UX persona

Persona: Marcus, Local Caregiver Executor

A UX persona for a local Allegheny County caregiver who is physically close to the house but blocked by belongings, siblings, and exhaustion.

Run Think-Aloud Open Belongings Strategy
46 Age
3 Siblings
Full House
Overfilled inherited home room being documented for belongings and inventory decisions
Composite scenario photo: belongings block the house decision.

Profile Snapshot

Belongings documented in an inherited home
Composite photo for design use, not a real client.
NameMarcus Hill
Age46
LocationForest Hills / East Pittsburgh family network
Income$68K, hourly flexibility limited
Digital comfortMedium; strong phone user, low patience for dashboards
Estate shapeParent died after caregiving period, siblings disagree, house full of belongings

Situation

Marcus lives nearby, so everyone assumes he can "just handle it." He was already the caregiver. Now he is expected to clean the house, decide what to keep, mediate siblings, meet contractors, find records, and avoid wasting estate money.

The house is not necessarily a bad asset, but belongings are stopping every next step. Rooms cannot be photographed properly. A cleaner cannot work. Contractors cannot see the scope. Siblings keep saying, "Do not throw anything away."

Emotional State

Primary feelingResentful exhaustion

He did the care work and is now doing the estate work too.

FearFamily blame

He worries a sibling will accuse him of throwing away something important.

HopeA neutral record

He wants a process that gives everyone visibility without making him argue every item.

Jobs To Be Done

  • Give me a way to route belongings without deciding every object today.
  • Make a record so siblings can see what happened.
  • Tell me what is likely worth selling and what is not worth handling.
  • Help me schedule cleanout, storage, donation, disposal, and sale support.
  • Keep the house moving while family emotions slow down.

Think-Aloud Starting Prompt

You live fifteen minutes from the house. Your siblings live out of town and keep texting you not to throw things away. You need the house cleared enough for cleaning, pricing, and maybe listing, but you are afraid of making a family mistake.

Representative Think-Aloud

Homepage: "I need help with the house, but the real problem is the stuff."

Belongings page: "Keep, sell, store, donate, discard makes sense. I need this to be visible to my siblings."

Cleaning page: "Once the stuff is out, then I can think about smoke, floors, and photos."

Records: "I want proof. If someone asks later, I need to show what was sold, donated, thrown away, or stored."

UX Implications

  • Belongings should never be called "junk" by default. Use "route" language.
  • The system should give Marcus scripts for siblings and heirs.
  • QR/tag/status language matters because it reduces blame.
  • The first paid offer for Marcus is likely a belongings + cleaning sprint, not a renovation pitch.
  • The UX should separate "memory decisions" from "house progress" visually.