• Your most dissatisfied customers are your greatest source of learning -Bill Gates

I. What is a user interview? 🔍

A user interview is a survey method that aims to obtain information about the needs, expectations and suggestions of the users of our products and services.

It is the most direct way to understand whether or not our product is suitable for users, to obtain accurate feedback and to identify potential shortcomings or frustrations.

User interviews can be conducted by phone, email or in person.

They are used to make improvements to products and services or to validate a hypothesis when releasing new features for example.

II. What is the process of a user interview? 📋

This type of interview can be relatively easy to set up, if you take the time to prepare them well and to make sure that the questions are well targeted, and especially that the participants represent the target population well.

Questions should be open-ended and non-directive, letting the use express themselves freely without straying from the information you want to collect.

The 3 key steps:

• Introduction: At this stage, don't forget to ask your user for permission to record before setting the context and introducing yourself.
• Questions: Invite the user to introduce themselves in turn, to make sure they are the category you are targeting, then ask your questions about the product (or service).
• Conclusion: Ask the user if he/she would like to address a point that was not specified in the questions, now is the time - free.

III. The golden rules of user research 🌟

The 6 golden rules for conducting the best user interviews!

• Listen carefully and use open-ended questions: listen carefully to your users, be open to their suggestions and/or criticisms - don't get defensive.
• Don't hesitate to dig for more specific answers.
• Give your users the opportunity to express themselves - and give them answers - now is the time!
• Adopt a neutral and caring attitude - Leave your biases behind.
• Maintain eye contact - Don't stick your nose in your notes, you'll give the user the wrong impression.
• Drop your biases! Focus only on what the user is saying (the verbatim) and not on your interpretations of it. - We often influence the answers of our interlocutors without meaning to.

⭐ BONUS :

Here are some questions to help you get started with user interviews (made with Spoke - the time-saving interview wizard that will allow you to have all the data, transcripts, and video clips retrieved directly after the interview).

Question template link : HERE !