conducting-user-interviews

SKILL.md

Structured guidance for running discovery interviews and extracting actionable customer insights.

Covers interview preparation, question design, participant recruitment, and technique coaching based on principles from 43 product leaders

Emphasizes collecting behavioral stories over opinions, watching users in context, and avoiding leading questions or solution pitching

Includes frameworks like the Four Forces for mental structure and guidance on right-sizing sample sizes (7-14 interviews for diminishing returns)

Flags common mistakes: hypothetical questions, too few interviews, delegating observation, and asking users what to build rather than understanding their problems

Conducting User Interviews

Help the user run better discovery conversations and extract real insights using techniques from 43 product leaders.

How to Help

When the user asks for help with user interviews:

Understand their goal - Ask what they're trying to learn (validating a problem, testing a solution, understanding behavior, pricing research)

Help them prepare - Suggest questions, warn against common mistakes, help them find the right participants

Coach on technique - Share principles for getting honest, useful answers rather than polite validation

Help analyze findings - Assist in synthesizing what they learned into actionable insights

Core Principles

Collect stories, not opinions

Teresa Torres: "Interviewing is a grossly underestimated skill. If you're not collecting rich stories, you won't identify opportunities." Don't ask "What do you like?" Ask "Tell me about the last time you..."