Why interviews?
Sometimes in UX research, you want to show compelling quantitative data (percentages, graphs, big numbers, etc.) Arguably, though, it is just as compelling to show a clip from an interview of one customer/participant who provides detailed, powerful insight into your topic of interest.
The combination of quantitative and qualitative data, in my opinion, is the most compelling. In one of my most recent research reports, I presented customer pain points and opportunities for innovation. For each pain point, I presented numerical data to show my audience how many of our customers mentioned the pain point in the corresponding survey. I also presented short clips from follow-up interviews I did with with some customers about their survey responses. In these clips, customers added a lot of color to what they initially typed in the survey. The people in the room (the Zoom room, specifically #pandemic) were really convinced that they needed to innovate and resolve this issue. And then what did I have ready to present right after that? BOOM. Opportunities for innovation.
Interviews give people a visual representation of the data to hang on to. People really remember and understand what was said in the interviews and consistently reference the clips. The clips spark a discussion right in the middle of my presentation that leads to tangible innovation. Then I get to go back to that customer I interviewed and tell them that their words made a difference (this is the best part of user research).
In just 3 months during summer 2020, I’ve been a part of 27 interviews and led many of them myself. It’s a nice, human conversation in the middle of my day that contrasts with other aspects of UX research that do not involve face-to-face contact with users.
Customer interview data
Storytelling at its finest.
Creating a Moderator Guide
First and foremost, I think any type of UX research should start with a research plan (use link to see My Sample Research Plan.) Once I have a good idea of my goals, outcomes, execution, and timeline, I begin to write a moderator guide. A moderator guide is basically a set of cues and questions that I use to structure my interviews. Some interviews are more structured than others, but in any case a moderator guide can help me to make sure I get the most out of my interviews (there’s no second chance!)
I learned a great deal about moderator guides from my manager at ServiceNow, Teena Singh (see Acknowledgements).
My process for creating a great moderator guide:
Practice how you will introduce yourself.
Think about what information is key to giving context to the interviewee: your name, company, job title, what you will do with the information you get from the interview.
Make sure to also introduce anyone else in the room/on the all. Sometimes it’s a great idea to invite your internal stakeholders so they can hear from the customers firsthand and ask their questions directly.
Tell them what you hope to gain and what they will gain from the interview.
“Two general rules have been formulated as complementary expressions of beneficent actions in this sense: (1) do not harm and (2) maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harms.” - Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research
All that jargon above just means that you should not only think about what you hope to gain from the interview, but think about the ways in which someone may actually benefit from being your interviewee.
In an industry setting, this tends to be quite obvious: user insights will help inform and improve the user experience.
Record the interview, with permission. Whether this is a remote/online interview or it’s face-to-face, having a recording of the interview will help you immensely later on. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this section, clips of interviews are super powerful. Keep in mind that you need to ask for and receive express permission from interviewees to record.
Tell them to be candid with you. No feelings will be hurt; this interview is for research purposes and our ability to innovate and improve the user experience depends greatly on their complete honesty. “Don’t hold back! You’re the expert and we are here to listen.”
Ask them about themselves. Give your interviewee(s) a chance to introduce themselves and tell you about their background, interests, and what they hope to gain from this interview.
Ask your questions! This is the meat of the interview where you have prepared, open-ended questions that will help you achieve the goals and outcomes you laid out in your research plan.
Don’t just sit there like a dud while they respond. Really listen to and verbally acknowledge what they’re saying by inserting natural “mhm”s and “yes”s and “that’s really valuable information”s. It helps.
Stay flexible. You can go out of order to keep the conversation running naturally, and swing back around to questions you missed toward the end.
Give time for anyone else in the room/on the call to ask their questions.
Give time for the interviewee(s) to ask their questions.
Thank them for their time and valuable feedback. Invite them to reach out any time they have feedback in the future. Tell them that the interview was really helpful and that you hope to keep them on deck as a resource for future interviews. They are special and generous for giving you their time and they deserve your gratitude.