Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Siddhi Veera

Beginners guide to user interviews

Recently at work, I was supposed to interact with newbie UXers about conducting user interviews effectively. So, my research friends & I sat together and collated some useful techniques we have learnt so far. Though everyone has a similar approach towards user interviews, we all improvise & learn with our experiences. This article contains insights from our experiences during interviews as UX designers. So let’s begin…

What is a User interview? Why is it necessary?

User interviews are a great way to understand the “why’s” and the “how’s” of user behaviour in relation to the product. It’s a qualitative form of research which helps you as a “UX designer” to bring out the user’s perspective and to match the product to the user’s needs.

User Interview is not actually an interview,
but a friendly conversation with another HUMAN.

Illustration – siddhi Veera | What do you want HUMAN??

Now, that you have decided to conduct an interview. How do you gear up?

Depending on the project you are working, it might take somedays to prepare your required user list & set of questions to be asked. Here a are few things to keep in mind:

Identify the users:
Recruit the right user types i.e. people who are currently using or might use the product in place.
Set a conversation date:
Schedule a date and time for the users. It could be in-person interviewing(preferred) or Skype/phone interviewing etc. Maintain enough time between two interviews (around 30mins) to catch up on the thoughts from the earlier interview while they are still fresh.
Plan your questions:
Determine areas of discovery & create a script to guide you. Remember the script should be short and just a reference guide to the interview.
Typical areas of questions include: Background of the user, the use of technology in general, product/service usage, user’s main objectives, motivations and pain points.
Tools required:
An ideal interview should be done in pairs, where one researcher does the talking with the user, while the other takes notes of all the observations made. Recording the interview always comes handy. You can go back & listen to take notes on any missed pointers.

You are all prepared! Let’s get into the interviews

After all that warm-up, you & your co-researcher are finally ready to start the interview. Just like any other conversation, you need to make the person to be interviewed comfortable before starting. A friendly posture, smiling face, warm handshake and a brief introduction are good to start with.

Always Remember- “Stop judging the user, there is no right or wrong in what they say.”

Illustration – siddhi Veera | Make your interviewees comfortable

Few tips and examples to get started

1. Take it easy in the start, the serious topics can follow. Prioritise as per research goals.

Don’t start with:
“What are your current financial goals?” or
“Where are your current investments made?”

Do start with:
“Tell me something about you. What are your hobbies? …”
“What does your typical day look like?”

2. Bring out the researcher in you. Do not sell the product!

When the user asks “I can’t figure out what the text says”

Don’t say:
(How come he doesn’t understand simple language? ) “Hmm. But that text is supposed to be conversational and helpful….”

Do say:
“I see, what did you feel the text was trying to convey?”

3. Get into stories, ask “why?” and “why not?”. Always keep it open ended.

Don’t ask : direct close ended questions, with yes & no’s like
“Do you like the investment tracker on the website?”

Do ask:
“How was your experience using the investment website?
What did you like & Why?”
“Any challenges that you faced while tracking?”

4. Talk less, Keep Listening. Let them do the talking.

Don’t ask too many questions:
“What do you do? How do you do it? How often? When? Why? What time of the day….?”

Do nudge to answer more:
You: “Tell me about the last time you made an investment online?”
User: (gives a short answer)
You: “And?” (let the user add to the story)

5. Don’t let the user be the designer. Just get the details from their experiences.

Don’t ask:
“How do you think would the ideal investment website look?”

Do ask:
“Can you tell me about the difficulties you faced while using the website?”

6. Mainly focus on recent or specific experiences.

Don’t ask:
“What do you generally feel when an online transaction fails?”

Do ask:
“Tell me about the last time you were trying to do an online transaction and it failed.”

7. Always Keep the user engaged. Interactivity is the key !!

Don’t :
Yawn…(uninterested expressions. No Eye contact)

Do’s :
“Hmm..” Verbal nods here and there “Ok…” (look interested in the story)

And lastly remember

Try to keep the interview on time & in the right direction. Summarising helps, join the dots wherever possible.

Also, don’t forget to make a note of any other non-verbal clues & gestures during the interview. Every feedback counts !!

Illustration – siddhi Veera | Umm. Any Questions???

Hopefully this helps you get started with conducting awesome interviews. Remember, every interview gets better with practice and there is always room for improvisation.

Wish you the best for your first set of interviews. Do share your experiences below.

Few resources you can check out:
1. https://uxdesign.cc/asking-the-right-questions-on-user-research-interviews-and-testing-427261742a67 (blog post)

2. http://www.sarahdoody.com/guide-user-research-questions (pdf)

3. https://uibreakfast.com/58-one-day-user-research-liston-witherill/ (podcast)

4. https://www.aureliuslab.com/blog/steve-portigal-user-research (podcast)

A door to the user’s mind was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A door to the user’s mind

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