The User Interview Template is a UX research technique where questions are asked about a topic to users. This allows for the quick and easy collection of user data, and also provides valuable insights about who uses the product.
When to conduct user interviews
The background data that product teams, UX designers, and writers gather helps them to understand how people use technology. This data provides them with a snapshot of how users interact with a product, understand user objectives and motivations, and find users’ pain points.
Conducting a user interview is an important step when developing or iterating on an existing service or product. This is because marketing, business, and development teams often find it helpful to gain insights and develop better strategies and solutions from user interviews.
Benefits of conducting user interviews
User interviews have many benefits, especially when developing a product or improving a service. They allow researchers to understand the user experience, give a clear picture of a product’s usability, and enable companies to gather demographic or ethnographic data to create user personas.
Who should implement the User Interview template
User interviews are conducted by two UX researchers, product managers, or other product team members. However, other people such as marketing researchers and strategists may also take part in the interview as listeners and take notes to develop a user persona.
How to structure your user interview
It is important that you start the interview by explaining the purpose to the interviewee. You should cover what you plan to talk about and what you hope to accomplish. After the interview, the user data will be used.
After the introduction, begin the interview. Be sure not to give the interviewee any clues or hints during the conversation. For example, if you want to find out how people are using your podcast app, ask them, "Do you use any podcast apps?" instead of "How often are you using our podcast app?"
To elicit rich answers, ask open-ended questions and create space for responses. Another interviewing tip is to keep the interview under an hour.
Thank the user for coming at the end of the interview and give them the opportunity to ask any questions they have.
Common user interview questions
- Tell me about your background.
- How often do you use [similar products in our space]?
- When you are using these products, do you encounter any challenges?
- What are the most important tasks you perform while using these products?
- Is there anything you wish you could do with these products which is currently not possible?
- Are there any ways these products do not support your current needs?
Set up your own User Interview template
The User Interview template is designed to capture the most relevant information from your user interviews. This includes questions asked, topics covered, user observations and feedback, as well as key takeaways or action points for your team.
The User Interview Template can be used as a tool to develop a customer journey map. Share the template with your team and stakeholders and get feedback or brainstorm to gain insights.
