As a User Experience (UX) professional, conducting effective user interviews is crucial for gaining insights into your target audience’s needs, pain points, and behaviors. However, crafting insightful questions and follow-ups can be a daunting task, especially for those new to the field. Enter Stéphanie Walter, a renowned UX researcher and designer, who has created a comprehensive cheatsheet to help you navigate the art of user interviews with confidence.
The Importance of User Interviews
User interviews are a staple in the UX research process, allowing you to gather qualitative data directly from your target users. These interviews provide invaluable insights that can inform product design, user flows, and overall user experience. By asking the right questions and probing for deeper understanding, you can uncover hidden pain points, motivations, and preferences that might have gone unnoticed through other research methods.
Stéphanie Walter’s Cheatsheet: A Treasure Trove of Questions
Stéphanie Walter’s cheatsheet is a meticulously curated collection of user interview questions and follow-up prompts, organized into seven main categories:
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Open Discovery Questions: These questions are designed to keep the conversation flowing and encourage participants to provide detailed responses. Examples include “Tell me about…” and “Why do you…?”.
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Understanding User Tasks/Activities: This section focuses on questions that help you comprehend how users perform specific tasks or engage with certain activities. For instance, “Describe how you would [task]?” or “Walk me through the steps, how do you [task]?”.
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Performing/Showing: Sometimes, it’s more effective to ask participants to demonstrate a task rather than just describe it. Prompts like “Show me how you [task]” or role-playing scenarios can yield valuable insights.
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Talking About Problems and Pain Points: Identifying users’ struggles and frustrations is essential for improving the user experience. Questions such as “What’s the hardest/most frustrating part about…?” can uncover these pain points.
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Opinions/Points of View/Attitudes and Projections: Gathering users’ opinions and attitudes towards a product or feature can inform design decisions. Examples include “What do you think about…?” and “Some people…, other…, what is your opinion on that?”.
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Recalling the Past/Anticipating the Future: While not always reliable, these questions can provide context and help you understand users’ experiences and expectations. For instance, “Please recall a situation when you…” or “Describe to me the ideal product/experience…?”.
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Sentence Completion and Drawing: Visual aids can be powerful tools for eliciting more detailed responses from participants. Prompts like “Complete this sentence…” or asking participants to draw a process or interface can unlock new insights.
Follow-Up Questions: Digging Deeper
In addition to the main interview questions, Stéphanie Walter’s cheatsheet provides a comprehensive list of follow-up questions to help you probe further and clarify responses. These include:
- Bouncing Back: “You mentioned [xxx], (can you) tell me more about it?” or “That’s interesting. Could you elaborate on that/give me an example?”.
- Digging Further: Simple prompts like “Why?” or “How come?” can encourage participants to expand on their answers.
- Asking for Clarification: “What did you mean by [xxx]?” or “What’s the reason for that?” can help you better understand the context and meaning behind a response.
- Rephrasing/Interpreting/Mirroring: Techniques like “So, you are saying that [xxx]?” or repeating part of the sentence with a questioning tone can confirm your understanding and invite further explanation.
- Recalling Past Experiences: Asking for specific examples or demonstrations can provide valuable context and insights.
- One Last Thing?: Open-ended questions like “Is there anything you would like to add?” or “Any questions you would like to ask me about the project?” can uncover additional insights or topics you might have missed.
- The Power of Silence: Sometimes, allowing for moments of silence can encourage participants to collect their thoughts and provide more detailed responses.
Additional Resources and Support
Stéphanie Walter’s cheatsheet is not just a list of questions; it’s a comprehensive resource that includes:
- A printable A4 poster for easy reference during interviews
- A digital version (PDF and DOCX) of the questions and follow-ups for easy integration into your interview guides and protocols
- A user interview guide template to help you structure your interviews effectively
- Digital workshop boards (Miro and Figjam) for remote or hybrid user interviews
- A user interview resources bundle, providing a comprehensive toolkit for conducting successful user interviews
Additionally, Stéphanie Walter offers a user interview workshop to help UX professionals hone their interviewing skills through hands-on exercises and practical guidance.
Conclusion
Conducting effective user interviews is an art form, and Stéphanie Walter’s cheatsheet is an invaluable tool for mastering this crucial aspect of UX research. By leveraging her carefully curated questions and follow-up prompts, you can uncover deep insights, identify pain points, and gather the qualitative data necessary to create truly user-centric products and experiences. Whether you’re a seasoned UX professional or just starting your journey, this cheatsheet is a must-have resource for elevating your user interview skills and delivering exceptional user experiences.
