Product managers should consider these points when interviewing users
In the product management job, one of the core skills is understanding and advocating for user needs. A feature or change to a product is not always based on metrics or an excel sheet, but rather on direct feedback from users. While it is easier to let the sales or customer success team provide you with insights, many facts are lost in translation. Having direct communication with the user is essential to becoming a great product manager from a good one. To validate your next steps of action, you need more than just a conversation with the user. Obviously, not every interview will be helpful, but there are few steps you can take to improve your interviewing technique and boost your chances of success. The steps are as follows:
Make sure you recruit more users than you need for the interviews : As a product manager, you should understand that both internal and external factors may influence your user interviews. In spite of the fact that the person has accepted your invitation, any last-minute changes could affect their chances of attending the interview. Even though this may be disappointing, you need to keep in mind that it is a part of life and you cannot expect success every time. It’s better to recruit more users than you need for the interviews in order to alleviate the effect of the user not showing up.
Don’t let your ego get in the way of your actions : When a user cannot use your product as intended, you might feel that they are doing something wrong. It is imperative to understand, however, that any issue users experience is your product’s problem. If only you understand the product functionality, you cannot help the company or the product grow. Whenever a user points out a flaw or something he can’t accomplish through your product, it’s your responsibility to fix it. Rather than explaining the functionality of the product to the user, accept that other users might be experiencing similar issues and it should be on your backlog
Unless the user asks for it, don’t speak to or help the user : Most product managers make the mistake of feeding words into the user when they feel the user needs help. Consequently, you miss out on facts that might have come up during the interview. It is best to let the user take their time to process the information. If necessary, you can paraphrase what the user is suggesting. Under no circumstances, however, should you give the user answers to choose from.
The answer to a question should not be “Yes”, “No” or one word : User interviews should be qualitative rather than quantitative. Your simple yes/no questions could have easily been answered in a user survey. Interviews are conducted to identify issues or problems not apparent from the existing data. If you want to gain information from an end user, open ended questions are always your best bet. Please remember that it is not an interrogation but a forum where users can express their opinions
Don’t judge the responses and keep the conversation simple : There is a possibility that the user who is interviewing is not a hardcore user of your product. Technology or design principles applied to your product might be unfamiliar to them. All they care about is achieving their goal with the product. Users don’t pay for tools to use them, but rather to solve their own problems. Therefore, if anything hinders them from reaching their goal, they should be encouraged to speak up about it. Even if their suggestions are incorrect or unsubstantiated, you should not judge them but appreciate their commitment to improving your product.
