Persona: Bob Todd

Overview
Say hello to Bob Todd! He’s 66 years old and lives in a nice outer suburb of Solihull. He retired from working two years ago from a medium-sized finance firm where he enjoyed a successful career as a project manager. This signalled an abrupt change from commuting into Birmingham by car every morning to a more domestic lifestyle.

His wife sadly passed away seven years ago and since then he had thrown himself into his work. Now that his work has been taken from him, his life has become lonelier and disoriented. Both his son and daughter work as investment bankers in the city and only visit Bob on a rare occasion.

In terms of wealth, Bob is fairly well off. He receives a healthy company pension which put any financial worries aside. He isn’t able to spend without remorse, but he can afford to choose when he goes shopping for food and other consumer goods.

Household and Leisure Activities

Bob is particularly fond of classic cars, and has been rebuilding one in his garage, for which he regularly goes to auctions to buy parts for. Thus most of his time is spent in his garage with the frequent break of a cup of tea.

Getting in the shopping is the major household activity Bob has to perform. He doesn't particularly like shopping in the supermarket, he isn't fond of being surrounded by strangers who he isn't in charge of and is treated as just another pedestrian. He also doesn't appreciate the baffling array of choices available so tends to ignore most things and go straight to a few regular things to buy. He doesn't know how to cook, but he is still skilled with his hands, and would probably pick it up well if he had a source for ideas or more knowledge about food.

He also enjoys gardening and in doing so keeping his garden in an impeccable state. The back-garden is of a considerable size and requires much attention. The evenings are generally spent enjoying the company of the television with several cups of tea beside a warm fireplace. On the odd occasion he entertains members of the church to dinner.

Goals, Fears & Aspirations
Personal health is Bob’s biggest concern. He recently had a stroke (which is a significant part of the reason he had to retire.) His doctor has told him he has to slow down, and live life at a more sedate pace or risk dying from another one. It affected his brain function, and he has found his memory to be significantly lessoned, but he is normally too proud to admit to this, he has already lost enough of his status he thinks to himself.

He has been sustaining himself by shopping once a week and buying a lot of "healthy eating" ready meals, but this is not healthy enough and his doctor wants him to start cooking and eating more fresh and nutritious foods.

Computer Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

Bob is a keen and moderately skilled technology user. He is familiar with windows, and used to check his emails on the move with his blackberry PDA when he was still working. He keeps in touch with his son who lives in Canada via the internet using email, and instant messaging software which is connected to the webcam that his son set up when he came to visit a few years ago.

Whilst he can use software like windows and office, and general business tools, he is not proficient at searching the internet. He finds that his search queries always generate too many useless results and tends to give up out of frustration. He appreciates that the internet can be a powerful tool in the right hands, but he is unaware of how to get the most out of it for his needs.