The Rainbow Spreadsheet: A Collaborative Lean UX Research Tool
🌍 Adopted by hundreds of companies worldwide 🌍
❤️ Loved by researchers and team members alike ❤️
⏩ Encourages a quick turnaround of research results ⏪
Liverpool FC fans sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to their players during matches. UX research is best done when a team is involved. When you run UX research on your own without active observers, you are missing its point. This tool I created is called The Rainbow Spreadsheet. With it, you will be able to collaboratively observe UX research sessions with team members (or clients). You will be able to conduct research that involves the entire product team, with results that are turned around quickly and that team members will be committed to acting on.
What is The Rainbow Spreadsheet?
The Rainbow Spreadsheet, which takes its name from the different colors used in it to represent the study’s participants, is a Google spreadsheet with which all of the data collected during a UX research study is centrally and simultaneously documented by a team of people. It serves as the centerpiece for lessons learned from a study and later turns into the final report.
Product benefits
- It involves the entire team.
- Research results are turned around quickly.
- The team is committed to acting on research results.
- The visual representation of observations helps people quickly understand what’s important.
- There is no formal report. When was the last time you heard someone say, “Yes! I get to read a report today!”
Product features
The template includes 6 individual sheets:
📣 Instructions with detailed explanations on how to use the template.
👀 Observations where you and the team track participant behavior.
📊 Metrics where you monitor participant task success, time-on-task, and satisfaction (in case the study is a usability test).
👥 Participants where team members see participant profiles.
🥦 Raw which serves as an additional space for note-taking.
🎁 Summary where you and the team summarize answers to research questions and note primary findings and action items.
UX research is not about producing reports. It’s about answering people’s questions and helping the organization develop empathy for its customers. Deliverables and reports are means to that end. Don’t pay extra attention to them. Focus on your team’s learning. That can only happen in a collaborative way.
The Rainbow Spreadsheet is a tool to support such collaboration. You can customize this template to your team’s needs. Writing a report for a week will not serve your team’s needs very well. You have just found a creative way to learn about users together!
How to use the product
Simply make a copy of the spreadsheet and follow the detailed instructions on the first sheet to make the most of your new UX collaboration tool. I have made it so simple, even someone who has never used planners before can get started within minutes.
FAQs
Can I share this with others?
The spreadsheet is to be used by the purchaser only and cannot be reproduced, shared, or distributed without the creator's consent.
Is this template good for a beginner dipping the toes into user research?
Absolutely. This template is designed for beginners and veterans who want to collaborate with their team members during and after research studies.
What's the refund policy?
If what you see is not what you expected, just reply to the download email within 30 days, and you'll get a full refund. No questions asked.
Can I share this template with my team?
This version is for individual use only, but you can also get a license to share within your team, class, or organization.
You'll get a Google spreadsheet with a template for collaborating with your team during user research study sessions.