Why Your Good Ideas Might Not Work for Everyone

Here's a common scenario in government work: a team designs a new online service. The logic is sound. The interface looks clean. It passes internal review.

Then it launches, and the feedback arrives. The timeout is too short. Error messages confuse people. There's no way to save progress when internet connection drops. What seemed straightforward to the design team creates real barriers for the people who need to use it.

This isn't about bad design. It's about a natural human tendency—we build things that work for people like us. When you have reliable internet, you forget others don't. When government terminology is your daily language, you forget it's confusing to most people.

Your policy might be well-reasoned. Your service might address a genuine need. But if it unintentionally excludes people you're trying to reach, it's not working.

Think about who uses government services in BC: the senior in Victoria who's comfortable with her phone but has never "cleared her cache." The shift worker in Northern BC where internet drops mid-form. The newcomer in Surrey still learning which government services exist. The small business owner in Kelowna whose screen reader can't parse your PDF. These aren't edge cases—they're real people trying to access what you're building.

Personas are detailed profiles representing actual segments of BC's population. Think of them as structured ways to view your work through someone else's eyes.

They're not made-up stereotypes, replacements for real consultation, or excuses to skip talking to actual people. They are research-based profiles built from demographic data—systematic ways to catch problems early and tools that help you ask better questions when you do consult.

You're redesigning an application form. Standard review checks whether the logic flows and fields are clearly marked.

Now add a persona review. Meet Margaret Chen: 73, lives alone in Victoria, uses her smartphone but gets frustrated when tech doesn't work predictably. Willing to learn but needs clear instructions.

Prompt your AI tool:

Review this form as Margaret Chen: 73 years old, Victoria, 
uses smartphone but no computer, uncertain with tech but 
willing to try, doesn't know terms like "cache" or "cookies."
Identify where Margaret would get stuck, what terms she 
wouldn't understand, and what would make her give up.

The response reveals: The form times out after five minutes. Margaret reads carefully—she'll lose everything. The error says "Session expired—clear your cache." She doesn't know what that means. There's no phone number, just a twelve-page FAQ. She'll probably give up and try visiting an office instead.

You now see the timeout is too aggressive, error messages use jargon, there's no phone support, and your "convenient" online service isn't convenient for everyone.

This took ten minutes. Fixing it now takes an hour. Fixing it after launch—after complaints and real people struggling—takes weeks and damages trust.

Every ministry makes decisions affecting diverse populations. Personas give you a systematic way to pressure-test assumptions. You're not trying for perfection—you're catching major barriers while they're easy to fix.

Questions worth asking about your current work: Would it work without reliable internet? Would someone unfamiliar with government language understand it? Could someone who can't easily travel to offices access it? Does it work with screen readers? If you're not sure, personas can help you find out.

What's Coming

This is part one of four on using personas to strengthen government work. Part two shows how to build effective personas with BC-specific examples you can use. Part three covers practical prompting templates and three detailed government scenarios. Part four addresses building your ministry's persona library and avoiding common pitfalls.

Next week, we'll show you how to build personas grounded in real BC data. For now, start noticing where your work makes assumptions about who's using it.

The best time to consider accessibility isn't after someone complains. It's right now, while you can still change it easily.