A user interview is a popular research method used to gather information about how people use and think about a product or service. This guide will answer a few essential questions about user interviews, such as:

• Why is a user interview important?
• What is the process of user interviews?
• How to structure a user interview?

Why is a user interview important?

User interviews are essential for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is that they allow product teams to gain insights into the needs, wants, and pain points of the people who will be using their products. The team can use this information to inform the design and development and maximize the chances of creating a product that will be tailored to the target audience.

User interviews can also help identify potential issues with a product before it is released.

The earlier the problem is found, the less expensive it is to fix.

Additionally, user interviews help to build empathy and understanding toward the users and their needs.

What is the process of a user interview?

User interviews are typically conducted one-on-one and are structured based on the research objectives.

The interviews can be conducted in person, remotely (phone, video), or with a combination of these methods. An in-person format is preferable because it allows for collecting more insights about user behavior. The interviewer will also pay attention to the participants’ body language, tone of voice, and other nonverbal cues, which can provide valuable insights.

Typically, a user interview lasts between 30 minutes and an hour, although some interviews can be shorter or longer. A shorter interview can indicate that the research goals and objectives are well-defined and the questions are well-designed.

During a user interview, the interviewer uses the script and asks the participant a set of predefined questions. An interviewer can go for an open-ended conversation and follow-up questions to gather more detailed information.

How to structure user interview

User interviews consist of the 6 steps:

1. Define the research goals and objectives

Before conducting an interview, it’s essential to define what you hope to learn from the participants. It will help prepare the right set of interview questions and determine who the participants should be.

2. Prepare the interview questions

Once the research goals and objectives have been defined, you should develop a set of closed-ended (can be answered with “Yes” or “No”) and open-ended questions (cannot be answered with “Yes” or “No”) to ask the participants.

Closed-ended questions can help to elicit quantifiable responses from the participants. Examples of close-ended questions include:

“Do you have experience using [product/service]?”

“Do you use [feature in a product] regularly?”

Open-ended questions can help to elicit detailed responses from the participants. Open-ended questions are very helpful during the early stages of the interview because they help the interviewer better understand the subject. Examples of open-ended questions include:

“Can you tell me about a time when you used a similar product or service?”

“What are the biggest challenges you face when using [product/service]?”

There is a particular sub-category of open-ended questions called scenario-based questions that can be very helpful in specific contexts. Examples of scenario-based questions include

“What would you do if [event occurred]?”

“How would you solve this problem [problem description]?”

All questions should always be relevant to the research goals and objectives and should be designed to elicit detailed responses.

3. Hire right participants

Define the criteria of an ideal user and invite participants who match the criteria. For example, if you’re designing a product for young mothers, you should target this specific group of people, and the participants should be chosen from that group.

When hiring participants, it’s vital to gather information about their background, such as their age, occupation, and location.

4. Conduct the interview

The interview should be conducted in a private, quiet location where the participant feels comfortable and relaxed. The interviewer should create the right mood for the discussion so that the interview participant feels comfortable.

Setting right mood early on. Image by CoWomen.

It will help if the interviewer is trained to be an active listener and show interest in the answers. Good interviewers are skilled at asking probe questions — follow-up questions that delve deeper into a specific point brought up by the participant.

Examples include “Can you give me a specific example when you [some action]?”

Asking interview participants to provide a specific example. Image by UX Indonesia.

Non-verbal communication plays a vital role in how we perceive other people. Some researchers say that up to 90% of our communication with others is non-verbal. That is why the interviewer should be aware of nonverbal cues such as body language and tone of voice.

5. Analyze the data

The active part of the interview will help the interviewer collect a lot of data. After conducting the interview, this data should be carefully analyzed to extract insights and identify behavioral patterns. It can be done by categorizing the data and then drawing conclusions from it.

6. Report the results

Finally, the results of the analysis should be reported to the team in the way of clear, actionable recommendations. Based on the interview results, it should be clear to the team what they should do next. For example, if the team wanted to know whether they should or shouldn’t release a particular feature, the interview should give them a better idea.

When presenting the results of user interviews to the team, you can use data visualization because well-designed visuals will reinforce the message you want to communicate.

Using a bar chart to tell the team that most test participants wanted to see the FeatureA in our product.

Last but not least, it recommended not to rely solely on the user interviewer. It is better to use it with other user research methods such as diary study, contextual inquiry, etc.

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