DT
IB Design Technology
SL · Lesson 18 · IA Day 4 - Persona Task Analysis & Pain Points
01 / 07
Lesson 18 · Unit 2 · IA Day

IA Day 4
Persona, Task Analysis & Pain Points

Mini-lesson on making Criterion A evidence specific and connected, then protected work time.

80 minutesMini-lesson + work timeSL Design Project
Today’s question

Does your persona + storyboard make the redesign opportunity unavoidable?

The goal is to leave class with visible evidence—not just ideas in your head.

Does your persona + storyboard make the redesign opportunity unavoidable?01
15–20 min mini-lesson

Persona and storyboard should tell the same evidence story.

01

Persona

Relevant characteristics, context, preferences, motivations and requirements.

02

Storyboard

Observed task steps that show where those characteristics / context matter.

03

Pain points

Specific failures, workarounds, effort or confusion supported by evidence.

04

Opportunity

A redesign direction that can later become the problem statement.

Criterion A should converge toward a clear, evidenced opportunity.02
Criterion A

Remove any persona detail that does not influence the redesign.

Decorative detail

“Enjoys movies and has a dog.”

May be irrelevant to the product / task.

VS
Design-relevant detail

“Carries books in one hand during the task; reduced grip after sports practice.”

Directly affects interaction, ergonomics and potential requirements.

A strong persona is selective, not encyclopedic.03
Criterion A

Each frame should show evidence—not a generic sequence.

Action

What is the user doing?

Observable task step.

Issue

What goes wrong?

Pain point, effort, error, workaround or confusion.

Context

Why here?

Environment, body position, other object, timing or capability that affects success.

The guide says extended writing is not needed for the storyboard strand.04
~50–55 min protected work time

Build the core evidence of Criterion A.

1
Refine the primary persona to design-relevant characteristics only.
2
Organize / capture the required range of persona images.
3
Build or improve the storyboard using observed task evidence.
4
Annotate the clearest pain points and workarounds.
5
Write a provisional redesign opportunity that follows from the evidence.
BUILD
Teacher conference: show the strongest storyboard frame and explain why it matters to the persona.
Today’s deliverable: coherent persona + storyboard evidence + clear pain points.05
5-minute checkpoint

Could a reader understand the problem without you explaining it verbally?

1. Does each major persona characteristic connect to the product/task?
If not, remove or replace generic biography details with evidence that matters to the redesign.
2. Does the storyboard show the problem through observable use?
The strongest frames show the task step, issue and context clearly without relying on long explanations.
3. Can you state the redesign opportunity without jumping to a solution?
Describe what needs to improve for the user, not the mechanism you already want to build.
Empathize ends with a sharper problem—not a premature solution.06
Exit ticket

Before you leave…

1. State the single clearest task pain point in your evidence.
2. Explain which persona characteristic/context makes it important.
3. Write the redesign opportunity in one solution-neutral sentence.
Next lesson

Human-Centred Design Challenge

Keep the evidence chain moving: user → research → decision → test.

Curriculum alignment
IA Criterion A · primary persona evidence · detailed storyboard from comprehensive task analysis · design-relevant pain points · bridge toward Criterion B problem statement.
Lesson complete7 slides
Designed by David Xu · © 2026 David Xu. All rights reserved.Educators and students are welcome to use these materials for non-commercial teaching and learning with attribution. Please share the original link when possible. Reposting, redistributing modified copies, removing attribution, or commercial use requires prior permission.
IB Design Technology SL · Lesson 1807
Controls

Keyboard shortcuts

Next slide Space
Previous slide
First / last slideHome End
Download HTMLD
Print / Save as PDFP