In UX research, conducting user interviews is one of the main techniques which UX Researchers use to gather all the required information for a design solution. User interviews are also very cost-effective techniques that can be conducted but despite that, it takes a long time when compared with other UX research methods to conduct user interviews. In addition to this, User Interviews also have another drawback. People tend to talk more about the things they don’t do rather than what they would actually do. Despite these drawbacks, User Interviews hold a high place to gather qualitative data easily.

Why conduct user interviews?

User interviews are an important step in the design thinking process. This technique can be used in the 3 different phases, Empathize, Ideate, and Test. User interviews can be used to,

• Empathize and understand the user’s view of point about a specific problem
• Get an idea about how we should solve a specific problem that the user is facing
• Test a prototype to make sure that the solution that we have created is usable for the people

Planning User Interviews

It is indeed very easy to conduct a user interview but without proper planning, anything can cause problems. As mentioned by Patrick in his article, most people would think just having a ‘chat’ with a user about the product or prototype and getting their opinions is a user interview, but this is wrong.

First, you must consider the purpose of the user interview and what you are planning to gain from it. In addition to this, you must note down what topics should be covered in the user interview that could help you to achieve your end goal.

Prior planning is an important step in user interviews. As the next step, you should create a script written with the set of questions that you are planning to ask and these questions must be regarding the topics that you noted down earlier. This script must be kept short, to the point and simple as possible but the questions must be well thought off and on point. Having dialog-provoking interview questions is a great idea to get the participant to talk more.

If you’re the interviewer, you should know the script in and out! To conduct a smooth interview, you must be confident with the questions and flexible with each answer the participant gives you. But while the interview is going on, these questions can change and even have additional questions too. Therefore, you must be very thorough with the script to keep the smooth flow going on.

As the last step for the planning stage, you should consider the users who you are going to consider as interviewees. You can contact colleagues, family, friends, or even post listings on social media. The most efficient way would be to use an agency where they would have a large database with the exact type of participants you need.

When you are finalized with the participants' list, it is always best to have a phone call with them before the interview and have a casual conversation. You can explain the interview process and how the participant can be ready for it too!

Becoming a great user researcher is a time taking journey because you always learn with the experience that you get. If you’re new to UX research, check our article on How to be a good User Researcher?to learn more!

Source: How to conduct user interviews by Patrick Thornton, User Interviews: How, When, and Why to Conduct Them by Kara Pernice

Conducting the User Interview

Before starting with the user interview, you must first explain the purpose of it and the topics that will be covered to the participants so that they can get an idea about what it is. Furthermore, you should tell the participants what we expect from them and provide instructions on what they should do.

It is always best to record the entire session for future purposes but you should always remember to get the participants’ approval for doing so. Without their permission, it isn’t ethical to record the session.

One of the most important factors that you must consider in a user interview is that the participants must be comfortable. If they are nervous or not comfortable, this could affect the accuracy of the answers they provide. To make sure that the participant is comfortable, you can do the following,

• Have an informal conversation at the start of the interview and get to know each other
• Offer the participants drinks or snacks
• Nod along and acknowledge the participants’ answers to agree with them
• Speak casually to conduct a smooth conversation

As Mária said in her article,

“A relaxed user is an open user”

Note-taking is the next most important factor when conducting a user interview. There are 3 different Note-taking types,

• Descriptive
• Inferential
• Evaluative

By considering the purpose and the end goal of the user interview, you can decide which type of note-taking you should use. But you don’t have to stick just to one! You can use any note-taking type that is most suitable for different questions. These notes that you take down are quite important when analyzing the data.

Source: User Interviews: Guide To An Insightful UX Interview by Mária Ilona Horváth, How to Conduct User Interviews by Interaction Design Foundation

After the User Interview

Finally, when the user interview is over, thank the participant for their time and effort. This will allow them to provide feedback of their own and clarify any doubts that they have about the session.

After the participant leaves, the first thing that you must do is read through the notes that were taken down. Write down your notes, remarks, and impressions about the session such as specific points that you noticed that would be important for the analysis. You should do this right away because your memory is fresh and you remember more.

User interviews provide qualitative data rather than quantitative data therefore analyzing this data would be time-taking and challenging. You should discuss this with the entire team within this analysis process. As it was mentioned earlier, there can be 3 main reasons to conduct a user interview. For these 3 specific reasons, the outcomes of the analysis would be different.

• If you interviewed to empathize with the user, you can analyze the information on how the design solution must be created and what should be done to overcome the user’s pain points.
• If you conducted user interviews for the ideation stage, you can analyze the information you received and conduct a brainstorming session with the team to come up with new ideas.
• If you interviewed to test a prototype, you can discuss with the team what changes must be done to the prototype and how you can make it better.

There are exercises that you can use to conduct a successful discussion. Check out our article 5 Exercises to Conduct a Successful Discussion on User Research Results to learn how to use these exercises!

Source: User Interviews: Guide To An Insightful UX Interview by Mária Ilona Horváth, How to Conduct User Interviews by Interaction Design Foundation

User Interview best practices

Conducting these interviews is an easy process but there are few important things that you must keep in mind and consider when doing so.

• Have 2 interviewers
  It’s always best to have 2 interviewers; one to interview the user and another to record notes. If one interviewer does both these tasks, there’s a high risk of missing important details that you should take note of. Therefore, you should always have 2 different people for these 2 different tasks.
• Avoid jargon
  Not every participant would be tech-savvy. Therefore, avoid technical and complicated words that the user would not understand. This could make the user feel less about themselves and uncomfortable.
• Repeat questions
  You can always repeat the same question twice in a different way. This can bring out additional information than before and you can also check if you understand what the participant just said.
• Have patience
  An important quality that you must have when conducting user interviews is patience. Not everyone will have the same ability to understand things as you do. So don’t rush the user to answer the question right away because some users might take time to grasp the question. Additionally, you should talk slowly so the user will not have a hard time having a conversation with you.
• Avoid closed, vague questions
  Closed questions include ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. Such questions would not bring out the information that you require through an interview. Therefore, you should avoid such closed, vague questions and ask open-ended questions that require the participant to speak more.

Source: User Interviews: How, When, and Why to Conduct Them by Kara Pernice

Conclusion

User interviews are a simple and cost-effective technique to get an idea of how the user would feel about a specific idea, prototype, or product. As designers, we should always get the user’s point of view about a design therefore, interviews can be the simplest way to get that. When we know how the user feels and think, we can create a design solution that will provide the best user experience.

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