Unlock program success by mastering user interviews.
A user interview is a qualitative research method where a user is interviewed to understand their motivation, pain points, needs, and more. It’s a key tool that UX researchers use to identify patterns, and use that data to solve a problem. You’ve probably heard of, or participated in versions of this: focus groups, usability testing, or even surveys.
At minimum user interviews help you understand your user, and at best help you identify problems and determine solutions. Without user interviews, you’re missing crucial data from the people who are literally engaging with your product day in and day out.
Why user interviews matter
- User-Centric Design: User interviews place the spotlight on your program’s end users. By understanding their perspectives, challenges, and desires, you can tailor your program to meet their needs. For my programs, especially ones that I adopt, I always start with user interviews. They don’t need to take too much of your time — sometimes they’re only a twenty minute conversation — but user insight is the only way I’ll know how to curate the best experience for them.
- Identifying Pain Points: Users often encounter obstacles or frustrations that may not be immediately evident through program data. Quantitative data is important, but you need both to build better.
- Validating Assumptions: User interviews provide an opportunity to test assumptions and hypotheses about your program. This validation process ensures that you are building a solution that aligns with the actual needs and expectations of your target audience. Recently, I met with students to understand what they wanted to get out of a learning cohort. I assumed that all participants in this cohort were new to tech, and would need entry-level resources. After a round of 1:1 interviews, I learned that ~30% of the cohort has 5+ years in tech, and want more resources on how to implement newly learned technical skills into their current role. This shifted the type of resources I share and highlight with the group.
Setting up a user interview
As with everything in The Program Playground, user interviews are going to require some form of planning. Here’s a few things you need to keep in mind before and after.
- Define Your Interview Goals: Clearly outline the goals of your user interviews. Are you trying to enhance a specific feature? Are you gathering feedback on the overall user experience? Having a clear objective will guide your questions and help you extract meaningful insights.
- Recruit a Diverse Sample: You want to make sure the people you interview represent a range of your target audience. Diverse interviewees will provide a comprehensive understanding of your user base and help you avoid biases in your findings. For example, if you only interview users in a specific state, but your target audience is teachers across the U.S., you’re neglecting 99% of your user base. Don’t do that!
- Active listening and note taking: How are you going to document your findings? Whether you’re recording folks, or taking notes as they share, make sure their feedback is documented somewhere. Also, let them speak! If you hog the spotlight, this won’t be an interview — rather, you having a conversation with…yourself. For asynchronous user interviews, I prefer leveraging Airtable forms. For 1:1s or group sessions, I use FigJam’s brainstorming tools.
- Iterate and Implement Changes: There’s no point in facilitating a user interview if you aren’t going to use the feedback for change! Use the insights gained from user interviews to iterate on your program. Implement changes based on the feedback received, and consider conducting follow-up interviews to ensure that the adjustments align with user expectations.
User interviews are a powerful tool for maximizing the impact of your program by fostering a deeper understanding of your users. By incorporating this into your development process, you can identify pain points, validate assumptions, and ultimately create a more successful and user-friendly program.
