Interviewing individuals is helpful in multiple phases in the product design process. Early on, research interviews can help provide context to an industry and define user personas. You’re really trying to find out background information on the space your product exists in, and what potential users might be looking for.
While this type of interview is a little more exploratory and research focused, it’s similar to the first step in branding projects, where you’re trying to understand what the needs of the client are, what’s been done in the past, and what that process is like.
<look at examples of discovery questionnaire>
Later on in the process, doing user interviews can be helpful in evaluating your design decisions and site experience. This type of interview is more focused on the form and can be iterative. We’ll get to this later on in the project.
When you actually conduct your interview, it’s ideal to do it over a video conference, phone call, or in person and to come prepared but also allow the conversation to move forward organically. Even if you stick with email, having a clear set of questions prepared ahead of time is helpful. Some tips:
Be concise and direct
Don’t ask yes/no questions
Have a range of questions – some that are more conceptual and focused on the big picture and some that are about specific needs/tasks.
Think about what questions would help you develop your project. Here are a few categories to think about:
The audience(who would be using this tool and why? What else do they spend their time doing? Are they specific to a location or age range?)
The individual’s point of view and perspective – what do they think about your idea so far? have they seen other examples in the space? Have there been current events about your topic, if so ask what they think about it.
The industry at large – similar to the previous point, consider what the industry has been historically and where it could go in the future. Are there pain points?
Other tools – what else exists in this space? What resonates with your individual and what doesn’t?
Try to answer your own questions first, and then you can utilize your interview most constructively.
Ask“Who else should I talk to?” at the end of the interview as well as“Is there something I missed that you think is important?”
If doing a live interview – record your interview(with the consent of the individual). Zoom is a great option for this so that you can access the transcript.
If doing a live interview – be yourself but have a plan.
Whenever possible, ask for people to show you things. What does this process look like? What kind of organizational structures do you use? How does it work?
Web Accessibility Resources
In iOS
On Windows you can use Narrator
Navigating with Tab
Color Contrast Checker
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Interviews in Product Design