Why this matters
After research you will have pages of notes, quotes and photos. On their own they help nobody. Synthesis turns them into a few clear findings the team can act on. Personas, journey maps and problem statements appear in many design adverts because they are how designers share research with product managers, developers and clients.
Step one: find patterns
Write each observation or quote on its own small note: a sticky note, a scrap of paper, or a card in a free whiteboard tool such as FigJam or Excalidraw. One idea per note. Then move the notes into groups that belong together and give each group a short name. This is often called affinity mapping.
Look for things several people said or did, strong emotions, workarounds and surprises. One person's opinion is a clue. The same thing from five people is a pattern.
Step two: personas
A persona is a short, realistic description of a type of user, based on your research, not imagination. Keep it simple:
- a name and short description, such as "Hawa, cloth seller, shares a phone with her son"
- goals: what she is trying to get done
- frustrations: what gets in the way
- context: device, language, connection, where and when she uses it
- one real quote from research
Two or three personas are usually enough. Never invent details to make a persona look complete. If you do not know something, leave it out or research it.
Step three: journey maps
A journey map shows the steps a person goes through over time, with what they do, think and feel at each step. Draw it as a row of boxes from left to right. Under each step, add a line that goes up for good moments and down for bad ones. The low points are where design can help most.