We were working on an early version of Oracle’s iPaaS platform. Just a table, some printed cards, and a pile of Sharpies. 🖊️🗂️ It was one of the most insightful user research moments I've been a part of. No fancy setup. No high-tech tooling. Our goal? Understand how different user types—DevOps engineers, developers, and dev managers—would want to configure their front-door experience. So Oracle took our research straight to a conference: - Invited attendees to stop by. - Prioritized pre-designed feature cards - Arranged their ideal dashboard - Sketched new modules on blank cards. They watched. Listened. Asked questions. This paper exercise yielded important insights: → They identified patterns of commonality across different user types that weren't apparent in traditional research. → Participants created innovative feature combinations we hadn't contemplated. → Stakeholders could directly observe preferences without filtering through research interpretation. It was simple. This approach democratized the feedback process: ↳ Engaging users who might never have participated in a formal research study ↳ Creating genuine enthusiasm for the platform's future direction. The lesson? Sometimes it’s as simple as showing up and listening to what your users have to say. #UXResearch #ProductDesign #DesignThinking #DeveloperExperience #UserTesting
