorite hobbies/projects
• Regularly participates in discussion and shares content in online communities like Reddit and Facebook
• Would like to create and improve Wikipedia articles about hobbies he has expertise in, but not sure how or where to start
• Saving, sharing, and providing feedback appeal to him

New editor (1-10)

Yasmin

College student in Cairo

Speaks and reads English and Arabic

• Mainly reads and edits English Wikipedia because of higher visibility and ease of keyboard input
• Has some experience editing wikis and feels comfortable fixing the occasional mistake or typo on the desktop site
• Has an account but is primarily a reader, uses Wikipedia as a reference tool in school
• Would be interested in fast, easy ways to contribute, like tagging and patrolling, via mobile

Marie

Museum curator in Toronto

Speaks and reads English, French, and Spanish

• Frequently reads Wikipedia and likes to compare different language versions
• Wants to photograph objects in her museum and add to Wikipedia
• Recently created an account and wrote her first article on English Wikipedia
• Wants to monitor editing activity on her article and address issues raised by other editors
• Wants to share her work on articles with colleagues who are experts in the topic

Experienced editor (100+)

Arjun

High school student in Bangalore

Speaks Kannada, Hindi and English, reads and writes primarily in English

• Aware of Kannada and Hindi Wikipedia but prefers to edit and read the larger, more popular English project
• Has been editing English Wikipedia for several years
• Loves the freedom to do what he wants on the site and does a little bit of everything
• Edits the desktop site on his laptop and on his phone
• Would like more flexibility/ease to do some of his most vital activities on mobile, like patrolling and responding to discussions

Sources

• Mobile Research: India and Brazil, Parul Vora and Mani Pande, Nov. 2011
• Research:Wikipedia Mobile User Research, 2011
• Research:Wikipedia Mobile Readers Survey 2011