dschool-interview-preparation.pdf

METHOD

Interview Preparation

8): QSFQBSF GPS BO JOUFSWJFX

Time with users is precious, we need to make the most of it! While we always must allow room for the

spontaneous, blissful serendipity of a user-guided conversation, we should never abdicate our responsibility

to prepare for interviews. Especially in following up with users (after testing, etc), it is imperative to plan

your interviews. You may not get to every question you prepare, but you should come in with a plan for

engagement.

)08 UP QSFQBSF GPS BO JOUFSWJFX

Brainstorm questions

Write down all of the potential questions your team can generate. Try to build on one another’s ideas in

order to ﬂesh out meaningful subject areas.

Identify and order themes

Similar to “grouping” in synthesis, have your team identify themes or subject areas into which most

questions fall; once you’ve identiﬁed the themes of your question-pool, determine the order that would

allow the conversation to ﬂow most naturally. This will enable you to structure the ﬂow of your interview,

decreasing the potential for hosting a seemingly-scattershot interaction with your user.

Reﬁne questions

Once you have all the questions grouped by theme and order, you may ﬁnd that there are some redundant

areas of conversation, or questions that seem strangely out of place. Take a few moments to make sure that

you leave room in your planning to ask plenty of “why?” questions, plenty of “tell me about the last time you

_____?” questions, and plenty of questions that are directed at how the user FEELS.