# User Interviews

> Master the art of User Interviews, an essential qualitative research technique for gaining a deep understanding of your users' needs, behaviors, and motivations.

*Tags: ux, technique, research, junior, mid-level*

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> [!info] Quick Definition
> A user interview is a qualitative research technique in which a researcher asks a user (or potential user) questions to gain a deep understanding of their behaviors, needs, motivations, and pain points in relation to a specific problem or product.


## What Are User Interviews?

Imagine you are a journalist preparing a documentary. You do not send a questionnaire to the protagonist; you sit down with them and have a deep conversation. You ask open-ended questions so they tell you their story in their own words. You want to understand their experiences, their emotions, and what motivates them.

A user interview is that: a conversation to uncover your user's story. It is not an interrogation or a survey. It is a technique for building empathy and gaining deep qualitative insights.

## Why Are They Important?

- **They discover the "why":** While [[Quantitative Data]] tells you *what* users do, interviews tell you *why* they do it.
- **They generate empathy:** Hearing the stories and frustrations of a real person is the most powerful way for the design team to put themselves in the user's shoes.
- **They reveal latent needs:** Users often mention problems or ideas that the team had never considered.
- **They validate your [[Personas]]:** They are the primary data source for creating and validating your user archetypes.

## Types of Interviews

- **Structured:** You follow a question script to the letter. Uncommon in exploratory research.
- **Unstructured:** A free conversation about a topic. Very flexible but difficult to replicate and analyze.
- **Semi-structured:** The sweet spot and the most common. You have a script as a guide, but you have the flexibility to dig deeper into interesting topics that come up during the conversation.

## How Are They Done?

1.  **Define your objectives:** What do you need to learn? Formulate 3-5 high-level research questions.
2.  **Create a script:** Write a conversation guide with open-ended questions. Start with general questions and move to specifics. Never ask "Would you like a feature that does X?". Instead, ask "Tell me about the last time you tried to do Y."
3.  **Recruit participants:** Find users who fit your target audience.
4.  **Conduct the interview:**
    - Create a relaxed atmosphere. Remind the participant that there are no right or wrong answers.
    - Start with icebreaker questions.
    - Listen more than you talk. Use silence to your advantage.
    - Ask for stories and concrete examples from the past, not opinions about the future.
5.  **Analyze the results:** Transcribe the interview and, together with others, look for patterns and recurring themes using techniques like [[Affinity Mapping]].

## Mentor Tips

- **You are not the user (and you are not the protagonist of the interview either):** Your goal is for the participant to talk 90% of the time. You are only there to guide the conversation.
- **Ask open-ended questions:** Start your questions with "How...", "Why...", "Tell me about..."
- **Avoid leading questions:** Do not ask "It was easy, right?". Ask "How was your experience with that?"
- **Record the session (with permission):** It is impossible to take notes on everything. Recording lets you be completely present in the conversation.

## Resources and Tools

- **Books:**
    - **[Interviewing Users](https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/interviewing-users/)** by Steve Portigal: The bible on this topic.
    - **[The Mom Test](https://www.momtestbook.com/):** A fantastic book on how to ask the right questions to avoid biased answers.
- **Tools:**
    - **For transcription and analysis:** [[Dovetail]], [[Condens]].


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Source: https://www.fernandoux.com/en/wiki/techniques/user-interviews/