{"id":11926,"date":"2017-09-12T12:40:28","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T11:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marvel7077.wpengine.com\/?p=11926"},"modified":"2020-12-21T06:49:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T06:49:07","slug":"nail-user-interviews-ux-hcd-design-thinking-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shopjessicabuckley.com\/blog\/nail-user-interviews-ux-hcd-design-thinking-process\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Nail User Interviews in a UX, HCD or Design Thinking Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great! You\u2019ve got your design brief, areas of interest you want to look into, and some user interviews lined up. But what\u2018s next?<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>

Source: http:\/\/grownupsurvivalguide.com\/2016\/09\/24\/10-tips-for-rocking-an-interview\/<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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This article provides you with hands-on advice on why and how to conduct user interviews in your UX process<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the recommendations you are going to read might seem trivial and obvious but neglecting only one of them can ruin your entire interview. Trust me, been there, done that\u2026?<\/p>\n

How I\u00a0failed<\/h2>\n

Only in recent weeks, I\u2019ve conducted dozens of user interviews for some client projects at Hinderling Volkart<\/a>. The last one I did, I completly messed up! I assumed my interviewee had already been on-boarded and informed about why he got interviewed. So, I skipped a proper introduction and jumped right in! \u00abHere we go! Let\u2019s start! Tell me about yourself!\u00bb<\/p>\n

That was a big mistake\u2026<\/p>\n

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Source: giphy.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00abWhy the hell are you even talking to me? Do you even know who I am?\u00bb, my interviewee furiously complained. I didn\u2019t really know\u2026 As it turned out, he was an influential opinion leader in his field and the head of\u2026<\/p>\n

Well done! The mood was low and the energy down. The interviewee resent my questions and the interview became one of my longest hour ever\u2026<\/p>\n

If you DON\u2019T want to fail<\/strong> like this, keep reading<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

About interviewing people<\/h2>\n

If you are familiar with user interviews and what they are good for, you may also skip this chapter.<\/p>\n

Reason and goal for user interviews<\/h2>\n

User interviews<\/a> are a research method applied during the discovery phase of a human or user centred design process<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Double<\/a>

A further developed version of my Revamped Double Diamond design process originally published here.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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They help you gain a deeper understanding of people\u2019s behaviour and their reason why they do what they do. In the best case, interviews reveal insights that help you answer your question.<\/p>\n

\"Insights are the dormant truth about an issue, one\u2019s motivation, wishes, or frustration regarding a specific\u00a0topic.\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating services or products based on your own needs is easy! However, is very unlikely that you will ever design a product for yourself. If you want to make a product or service that meets your end user needs, listening to your users is essential. Interviews are just one way to do that in a effective and efficient fashion (Daniel Santos<\/a>, FutureEverything).<\/p>\n

Make sure you know why you interview people. Have a clear problem statement set and know what you want to find out.<\/p>\n

User interviews often don\u2019t give you all the answers you need. Sometimes they are the wrong instrument. They may fail when you are trying to ask people to remember how something happened in the past or speculate on a future use of something (nngroup, 2010<\/a>).<\/p>\n

You want to find out about people\u2019s struggles and delights. Make interviewees recall specific critical incidents. This may be pain points or moments of pleasure. They help you reveal what lies beneath them.<\/p>\n

Semi-structured vs. structured interviews<\/h2>\n

I am not fully going into details, but there are various types of interviews. This article refers to semi-structured interviews, but it can be applied to other interview types, too.<\/p>\n

Structured interviews have a rigorous set of questions which do not allow one to divert. Semi-structured interviews on the other hand are more open. They allow new ideas to be brought up during the interview as a result of what the interviewee says (Wikipedia<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Be aware that user interviews are only one research method among many others. Check out this great overview of other design research techniques<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about the interview experience<\/h2>\n

I recently bumped into Swiss documentary film maker Paul Riniker (Link to Wikipedia entry \u2013 German only<\/a>). He\u2019s produced over 70 documentaries, he\u2019s been a journalist, and he\u2019s been lecturing for more than 20 years. A thing he told me over a beer struck me:<\/p>\n

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\"I don\u2019t interview people. I have conversations with them (Paul Riniker).\"<\/p><\/span><\/blockquote>\n

Whether you call it an interview (I\u2019ll keep referring to it that way) or a conversation, conducting interviews is about providing an experience to the person you want to learn from.<\/p>\n

Getting this experience right is crucial to making your interviewee feel comfortable and to getting the most out of it.<\/p>\n

Interview team\u00a0setup<\/h2>\n

From my experience, it is best to conduct an interview accompanied by a partner. First of all, facilitating and leading the interview becomes easier. Secondly, sharing each other\u2019s thoughts and impressions after the interview provides another perspective.<\/p>\n