E X P L O R A T I O N
In-depth Interviews

1. Set your objectives and identify assumptions

   • Identify the ultimate aims and what you are trying to understand in the interview

   • Identify your assumptions and be aware of them during the interview

2. Plan, prepare and practice for the interview

   • Prepare a confidentiality or anonymity statement if required for the nature of the interview

   • Create an interview guide with some topics you’d like to discuss.

   • Focus on asking the customer on what they are ultimately trying to get done or accomplish. Never ask the customer what they want, they’ll usually only give you what they want in the context of what they already know e.g. a faster horse, a bigger TV, a cheaper phone...

   • Avoid questions with a yes/no answer. Instead, ask open-ended questions like “How did it make you feel?”, “Explain how you would do this”, “What do you think about X?”.

   • Avoid asking leading questions like “How well would this save time for you?” and replace with more neutral “How might this affect your efficiency?”. It’s important not to reflect your own biases onto the interviewee.

   • Practice the interview with a co-worker. This will give you a sense of how long it will take and help to spot any questions that may be of difficulty to the participant.

3. Identify reliable sources of information

   • Recruit participants based on your target customer group

   • Reach out to the interviewee with a clear purpose and duration of the session, and arrange a convenient time and place for the session

4. Conduct the interview

   • During the interview, start with more general questions to get the participant comfortable and become more specific regarding the research questions.

   • Write down precisely what the person says and not what you think they mean.

   • Make sure to observe body language as well as what the person says.

   • After the interview, thank the interviewee for their time and explain the next steps in this research

5. Follow up

Write your learnings and compare with your team and store all assets from the interview (pictures, audio/video recordings etc.) in one place. For each interview, write a quick summary of key findings and any valuable quotes.