User interviews & example

What is this for?

User interview is a method for gathering information from individuals across various groups who will be the users of a service. It is valuable to map all the users in the service to discover their relationships, ways of using a service, seek for a service design improvement. Interviews give an insight of the user’s needs, opinions and values and will support to target the service offering and prioritize the user experience elements.

Why use it?

User interviews help to understand the usage context as well as the current use of the service. By asking questions researchers can understand and discover hidden knowledge about what participants are doing and, more importantly, why they are doing what they are doing. ​

How?

An interviews technique works best when done by one or two researchers and one or two participants. Be careful not to lead participants or “put words in their mouths”​.

• The interview context should support natural conversation.​
• Identify the target users​.
• Test interview questions, refine if needed​.
• Conduct the interview​.
• Collect information by taking notes and audio or video recording. In some instances, this might be best done in context – document the feedback​.
• Share the summary presentation and get a sign-off from all users.

Checklist

• Interviewee lists​
• Field journals​
• Video or audio recorders​
• Pens​
• Paper, post-it notes
• Flipcharts

Check out our example of how to do it in practice!