We're all used to being told that personas MUST start with data, and that their primary purpose is to bring data-driven insights about users into the product design and development process. We are all also used to hearing 'personas don't work.' That's not because data is a bad idea, nor is it because data-driven personas are a bad idea. It's because personas are often created to solve problems that have nothing to do with data, and that data can't solve. There's a bigger, or at least earlier, problem that has to be solved: lack of alignment, common language, and lasting focus in the minds of the people who make the big decisions about what you're supposed to be building and why. This is why I wrote two books about creating personas with data and never start with data anymore. Instead, I embrace the idea that the assumptions about what a product should do and who it's key users are exist and are extremely powerful. I start by aligning those assumptions (instead of complaining about them) by creating "Alignment Personas." Then, and only then, do I look at data. These personas actually work and solve problems that are much more insidious than 'lack of data' in most companies.