Practical Application of User Interviews

Let's conduct User Interviews! On the following page, you will learn how to do it.

The Process in 6 Steps

This structured 6-step process ensures your user interviews are well-planned, effective, and insightful.

6 Steps Process for User Interviews

1. Define the goal

Interviews need clear objectives or research questions to gather valuable and actionable insights. Avoid broad goals like "understanding users." Instead, focus on the specific knowledge you seek, the criteria for success, the organizational objectives the research supports, and the decisions it will inform.

Example goals:

• Understanding adoption drivers: "What factors prompt customers to consider and try our product?"

• Evaluating user experience dynamics: "What are the highs and lows in users' experiences with our product?"

• Assessing user knowledge: "How well do users understand our product and its processes?"

• Uncovering abandonment triggers: "What causes users to abandon our product?"

• User confidence post-onboarding: "How confident are users in using the product independently after onboarding?"

2. Write an interview guide

A well-crafted guide promotes in-depth, open-ended conversations. Effective guides use concise, open-ended questions followed by probing questions to uncover underlying motivations and beliefs.

Risks of skipping a guide:

• Leading questions

• Inconsistent coverage of topics

• Increased biases

Interview Guide Structure:

• Introduction: Set context and build rapport

• Main questions: Core questions related to the research topic

• Probing questions: Follow-ups for deeper insights

• Closing questions: Wrap up the interview and gather additional information

• Checklist: Ensure all topics are covered, avoiding leading questions or biases

3. Piloting / Pilot Test

Pre-testing helps identify necessary adjustments. Conduct a test with a friend, colleague, or member of your target audience to ensure questions are clear, relevant, and appropriately sequenced.

Piloting Benefits:

• Clarify questions

• Identify additional or unnecessary questions

• Check the sequence of questions

4. Start with Easy Questions

Ease participants into the interview with simple, open-ended questions to build comfort and rapport.

Examples:

• "Can you tell me a little about yourself and your background?"

• "What do you like to do in your free time?"

Avoid difficult or potentially embarrassing questions initially to prevent discomfort.

5. Create a relationship of trust

Building trust is crucial for obtaining honest and complete answers. Use active listening and nonverbal expressions like eye contact and nodding to show engagement and understanding.

Positive behaviors:

• Maintain eye contact

• Nod to show understanding

6. Follow-up and probing questions

Go beyond superficial answers to uncover deeper motivations and opinions with follow-up and probing questions.

Examples:

• Follow-up: "You mentioned [specific experience]. Can you elaborate on what made that experience impactful?"

• Probing: "Why do you think you’re feeling unhappy with your job?"

Practical tips:

• Prepare both follow-up and probing questions

• The balance between clarifying specifics and uncovering deeper insights

Writing effective interview questions

Crafting effective interview questions involves encouraging open dialogue, avoiding bias, reducing cognitive load, and using open-ended questions.

Guidelines:

• Encourage open dialogue: "Tell me about your experience with our product."

• Avoid bias: "How easy or difficult is it for you to use the app?"

• Reduce cognitive load: "Can you tell me about a recent problem you encountered with our app?"

• Use open-ended questions: "Can you describe your daily routine with the app?"

• Rephrase closed questions: "Can you describe your experience working with a teaching assistant?"

The critical-incident method

This qualitative research technique gathers detailed information about specific significant events in participants' experiences. It involves identifying critical incidents, encouraging detailed narratives, analyzing patterns, and informing design decisions.

Example questions:

• "Tell me about a recent online class you taught."

• "Describe a situation from your recent experiences that influenced your teaching approach."

Summary of the 6 Steps:

Step	Description
1. Define the goal	Set clear, specific research objectives.
2. Write an interview guide	Craft a detailed guide with open-ended and probing questions.
3. Piloting / Pilot test	Conduct a test run to refine the questions.
4. Start with easy questions	Begin with simple questions to build rapport.
5. Create a relationship of trust	Build trust through active listening and nonverbal cues.
6. Follow-up and probing questions	Use follow-up and probing questions to gain deeper insights.

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Common Mistakes

Writing bad questions

Avoid ambiguity, combining questions, inferring motivations, hypothetical scenarios, focusing on typical behaviors, not incorporating probing questions, and not adapting to the participant.

Examples:

• Ambiguity: "Can you tell me about your workspace?"

  • Solution: "Can you describe your physical workspace?"

• Combining questions: "Tell me about the project you were working on and how you solved a specific problem."

  • Solution: Separate into "Can you describe the project you were working on?" and "How did you solve the specific problem?"

• Inferring motivations: "Did you decide to purchase the new smartphone because of its advanced camera?"

  • Solution: "What factors influenced your decision to buy the new smartphone?"

• Hypothetical questions: "If a new smartwatch was released, would you consider buying it?"

  • Solution: "Tell me about a time when you used a fitness tracker."

• Typical behaviors: "How do you typically decide what to watch on TV?"

  • Solution: "Last time you chose a TV show, what factors influenced your decision?"

• Probing questions: "Have you had issues with the app?"

  • Solution: "Can you describe a specific instance where you had trouble using the app?"

• Adapting to participant: Adjust based on participant cues, e.g., "Take your time. I’m here to listen."

Summary

Following these structured steps ensures your user interviews are well-planned, effective, and insightful. By defining clear goals, crafting a detailed interview guide, piloting your questions, building rapport, and using effective follow-up and probing questions, you can gather rich, actionable data to inform your design and development processes. Are you ready to get started?

Further Readings:

• User Interview Questions: https://stephaniewalter.design/blog/a-cheatsheet-for-user-interview-and-follow-ups-questions/
• 6 Common Mistakes to Avoid During Qualitative Interviews
• Read this article from Nielson Norman: User Interviews