## Persona: [Name]

### Demographics
- Age: [Range]
- Role: [Job title]
- Company: [Type/size]
- Tech savviness: [Low/Medium/High]

### Quote
> "[Characteristic statement that captures their mindset]"

### Goals
1. [Primary goal - what success looks like]
2. [Secondary goal]

### Pain Points
1. [Frustration with current state]
2. [Obstacle they face]

### Key Insight
[The most important thing to remember about this persona]

Persona: Sarah, Age 35, Marketing Manager. Likes social media and coffee.

Persona: DevOps Dana
Quote: "I don't have time for tools that create more work than they save."
Goals: Reduce deployment failures, give devs self-service capabilities
Pain Points: Alert fatigue from false positives, context-switching between 10+ tools
Key Insight: Evaluates tools by "time saved vs. time invested" — needs immediate value.

## Journey Map: [Journey Name]

### Persona + Scenario
[Which persona | What they're trying to accomplish]

### Stages: Aware → Consider → Purchase → Onboard → Use → Retain

For each stage:
- **Touchpoints:** [Channel/interaction point]
- **Actions:** [What user does]
- **Emotions:** [Satisfied / Neutral / Frustrated]
- **Pain Points:** [Friction]
- **Opportunities:** [How we improve]

When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].

When I'm preparing for a board review, I want to quickly see revenue trends,
so I can answer questions confidently without scrambling for data.

+-------------------------+-------------------------------+
|         SAYS            |            THINKS             |
| Direct quotes           | Worries and concerns          |
| Questions asked         | Aspirations                   |
+-------------------------+-------------------------------+
|         DOES            |            FEELS              |
| Observable actions      | Emotional state               |
| Workarounds             | Frustrations and delights     |
+-------------------------+-------------------------------+
|         PAINS           |            GAINS              |
| Fears and obstacles     | Wants and needs               |
+-------------------------+-------------------------------+

+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| STAGE  | Aware   | Consider| Purchase| Onboard | Use & Retain  |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| DOING  |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
|THINKING|         |         |         |         |               |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
|FEELING | Neutral | Curious | Anxious | Hopeful | Satisfied     |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
|  PAIN  |         |         |         |         |               |
| POINTS |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| OPPORT-|         |         |         |         |               |
| UNITIES|         |         |         |         |               |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
|TOUCH-  | Blog,   | Demo,   | Sales,  | Email,  | App, Support, |
|POINTS  | Social  | Reviews | Pricing | Docs    | Community     |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+

## Journey Map: [Journey Name]

### Persona
[Which persona is this journey for]

### Scenario
[What is the user trying to accomplish]

### Stages

#### Stage 1: [Name]

**Touchpoints:** [Channel/interaction point]
**Actions:** [What user does]
**Thoughts:** "[What they're thinking]"
**Emotions:** [Satisfied / Neutral / Frustrated]
**Pain Points:** [Friction or frustration]
**Opportunities:** [How we can improve]

---

#### Stage 2: [Name]
[Repeat structure]

---

### Key Insights
1. [Insight from mapping process]
2. [Another insight]

### Priority Improvements
| Stage | Opportunity | Impact | Effort |
|-------|-------------|--------|--------|
| | | | |

Emotional Journey: First Month with Product

Satisfaction
    |
    |                              +----------
    |                        +----/  Productive
    |                   +----/       User
    |              +----/
    |     +--------/
    | +---/   Pit of          Climbing
    | /       Despair          Out
    |-/
    +-----------------------------------------------> Time
      Day 1   Week 1   Week 2   Week 3   Week 4

+---------------------+----------+----------+------------+
| CUSTOMER ACTIONS    |  Browse  |  Sign up |  Onboard   |
+---------------------+----------+----------+------------+
| LINE OF INTERACTION |          |          |            |
+---------------------+----------+----------+------------+
| FRONTSTAGE         | Website  |  Form    |  Welcome   |
| (Visible)          |          |          |  wizard    |
+---------------------+----------+----------+------------+
| LINE OF VISIBILITY |          |          |            |
+---------------------+----------+----------+------------+
| BACKSTAGE          | CDN,     | Auth     |  Data      |
| (Invisible)        | Analytics| system   |  import    |
+---------------------+----------+----------+------------+
| SUPPORT PROCESSES  | Hosting, | Email    | Customer   |
|                    | CMS      | provider | success    |
+---------------------+----------+----------+------------+

Awareness -> Evaluation -> Purchase -> Onboarding ->
Adoption -> Expansion -> Advocacy/Churn

Discover -> Research -> Try -> Buy -> Use -> Share

Stage: Onboarding
Actions: User signs up, receives email, logs in
Touchpoints: Website, email, app

Stage: Onboarding
Actions: User signs up, waits for email (5 min delay), logs in
Emotions: Hopeful → Frustrated → Relieved
Pain Points: Slow email delivery, unclear next steps
Opportunities: Instant onboarding, in-app wizard instead of email

## Persona: [Name]

### Demographics
- Age: [Range]
- Role: [Job title]
- Company: [Type/size]
- Tech savviness: [Low/Medium/High]

### Quote
> "[Characteristic statement that captures their mindset]"

### Background
[2-3 sentences about their professional context]

### Goals
1. [Primary goal - what success looks like]
2. [Secondary goal]
3. [Tertiary goal]

### Pain Points
1. [Frustration with current state]
2. [Obstacle they face]
3. [Risk or concern]

### Behaviors
- [Typical workflow or habit]
- [Tool preferences]
- [Information sources]

### Key Insight
[The most important thing to remember about this persona]

## Persona: DevOps Dana

### Demographics
- Age: 32
- Role: Senior DevOps Engineer
- Company: Mid-size SaaS (200 employees)
- Tech savviness: Expert

### Quote
> "I don't have time for tools that create more work than they save."

### Background
Dana manages CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure for a growing
engineering team. She's responsible for reliability and developer
productivity.

### Goals
1. Reduce deployment failures and rollback frequency
2. Give developers self-service capabilities without chaos
3. Spend less time on repetitive tasks, more on improvements

### Pain Points
1. Alert fatigue from too many false positives
2. Lack of visibility into who changed what and when
3. Context switching between 10+ different tools

### Behaviors
- Checks Slack and monitoring dashboards first thing
- Automates anything she does more than twice
- Documents decisions in ADRs and runbooks

### Key Insight
Dana evaluates tools by "time saved vs. time invested" -- she needs
immediate value with minimal onboarding.

+-------------------------+-------------------------------+
|         SAYS            |            THINKS             |
| * Direct quotes         | * What occupies their mind    |
| * Statements made       | * Worries and concerns        |
| * Questions asked       | * Aspirations                 |
+-------------------------+-------------------------------+
|         DOES            |            FEELS              |
| * Observable actions    | * Emotional state             |
| * Behaviors             | * Frustrations                |
| * Workarounds           | * Delights                    |
+-------------------------+-------------------------------+
|         PAINS           |            GAINS              |
| * Fears                 | * Wants                       |
| * Frustrations          | * Needs                       |
| * Obstacles             | * Success measures            |
+-------------------------+-------------------------------+

Persona: Sarah
Age: 35
Job: Marketing Manager
Likes: Social media, coffee

Persona: DevOps Dana
Quote: "I don't have time for tools that create more work than they save."
Goals:
1. Reduce deployment failures
2. Give developers self-service
Pain Points:
1. Alert fatigue from false positives
2. Context switching between 10+ tools

## Interview Guide

### Warm-up (5 min)
- Introduction and consent
- "Tell me about your role and what you do day-to-day"

### Context Setting (10 min)
- "Walk me through the last time you [relevant activity]"
- "What tools or methods do you currently use?"

### Deep Dive (25 min)
- "What's the hardest part about [task]?"
- "Can you show me how you typically [action]?"
- "What would your ideal solution look like?"

### Concept Testing (optional, 15 min)
- Show prototype/concept
- "What are your initial reactions?"
- "How would this fit into your workflow?"

### Wrap-up (5 min)
- "Is there anything else you'd like to share?"
- "Who else should we talk to?"
- Thank you and incentive

## Usability Test Plan

### Objective
[What we're trying to learn]

### Prototype/Product
- Version: [Link or description]
- Fidelity: Low / Medium / High

### Participants
- Target: 5-10 users
- Criteria: [Who qualifies]

### Tasks
1. [Task 1]: Success criteria
2. [Task 2]: Success criteria
3. [Task 3]: Success criteria

### Metrics
- Task completion rate
- Time on task
- Error rate
- SUS score (post-test)

How likely are you to recommend [product] to a friend?
0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

[Detractors: 0-6] [Passives: 7-8] [Promoters: 9-10]
NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors

10 questions, 5-point scale (Strongly disagree -> Strongly agree)
SUS Score = ((Sum of odd Qs - 5) + (25 - Sum of even Qs)) x 2.5
Range: 0-100, Average: 68

## Research Finding: [Title]

### Study
- Date: [When conducted]
- Method: [Interview/Survey/etc.]
- Participants: [N and description]

### Key Insight
[One sentence summary]

### Evidence
- "[Direct quote from participant]" - P3
- [Observation or data point]

### Implications
- Product: [What to build/change]
- Design: [UX recommendation]
- Strategy: [Business consideration]

Interview Questions:
- "Don't you think this feature would be useful?"
- "Wouldn't you prefer this over your current tool?"
- "You'd pay $50/month for this, right?"

Interview Questions:
- "Walk me through the last time you [relevant activity]"
- "What's the hardest part about [task]?"
- "What would your ideal solution look like?"
- "Can you show me how you typically [action]?"

# Interview Guide: [Research Topic]

**Project:** [Project name]
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Interviewer:** [Name]
**Note-taker:** [Name]

---

## Research Questions

What do we want to learn?

1. [Primary research question]
2. [Secondary research question]
3. [Secondary research question]

---

## Participant Profile

| Criterion | Requirement |
|-----------|-------------|
| Role | [e.g., Product Manager] |
| Experience | [e.g., 2+ years] |
| Industry | [e.g., B2B SaaS] |
| Tool usage | [e.g., Uses [tool] weekly] |

---

## Interview Flow

### Warm-up (5 min)

**Script:**

**Questions:**
- Tell me a bit about your role and what you do day-to-day.
- How long have you been in this role?

---

### Context Setting (10 min)

**Goal:** Understand their current workflow and context.

**Questions:**
1. Walk me through the last time you [relevant activity].
2. What tools or methods do you currently use for [task]?
3. How often do you [activity]?
4. Who else is involved in this process?

**Probes:**
- Can you tell me more about that?
- What happened next?
- How did that make you feel?

---

### Deep Dive (25 min)

**Goal:** Explore pain points and needs.

**Questions:**
1. What's the hardest part about [task]?
2. Can you tell me about a time when [task] went wrong?
3. What do you wish you could do that you can't today?
4. If you had a magic wand, what would you change?

**Jobs to be Done:**
- When [situation], what are you trying to accomplish?
- What does success look like for you?

---

### Concept Testing (optional, 15 min)

**Goal:** Get reaction to prototype or concept.

**Setup:**

**Questions:**
1. What are your initial reactions?
2. What would you expect to happen if you [action]?
3. How would this fit into your current workflow?
4. What's missing that you'd need?

---

### Wrap-up (5 min)

**Questions:**
1. Is there anything else you'd like to share?
2. What's the one thing we should make sure to get right?
3. Who else should we talk to about this?

**Script:**

---

## After Interview

### Quick Debrief (5 min after)

- Top 3 takeaways:
- Surprises:
- Quotes to remember:

### Full Notes (within 24 hours)

- Clean up notes
- Highlight key quotes
- Tag themes
- Upload recording

Total Time: 3-4 hours

1. Setup & Objectives (15 min)
2. Journey Stages Definition (30 min)
3. Touchpoint Mapping (45 min)
4. Emotional Journey (30 min)
5. Pain Points & Opportunities (45 min)
6. Prioritization (30 min)
7. Wrap-up & Next Steps (15 min)

STAGE:      | Awareness | Consideration | Purchase | Onboarding | Use | Advocacy |
────────────┼───────────┼───────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────┼──────────┤
DOING       │           │               │          │            │     │          │
────────────┼───────────┼───────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────┼──────────┤
THINKING    │           │               │          │            │     │          │
────────────┼───────────┼───────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────┼──────────┤
FEELING     │   😐      │     🤔        │    😬    │     😊     │ 😃  │    🥰    │
────────────┼───────────┼───────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────┼──────────┤
TOUCHPOINTS │           │               │          │            │     │          │
────────────┼───────────┼───────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────┼──────────┤
PAIN POINTS │           │               │          │            │     │          │
────────────┼───────────┼───────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────┼──────────┤
OPPORTUN.   │           │               │          │            │     │          │

"Today we're mapping the journey of [persona] as they
[goal/task]. Our objective is to identify pain points
and opportunities to improve their experience.

We'll use this journey map as our canvas. Let's start
by reviewing who [persona] is and what they're trying
to accomplish."

Awareness → Evaluation → Purchase → Onboarding →
Adoption → Expansion → Advocacy/Churn

Discover → Research → Try → Buy → Use → Share

😃 Delighted - Exceeded expectations
😊 Satisfied - Met expectations
😐 Neutral - No strong feeling
😟 Frustrated - Below expectations
😠 Angry - Major failure

              HIGH IMPACT
                   │
        ┌──────────┼──────────┐
        │  DO NEXT │ DO FIRST │
LOW ────┼──────────┼──────────┼──── HIGH
EFFORT  │  MAYBE   │  PLAN    │    EFFORT
        └──────────┼──────────┘
                   │
              LOW IMPACT

Total Time: 2-3 hours

1. Context Setting (15 min)
2. Persona Review (15 min)
3. Story Mapping (45 min)
4. Story Writing (45 min)
5. Acceptance Criteria (30 min)
6. Prioritization (20 min)
7. Wrap-up (10 min)

"Today we're writing user stories for [feature]. Our goal is to
break down the work into independent, valuable pieces that can
be estimated and prioritized.

Remember: We're focusing on WHAT users need, not HOW we'll build it."

Quick Refresher:
- Who is [Persona Name]?
- What are their top 3 goals?
- What are their top 3 pain points?
- What context do they work in?

USER JOURNEY: [Feature Name]

Discovery → Setup → First Use → Regular Use → Mastery
    │          │         │           │           │
    ▼          ▼         ▼           ▼           ▼
[Stories] [Stories] [Stories]  [Stories]   [Stories]

As a [persona],
I want to [action/goal],
so that [benefit/outcome].

Scenario: [Scenario name]
  Given [precondition/context]
  When [action taken]
  Then [expected result]
  And [additional result]

Scenario: User filters search results by date
  Given I have search results displayed
  And the date filter is visible
  When I select "Last 7 days"
  Then only results from the last 7 days are shown
  And the filter shows "Last 7 days" as selected
  And the result count updates