All we needed now was a prototype. To that end, we used mainly low fidelity wireframes using the design system Bootstrap 3. We would later refresh it with a layer of proper visual design. But for the purposes of the usability test we needed to conduct, this was more than enough.
From there, it was off to the interviews. Oh, yes, UX designers use Microsoft Excel quite extensively too. When you have many personas such as this case, things can get a little out of hand, especially that we make it a rule to get in touch with at least 3 people from every persona before we validate any assumptions or learnings. Notice the importance of color coding that we keep all across the process.
Another thing to beware of is taking notes. Trust us, when you do 20 interviews in the course of two weeks, things tend to get mixed together. That’s why we used Google Keep for its simple interface, organization system, and collaboration capabilities.
For stand-up meetings, it is essential to use a physical medium. A Google jamboard would have been nice, but so would telepathy! Yes, we went back old school style and used sticky notes. The great thing about sticky notes is that their small size forces you to think about what you want to note and be concise. This allowed us to note down only the most important and essential details, prioritizing what matters most.