Overview

Six personas represent the distinct users of the Arda inventory management platform. Five form the kanban replenishment loop — a relay that spans the shop floor, the office, and the receiving dock. The sixth, the Business Principal, owns the business case and strategic direction that drives adoption.

Personas

Persona	Role in the Loop
Irene Itemsworth	Arda Manager. Owns the loop end to end: item setup, card creation, printing, floor walks, cultural enforcement, and receiving.
Sam Scansworth	Triggers the loop by consuming supplies and scanning (or dropping) the kanban card at the reorder point.
David Dealsworth	Executes the loop by placing orders with suppliers and advancing card states through the procurement lifecycle.
Keisha Clerkson	Closes the loop by receiving deliveries, marking cards fulfilled, and returning cards to their shelf positions.
Owen Ownerton	Owns the business case for Arda. Decides what to bring under kanban management, funds the investment, and is accountable for ROI. In small operations, also wears David’s hat.
Alan Adminson	Configures the platform, onboards new users and inventory areas, stewards reference data quality — the infrastructure that makes the loop possible.

The Kanban Loop

The loop is a relay across the operational personas:

1. Setup (Irene): Creates items, prints cards, laminates them, places them at reorder points on the shelf. Prints shelf labels and breadcrumbs. Card state: AVAILABLE.
2. Consumption and Trigger (Sam): Uses supplies until the front bin empties. Picks up the visible kanban card. Scans it at the workstation or drops it in the “To Order” bin. Card state: REQUESTED.
3. Order Processing (David): Reviews the Order Queue grouped by supplier. Places orders via supplier portals, email/PO, phone, or RFQ. Advances card states. Card state: INPROCESS.
4. Receipt (Keisha): Receives the delivery at the dock. Marks items received in Arda. Returns physical cards to their shelf positions using breadcrumbs for location guidance. Card state: FULFILLED / SHELVED.
5. Loop Closed: Card is back at the reorder point, item is restocked, system is ready for the next cycle.

The loop breaks in three predictable places: the worker does not scan the card, the card is missing or damaged, or the delivery is received but not logged. All operational personas have responsibilities that address these failure modes.

Owen (Business Principal) sits above the loop: accountable for whether the system delivers value, deciding which areas to manage and when to expand. Alan (Account Admin) sits beneath it: ensuring the platform, data, and user accounts are ready so the loop can run without friction.