CHICAGO, IL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/14/05 -- Forrester Research, one of the most highly regarded independent technology and market research firms, highlighted WHITTMANHART's strategic persona development work in the November 2005 "Persona Best Practices Of Web Design Agencies" report. The attention comes as a result of WHITTMANHART's top scores in persona creation and development in a recent Forrester Research comparison study.

The report, by Forrester Analyst Harley Manning, graded reference personas from 12 vendors. WHITTMANHART scored a perfect 5 out of 5 points, one of only two interactive agencies to do so.

Manning noted in the report that WHITTMANHART's personas are interactive with links to underlying detail. "Embedded hyperlinks fetch underlying data that adds persuasive detail and color, transforming the personas into a compelling visual interface for accessing relevant user research."

The report cited WHITTMANHART as a company that uses its best writers to craft website personas. "WHITTMANHART runs all personas through a single creative director, who edits them with the same care he devotes to major ad campaigns," Manning stated in the report. It also highlighted WHITTMANHART's persona formatting. "WHITTMANHART replaces the commonly used heading 'key attributes' with the more relevant 'keep in mind'," Manning wrote.

"Personas are the cornerstone of website development work, in fact they are viewed as the single most vital component and differentiator of building the best quality websites," said David Skinner, president of WHITTMANHART Interactive. "This Forrester Best Practices report took notice of our high standards and focused on the importance of personas in effective web design."

Forrester Research released "Persona Best Practices of Web Design Agencies" on November 18, 2005. The five criteria used for grading the personas were: formatted as a narrative, narrative focused on enabling design decisions, calls out key attributes and high-level goals, evokes empathy with rich details in the narrative and includes a quotation or other involvement device.

"WHITTMANHART is also in the process of conducting a quantitative research study to evaluate the drivers of website effectiveness," Skinner added. "We look forward to sharing the results with our clients in the near future."

About WHITTMANHART

Headquartered in Chicago, WHITTMANHART is a premier consulting agency providing integrated solutions in digital communications, process improvement and enabling technologies. WHITTMANHART draws on over 20 years of quality work, strong client relationships and value-driven solutions for focused industries to deliver best-in-class solutions to all of its clients. WHITTMANHART has two divisions: Interactive and Performance Management. For more information visit: www.WHITTMANHART.com

Contact:
Chad Ciesil
WHITTMANHART, Inc.
312-981-6039

Pam Gilchrist
PR~Link Public Relations
859-431-9090