Video: A customer interview in 5 acts

Seeing a customer interview can teach you a lot about how to do it properly; watch a UX researcher interview a customer while she tests a prototype.

The following video shows you why we (justaskusers.com) exist and what it is that we are recruiting for: A researcher (Michael Margolis from GV, formerly known as Google Ventures) interviews a participant, in this case a young lady who tests the prototype of a new product.

A customer interview is a way of fast-forwarding to the day when your product is in the market, and seeing real customers react to your ideas. These customer interviews are a critical part of every product design process.

But reading about customer interviews is kind of like having a friend tell you about a great movie — it’s just not the same as seeing it yourself.

So in this video, Jake and Michael from GV are going to show you how to conduct great customer interviews. You get to watch their partner Michael Margolis as he interviews a customer and tests a prototype with her.

This is how the interview unfolds on the timeline:

ACT 1: Friendly welcome

1:07 Put the customer at ease and describe a little bit about how the interview will work

ACT 2: Context questions

1:56 Learn about the customer and her background

ACT 3: Introduce the prototype

3:20 Make the customer comfortable to give you frank and candid feedback

ACT 4: Give the customer some tasks

4:19 Watch what she does, ask questions only occasionally to encourage her to think aloud

ACT 5: Debrief

6:17 You’ve heard and seen a lot of her reactions. Now let her help you sift through everything you’ve heard so far and make the most sense of it.

Video: Watch an experienced UXer in action while a user tests a prototype. #UXresearch #ucd #UX (Click To Tweet)