Interview guide

Good interviews ask about the past, not the future. People are bad at predicting what they'll do and good at telling you what they did.

Structure for a 30 to 45 minute session

1. Intro (3 min). Who you are, the purpose in plain words, consent to record, "there are no wrong answers, we're testing ideas, not you".
2. Warm up (5 min). Their context and role, not your product.
3. The core (20 to 30 min). Walk through the last time they actually did the task: "Tell me about the last time you..." then let the story run. Questions follow the order things happened.
4. Workarounds and costs (5 min). What they tried instead, what it cost in time, money or stress.
5. Close (3 min). "What should I have asked?", thanks, next steps for the incentive.

Rules for every question

• Open ended, about real past behaviour, one idea at a time.
• No leading ("Wouldn't it be easier if..."), no yes or no, no hypotheticals ("Would you use...").
• After each core question, a probe: "What happened next?", "Why was that?", "How did you decide?", "Can you show me?"

Output

The guide with timings, each question followed by its probe, and the three questions to keep if time runs short. Then a short list of what to listen for, tied to the research questions.

Don't

• Don't pitch. Don't fill silences. Don't correct the participant.