Thanks for sharing. From my experience working with a couple of former researchers. They would always grab a note taker along to their interview sessions (most of the time was me :P ).

It it always better to have mixed genders when meeting your users, one male and one female. (That’s what Jan Chipchase shared in all his workshops).

Ratio wise, it should be 2:1. This will make the user feels more comfortable to share openly without having to make too many eye contacts in her surrounding space.

Cheers!
Teo Choong Ching