UX toolkit: User interviews
Get started conducting interviews to better understand your users' behaviours, thoughts, feelings, experiences, needs, and expectations
Introduction
What is a User Interview?
In a user interview, you talk to people who use your product or service to understand them and gain insight into their behaviours, thoughts, feelings, experiences, needs, and expectations.
The conversation may focus on how they interact with your product or other factors that shape their experience. In general they are one-to-one dialogues with a set of structured or semi-structured questions asked by a moderator, but they can take many different shapes and forms.
When should you use User Interviews?
- To answer qualitative questions about your users User interviews are very flexible, and can be adapted for collecting data about your users and help answer qualitative research questions.
- As a complement to other UX methods. Using other UX research methods may surface useful insights, but they may also lack depth. For example, surveys can collect lots of data, but they do not have the benefit of allowing you to follow up in real-time and elaborate and clarify responses. You can offer free-text questions in your survey, but many times these free text questions are indicators of what you should and could have a better conversation with your users about in an interview.
- When you need to create UX artifacts. User interviews are especially useful when developing UX artifacts such as personas, user stories, scenarios, mental models, jobs-to-be-done, or journey maps. They can be used alongside other research methods to gather the insights needed to build these artifacts. Even if interviews are not part of the initial creation process, they are a valuable way to validate and refine them.
Ask the UX Team…
Not sure if your project is a good fit for User Interviews? The UX Team can help you explore all options, as well as assist with setup and conducting interviews! Ask the UX team about optimising your user interview as a pre-cursor or follow-up to a survey too: book a consultation meeting with the UX team.
Before you get started
Set up, planning, & securing resources
Like all user research, there is some planning and logistics involved before you start conducting your own primary research.
Resources to secure
- Account with a user interview research platform
- Compensation or incentives for participants
UX docs to create
- Research Plan
- Discussion Guide (prompts, scenarios, manipulatives, artifacts)
- Participant Recruitment & Research Ops Plan (including Recruitment Screener)
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Consent Form
You may wish to use the User Interview planning document from UserInterviews.com.
Ask the UX Team…
The UX Team can help you determine and secure the resources you need for testing. We can also review your UX Docs to make sure you have everything covered: book a consultation meeting with the UX team.
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How to conduct user interviews
What to do
Study set up
1. Secure a testing tool.
Choose a user interview research platform and set aside time to practice using it. You can also schedule a demo or training session with the UX Team.
Ask the UX Team…
You can always conduct interviews using a standard online meeting tool like Microsoft Teams, however there are dedicated user research platforms designed specifically for interviews. These tools offer enhanced features for collaboration, recording, and analysis. Talk to the UX team if you are interested in exploring designated user interview tools: book a consultation meeting with the UX team.
2. Draft your discussion guide.
See: Developing a discussion guide for user interviews Create an interview script to address all of the key questions and topics you would like to cover in your interview. Include time estimates for each topic you will cover to make sure you can fit everything you want to cover. Use existing research, anecdotal insights, metrics, service tickets, feedback forms, or stakeholder input to inform your discussion guide.
3. Program the study into your user interview research platform.
Add your questions, prompts, and instructions into the research platform. Do a pilot interview with someone who has not seen the discussion guide before, such as an internal team member. Check for clarity, comprehension, and flow.
4. Refine.
Make updates based on the pilot feedback before finalizing your discussion guide. Conducting sessions
Pre-interview
5. Continue Research Ops support.
Manage participant reminders, confirmations, and all other communication and logistics throughout the study according to your Research Ops Plan.
Interview
6. Follow you discussion guide script as appropriate.
Reference your questions and decide which questions you want to make sure the participant answers and which you can be more flexible. Make note of any follow-up questions that you think of during the interview to avoid interrupting the participant.
7. Identify and track key metrics.
Start thinking about any metrics you can record and monitor early. In your UX Notebook keep track of common instances of the same delighters and as well as issues and pain points to provide key metrics and help with analysis.
Post-interview
8. Debrief between sessions.
Debrief at the end of the day (or at least twice throughout the study) to review early findings with your team. If major findings and new big questions emerge, adjust your discussion guide to probe more deeply with the remaining participants when appropriate.
Developing a discussion guide
How to write and ask good user interview questions
Your questions should be intentional and designed to gather meaningful insights that address your research goals and help answer your research questions. At the same time, participants should feel comfortable, confident, and able to respond openly. The table below outlines key rules for writing strong interview questions.
| no. | Rule | Why this rule exists | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ask open-ended questions. | Yes/No questions limit responses and reduce opportunities for deeper insights. |
“Why did you choose not to opt in to the free trial?” 
“Did you opt in to the free trial?” |
| 2 | Probe deeper. Don’t assume. | You and the participant may not share the same understanding of the world. Probing ensures clarity. |
Participant: “We need a PM on every project.” (referring to a Prime Minister) Moderator: “What is a ‘PM’?”
Moderator assumes PM refers to a Project Manager. |
| 3 | Ask questions in a natural order and at the right time. | Poor sequencing can feel intrusive or lead to shallow or rushed answers. |
“What are some ways you currently save or manage money?”
“Hello. How much money do you have in savings?” |
| 4 | Avoid leading or priming the user. | Introducing ideas or assumptions can influence responses and mask true behaviour. |
“What do you usually do to prepare before going to the grocery store?”
“Before going to the grocery store, what do you check on the store’s website?” |
| 5 | Ask them to answer about their own experience, not others’. | People can only accurately speak to their own behaviour. Answers about others are just speculation. |
“Have you had any discussions about this product with your partner?
Tell me about them.” “How does your partner use this product?” |
| 6 | Hold off on introducing too much of your own experiences. | Sharing your perspective can influence the participant’s response or shift focus away from their own experience. |
“What are your favourite things to do in London?”
“I love the Wellcome Collection! What do you think about it?" |
| 7 | Don’t ask for predictions or hypothetical behaviour. | People cannot accurately predict future behaviour. Answers might be idealized or unrealistic. |
“What do you know about the competitor products?”
"If your company were to switch to a competitor product for its operations, would the business be more successful?” |
| 8 | Don’t evaluate or quiz. | Quizzing creates pressure and leads to participants searching for “right answers” instead of giving honest responses. |
“What do you see as the pros and cons to using your workaround?”
“How much productivity do you think you’re losing by not learning how to use the tool the ‘right’ way?” |
| 9 | Don’t judge or react to answers. | Reactions (positive or negative) can influence what participants say next and make them self-conscious. |
“What do you see as the pros and cons to using your workaround?”
“How much productivity do you think you’re losing by not learning how to use the tool the ‘right’ way?” |
| 10 | Frame personal or sensitive questions carefully. | Poor framing can make participants uncomfortable and reduce honesty. |
“If you’re comfortable sharing, how do you usually handle situations that involve ethics with the people you work with?”
“Have you ever reported your manager for illegal practices?” |
6 Types of questions for user interviews
Below are common categories of user interview questions you can incorporate into your discussion guide. This is not an exhaustive list, but you will likely find that many of your questions fall into one of these groups.
1. Opening / Icebreaker questions
What it is
Light, easy questions at the start of the interview to build rapport and help the participant feel comfortable.
Goals
- Warm up the conversation
- Reduce participant anxiety
- Establish a natural, conversational tone
Sample questions
- Can you tell me about your role at your organization?
- How long have you been in your current role?
- What does a typical work day look like for you?
- What tools or products do you use most often for your work?
2. Relationship with the product
What it is
Questions that explore how the user currently interacts with your product and how it fits into their workflow.
Goals
- Understand usage patterns and frequency
- Learn what role the product plays in their life and/or work
Sample questions
- How often do you use [product]?
- What do you typically use it for?
- Can you walk me through the last time you used it?
- How important is this product to your workflow?
- Do you feel like you are using this product fully, or just for specific needs?
3. Knowledge & mental model of the product
What it is
Questions that uncover what users know, believe, and assume about your product.
Goals
- Learn how they discovered and learned about the product
- Understand their mental models for the product (how they think it works)
- Identify gaps in awareness or misconceptions
Sample questions
- How did you first start using [product]?
- How would you describe this product to someone who has never used it?
- What do you think this product is best for?
- Are there features you are aware of but do not use? Why?
- Is anything confusing or unclear about how it works?
4. Feedback, criticism & improvements
What it is
Questions that gather both positive feedback and areas for improvement.
Goals
- Identify strengths and what is working well
- Surface pain points and frustrations
- Generate ideas for improvements or new features
Sample questions
- What do you like most about the product?
- Describe a time when the product worked really well for you.
- What frustrates you or slows you down?
- If you could change one thing, what would it be?
- Tell me about a time when the product did not meet your needs.
- What features do you wish existed?
5. Storytelling & experiences
What it is
Questions that prompt users to describe real, past experiences using the product in a specific situation or moment.
Goals
- Get concrete, detailed insights into product usage and step-by-step behaviour
- Understand context, triggers, and decision-making
- Reveal unmet needs through real scenarios
Sample questions
- Can you tell me about the last time you used this product?
- Walk me through a specific task you completed using the product.
- How did you get started using the product for the first time?
6. Self-categorisation & user type
What it is
Questions that help users describe themselves and how they see their own behaviour and approach using the product.
Goals
- Determine how to best segment users (i.e., skill level, usage, specific behaviour, etc.)
- Add context to their feedback and behaviour
- Identify mismatches between self-perception and actual behaviour
Sample questions
- How would you describe your level of experience with tools like this? Would you consider yourself a beginner, intermediate, or advanced user?
- Have you explored this products deeply or do you just stick to what you need?
- How important is this product in your day-to-day work?
- Are you usually the person people go to for help with questions on using this product?
Next steps
Once your study has launched you will want to start taking notes right away. Doing so in a structured way will help you stay organised and turn your findings and insights into a simple report to share with your team and other audiences.
To learn more about note-taking, check out this guide to note-taking from UserTesting.
If you want to start note-taking from their templates, you can find them here: User Interview Template – from User Interviews (Google spreadsheet).
References and resources
Further reading
- User Interviews 101 (Nielsen Norman Group)
- Writing an Effective Guide for a UX Interview (Nielsen Norman Group)
- User Interviews (Userinterviews.com)
Glossary
There many common terms used in UX that may need explanation, to familiarise yourself with some of the terminology, please take a look at our glossary of UX terms.
