User participation is often excluded in public e-service development, mainly due to lack of resources. It is difficult to identify the users of a public service when it consists of an entire municipality. Selecting citizens to be a part of a development project may not seem interesting to a citizen. Citizens feel that they do not have the time or knowledge to be a part of a development project. There is however a user participation approach where the users are represented by personas. A persona is a compilation of users presented in a fake character. By using personas, the citizens can be part of a development project without being present. This study presents the usage of personas as citizen representatives in a public e-service development project. The personas are compiled of information about the target group.A development team in a small Swedish municipality is developing a public e-service. In a small part of the development the project team was handed three personas that represented the target group. The team members were then interview about the usage of personas as citizen representatives. A qualitative research method was applied to research the usage of personas in public services.The personas were used as citizens representatives and helped the development team understand the target group. It is easier to create a valuable e-service when the citizens are included and their needs are considered. By creating personas based on the target group the citizens do not have to be included in the development process. It can be seen as more interesting by the citizens to be a part of a personas rather than to be part of a project team and attend meetings.