User Interview Cheat Sheet

A one-page summary of the key do's and don'ts from "The Art of the Ask." Use this as a quick reference to ensure every interview you conduct is insightful and impactful.

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Phase 1: Planning & Recruitment

✅ Do	❌ Don't
Start with clear goals. Know what decisions the research will inform.	Start by writing questions. Without a clear goal, your questions will be unfocused.
Use a behavioral screener survey. Filter for your target audience with neutral questions about past actions.	Talk to the wrong people. Flawed recruitment guarantees flawed insights.
Pilot your interview guide. Do a trial run with a colleague to find and fix confusing or leading questions.	Skip the pilot interview. Going in cold is a recipe for discovering flawed questions with a real participant.

Phase 2: Crafting Questions

✅ Do	❌ Don't
Ask open-ended questions. Start with "Tell me about...", "Walk me through...", "Why...".	Ask closed-ended questions. "Yes/No" answers kill conversation and hide the "why."
Ask about past behavior. "Tell me about the last time you..." is your most powerful tool for uncovering truth.	Ask about future intentions. Don't ask "Would you use...?" People are bad at predicting their own behavior.
Maintain strict neutrality. Ask "What was your experience with...?"	Ask leading questions. Avoid "Wasn't that feature easy to use?" as it suggests the "right" answer.
Ask about problems. Focus on the user's struggles and workarounds.	Ask for solutions. Users are experts in their problems, not in designing your product.

Phase 3: Conducting the Interview

✅ Do	❌ Don't
Master the first 5 minutes. Your primary goal is to build rapport and create psychological safety.	Jump straight into questions. A cold start makes the participant feel like a test subject.
Embrace the awkward pause. When a user finishes speaking, wait a few seconds. They will often elaborate.	Fill every moment of silence. You'll talk over the most valuable, unprompted insights.
Thank users for negative feedback. Treat criticism as a gift. Ask "Tell me more about that."	Get defensive. Correcting or defending the design signals that honesty is unwelcome.
Paraphrase to confirm understanding. "So, if I'm hearing you right..." ensures your data is accurate.	Assume you understand. Misinterpreting a user's meaning can lead you down the wrong path.

Phase 4: Synthesis & Reporting

✅ Do	❌ Don't
Use thematic analysis. Find patterns by grouping raw observations into themes.	Just list quotes. A collection of anecdotes is not an insight.
Tell a story with the data. Use personas and journey maps to build empathy and highlight pain points.	Deliver a dry, text-heavy report. Your findings will be ignored if they aren't compelling.
Focus on the "why." An insight explains why a theme matters and points to a strategic opportunity.	Stop at the "what." Simply describing what users did is observation, not synthesis.
Tailor your report to the audience. Translate insights into business impact for execs and user friction for designers.	Use a one-size-fits-all report. Different stakeholders care about different things.