User profiles and personas of electronic participation in public discourse
Alexander Mertes, Achim Lang · Telematics and Informatics Reports · 2025
Public involvement in public discourse is increasingly facilitated through digital means, known as electronic participation (e-participation). This study explores the development of e-participation tools by leveraging user profiles and personas to ensure user-centered design. E-participation involves engaging citizens in policy and decision-making processes through information and communication technologies (ICT). The study emphasizes the importance of user-centered design (UCD) in developing e-participation tools. Personas and user profiles are critical in this context. Personas are hypothetical archetypes created using qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups, while user profiles are typically based on quantitative data, categorizing users into groups with similar characteristics and behaviors. Data for this study were collected through a survey conducted in Switzerland with 1,787 respondents. The study identified six distinct participation clusters, ranging from those who prefer digital to non-digital participation or were undecided. User profiles were created for each cluster using model-based clustering, highlighting socio-demographic characteristics and opinions on participation. The study then translated these user profiles into personas with the help of AI. Seven personas were developed, each with specific characteristics and challenges. These personas provide a detailed and reliable mapping of user groups, which can aid in developing e-participation tools. The findings suggest that combining qualitative and quantitative methods to create user profiles and personas can enhance the development process of e-participation tools, ensuring they meet the needs of diverse user groups.