User Interviews

Definición Rápida

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 by Steve Portigal: The bible on this topic.
  • The Mom Test: A fantastic book on how to ask the right questions to avoid biased answers.
• Tools:
  • For transcription and analysis: [[Dovetail]], [[Condens]].