An exploration of company personas to support customized DFS implementation

Abstract

The increasing discussion on DfS implementation in companies has shifted the focus to effectiveness of the implementation process. Literature shows that there are certain barriers and challenges that impede the success of such efforts. This paper tries to explore whether companies – similar to product users – have certain personas that play a determining role in the implementation process. The paper draws its theoretical foundation from academic literature on human persona in user-centred design and DfS and from environmental management system literature on company characteristics. This is supplemented by insights from interviews with a case company trying to identify dimensions of a company persona in a DfS implementation context. These results are used to propose an initial framework to define persona of a company.