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Structuring user interviews with the right pre-work

How thoughtful preparation can dramatically improve the quality of insights from user interviews.

Thought Piece
Structuring user interviews with the right pre-work
Table of Contents

The Challenge

Let's be honest - user interviews can be a bit hit or miss, right? We've all been there: you're sitting across from a user, asking questions that seemed brilliant when you wrote them, but somehow you're getting one-word answers and not much else. The problem isn't usually the user - it's that we often jump straight into questioning without proper preparation.

My Preparation Framework

After many awkward interviews (and a fair few brilliant ones), I've developed a three-part preparation framework that consistently delivers better insights:

Team Alignment: A Critical First Step

When working in a team with diverse skills and perspectives, it's crucial that everyone is aligned on what we're trying to learn. Before conducting any interviews, I always ensure the entire research team has a shared understanding of our objectives.

Pre-Research Planning Session

Before even selecting participants, I hold a dedicated session with the research team to:

  • Define clear research objectives and questions
  • Identify specific insights we need to gather
  • Develop tailored questions that will elicit those insights
  • Assign roles for each team member during the interviews

Structured Documentation

For reporting interview findings, I've developed a thematic documentation approach that makes insights accessible months later:

  • Categorised participant quotes (positive, negative, neutral)
  • Thematic grouping of insights across multiple interviews
  • Visual indicators for priority issues and opportunities
  • Cross-referenced findings with business objectives

I successfully implemented this approach with the National Highways rostering service project, which allowed us to maintain research continuity across multiple sprints and team changes.

  1. Context Mapping: Before writing a single question, jot down what you already know about the user and their world. This stops you wasting time on stuff you already know and highlights the gaps you need to fill.

  2. Hypothesis Formation: Come up with some educated guesses about user behaviours and pain points. This isn't about confirming your biases - it's about making sure you're testing assumptions rather than fishing around in the dark.

  3. Journey-Based Question Structure: Structure your questions around the user's journey, not your product features. This reveals motivations and pain points in context, which is where the gold usually lies.

Two friends having a casual conversation Interviews should feel more like this and less like an interrogation

How I Applied This

When redesigning a healthcare app's appointment booking flow, I put this framework to work:

  • I mapped out what we already knew from analytics and previous research (turns out, quite a lot!)
  • I formed some hypotheses about why users were abandoning the booking process (my money was on usability issues)
  • I structured questions around the entire appointment-seeking journey, not just the app interaction

And guess what? My hypothesis was completely wrong! Users weren't abandoning due to usability issues within the flow. They were dropping off because they needed to check multiple calendars before committing to an appointment time. I would never have discovered this if I'd only asked about the app interface.

My Interview Structure

Based on this framework, I now structure my interviews into four phases:

  1. Warm-up: Get comfortable, build rapport, and gather context about their world. This isn't just pleasantries - it's crucial information.

  2. Journey Exploration: Walk through their entire process, not just their interaction with your product. "So what happens before you even open the app?" is often where the magic happens.

  3. Specific Scenarios: Once you understand the journey, dive into particular use cases or features, using the context you've established.

  4. Reflection and Synthesis: Ask them to reflect on their overall experience and prioritise pain points. This often reveals what really matters to them.

Coffee shop casual interview Some of my best user interviews have happened in coffee shops, not labs

The Results

In the healthcare app example, this approach led us to create a "hold appointment" feature that allowed users to temporarily reserve slots while checking their availability. This simple addition decreased booking abandonment by 34%.

More broadly, this preparation framework has consistently delivered:

  • Insights you can actually use to make design decisions
  • Less time wasted in research sessions
  • Better alignment between what you discover and what the business needs
  • Stakeholders who actually trust and use your research

The Takeaway

The quality of insights from user interviews is determined before you ask your first question. Good preparation doesn't just make interviews more efficient—it fundamentally changes what you learn.

"The right question at the wrong time gets the wrong answer. Context before inquiry is the key to meaningful user research."

By investing a bit of time in pre-work and structuring interviews around user journeys rather than product features, you'll uncover the deeper insights that make for truly user-centered design.

And hey, your interviews will be a lot more fun too!