/prd-v04-persona-definition

name: prd-v04-persona-definition
description: Synthesize behavioral personas from prior stage evidence for journey mapping and marketing during PRD v0.4 User Journeys. Triggers on requests to define personas, create user profiles, identify target users, or when user asks "who are our users?", "define personas", "user profiles", "target users", "persona creation", "who uses this product?". Consumes CFD- (v0.1-v0.3), BR- (targeting from v0.3 Moat), FEA- (v0.3 Feature Value Planning). Outputs PER- entries with behavioral profiles and feature relationships. Feeds v0.4 User Journey Mapping.
context: fork
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - Edit
  - Glob
  - Grep

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

• Whi