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Add personas and contexts

Personas are the users Litmus role-plays when it writes test cases: who they are, what they ask, and what could go wrong when they do. Contexts are the facts, documents or scenarios those test cases are about. Personas decide who asks; contexts decide what about.

Add personas​

Choose how to add each persona:

  • Generate with AI: Litmus suggests personas from your system's description.
  • Predefined personas: choose from common types of user, such as a first-time applicant, a time-pressed caseworker, a non-native speaker or a boundary-pushing tester.
  • Add manually: fill in Name, Who they are, What would they ask and What could go wrong.

A system can have up to 5 active personas. You can delete a persona that no test case uses. If test cases use it, you can archive it instead: it's hidden from new test cases, and the existing ones keep it.

Add contexts (optional)​

A context has a Label and Content: for example, an income ceiling and the exceptions to it, or how the system should respond to someone in distress. Litmus uses contexts to keep generated test cases about the things that matter to your system.

You can delete a context that no test case uses. If test cases use it, you can archive it instead: it's hidden from new test cases, and the existing ones keep it.

What good looks like​

  • The personas cover the people who really use your system, including people who find it hard to use.
  • At least one persona tests the system's limits, such as someone trying to make it ignore its instructions.
  • Contexts cover the facts and situations your system most needs to get right.

If you're stuck​

  • "Add at least one persona to continue": the later steps stay locked until your system has a persona.
  • You can't add another persona: you have 5 active personas already. Archive or delete one first.

Still stuck? Ask us using the onboarding form⁠ (opens in a new tab), and say which step you're on.