In order to design, develop, and deliver effective learning experiences, we need to understand who our learners are – what their learning goals are, what learning preferences they have, where they go to learn, and what challenges they face when learning. We also need a way to articulate these characteristics of our learners across all teams involved in the design process.

In the commercial space, product designers and marketers heavily rely upon “user personas” to help them become more aware of their customers. Personas shed light on consumer habits and preferences. In the learning design space, we can develop learner personas to create shared insight into our learners’ needs and expectations, and help drive more learner-focused learning design decisions.

Join us as we explore the practice of integrating learner personas into the design, development, and delivery of training solutions.

In this session we will:

• Detail the process of creating learner personas.
• Discuss the challenges of working with learner personas.
• Share effective practices for integrating personas into the design, development, and delivery of training solutions.
• Highlight examples of how personas have guided design approaches on actual projects – including in gamification projects, as well as how KPMG is moving beyond “one-size-fits-all” learning by defining five distinct personas within its 36,000-person workforce.

Phylise Banner is a learning experience designer with over 25 years of vision, action, and leadership experience in transformational teaching and learning approaches within academia and industry. A pioneer in online learning, she regularly seeks out and embraces opportunities to experiment with emerging pedagogies and technologies to create vibrant and engaged communities of practice. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Learning Environment Architect (CLEA), Adobe Education Leader, STC Fellow, performance storyteller, avid angler, and aviation enthusiast. She is also the proud owner of a 1967 Amphicar.

Monica Cornetti, a celebrated gamification expert, leads Sententia, Inc., specializing in game-based learning for corporate training and adult education. Renowned as a top gamification speaker and strategist, Monica held the #1 spot in the “Gamification Gurus Power 100” from 2015-2020 and was named the #1 Most Influential Woman in Gamification in 2021 and 2022. She co-authored "Deliberate Fun: A Purposeful Application of Game Mechanics to Learning Experiences" and orchestrates the annual GamiCon International Conference for the Gamification of Adult Learning.

Monica holds a BA in Psychology and a Master's in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship. When she is not busy changing learning with gamification, Monica can be found “researching” gameplay with her grandsons.

Michael Orth is the Communications Director for KPMG Business School, the internal learning and development organization of KPMG LLP (US). Michael helps KPMG professionals across departments and business practices connect to learning opportunities. Through multifaceted campaigns, he promotes a mindset of continuous learning and builds awareness of the resources available to put that mindset to work. He also helps tell the story of KPMG’s commitment to the power of in-person collaborative learning, best seen in the firm’s investment in the KPMG Lakehouse, a world-class 800-person Learning Center scheduled to open in January 2020.

Michael also plays a direct role in connecting professionals to learning. Over his fifteen years with the firm, he has presented, facilitated, and instructed multiple in-person sessions across the country, and has created engaging video and digital assets to add depth (and sometimes humor) to in-person and digital programs on a wide variety of topics.

Michael is a graduate of the University of Virginia. His early career focused on theatre performances for family audiences: he appeared in schools, universities, libraries, theatres, and large festivals including the International Children’s Festival at Wolf Trap and the Dublin Theatre Festival in Ireland. He then applied these skills to the business world, delivering innovative presentations at meetings, training, and recruiting events for clients ranging from professional services firms to major airlines. He joined KPMG in 2004.