How to Interview a User

General Rules

Record as much as possible!

• It isn’t science if you don’t record the data.
• Tone of voice, body language, facial expressions, software interactions, and what the person says is all valuable data. Record as much of it as possible. It’s valuable.
• Some people don’t like being recorded. Let them know it is hard to take notes and listen at the same time, and a recording helps you not miss their important insights.

Use the person’s name at least once in a sentence.

Eye contact is important, but not too much, unless you want to un-nerve the person.

Listen. Like, for real. Take a real, honest, empathetic interest in the other person.

• Learn from them.
• Remember this is a conversation. It’s ok to inject your thoughts about something to show your personality, but don’t get derailed.
• Try summarizing back to them what they told you.
• Keep questions open-ended.
• Don’t interrupt, count to 10 after the last sound is uttered before speaking. A lot of subconscious thoughts leak out of users mouths during these uncomfortable silences.

Smile :)

Relevant General Questions

You should know what you want to learn from this person, why you want to learn it, and how knowing the answer will help you solve your $problems.

• What is it like doing $things?
• What do you like about $things?
• What do you dislike about $things?
• Why did you choose $things?
• How do you typically do $things?
• How much would you pay for $things?
• What do you consider when $things?
• Do you have experience with $things?

User Tests

Show me how you do $things.

General testing rules:

• Be quiet.
• Record the screen, the audio in the room (if you are online record their audio and your own), and the users facial expressions.
• Let them stumble and learn.
• Listen to what they say.
• Watch their facial expressions.
• If the user asks a question respond with a clarifying question. Ex: Q. “How do I get back to the home screen?” A. “How would you expect to get back to the home screen?”