Step 1: Determine research goals

• What you need to understand better about users.
• This is an opportunity to think through your audience and what their unique needs or problems might be
• How your product might help to solve some of those problems?
• EX:
  • I want to understand the processes and emotions that people experience around the problem my product is trying to solve.
  • I want to identify common user behaviors and experiences with tasks that my product is trying to address.
  • I want to understand user needs and frustrations as they relate to the product I’m designing.

Step 2: Define your target audience

Step 3: Write interview questions

• Ask open-ended questions.

  • Open-ended questions allow the person being interviewed to answer freely, instead of with a simple “yes” or “no.”
  • For example, if you’re designing an app to help people find dog walkers, you should ask “Could you describe your experience with finding and scheduling dog walkers?” instead of “Have you ever used an app to find a dog walker?”
  • Keep in mind that the questions you ask during interviews should not lead or pressure participants towards the desired response; instead, asking open-ended questions lets participants share their true thoughts and perspectives.

• Keep questions short and simple.

  • It should be easy for interview participants to understand what you’re asking.

• Ask follow-up questions.

  • During the empathize phase of the design process, interviews should be conversational, so encouraging participants to elaborate is a best practice.
  • After a participant answers an interview question, try asking them “Why?” or use the phrase, “Tell me more about that” to keep the conversation flowing.