Interview questions I keep reusing

I have done roughly 140 user interviews in six years. Most of my prepared questions were never asked, because the conversation went somewhere better. A few survived every time, and these are the ones I write on an index card before I walk in.

Warm-up

I start with something about the person’s day, never about our product. The point is to hear how they talk before I ask them to talk about us.

• Walk me through the last time you did this.
  • What were you doing right before?
  • What did you do right after?
• What did you use before you used this?
• Who else was involved, even a little?

The ones that do the work

“Show me” beats “tell me” about nine times in ten. When Dina told me she “mostly used the export”, I asked her to open it, and she spent two minutes finding the button. That two minutes was the finding.

Tell me about the last time that happened.

What was the worst part of it?

The second question sounds harsh and gets honest answers. People like being asked what annoyed them, because it sounds like someone is finally listening.

Closing

I always end with “What should I have asked you that I didn’t?” About one interview in four, the answer is the most useful thing I hear all day.

I moderate these sessions using the same structure as a design review: the quiet person goes first, and nobody explains the screen.