Define your objective. E.g., explore onboarding friction, price sensitivity, or feature adoption.
Recruit 5–7 participants that match your target segment. Offer a small incentive (gift card, swag, free month).
Prepare the tech. Calendar invite with video link; hit record (with permission) so the interviewer can focus on the conversation.
Assign roles. One interviewer runs the questions; one silent note‑taker types directly into the sheet below.
Stick to open‑ended questions—listen 80%, talk 20%.
Immediately after each call, the team spends 5 minutes tagging highlights and writing a one‑sentence takeaway.
Synthesize across interviews using the Insights Summary grid to spot patterns.
💡 Tip: Always open with easy, contextual questions to warm up, then dig into problems, attempts, outcomes.
| Time | Question / Prompt | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 min | Quick intro & permission to record. “Thanks for taking the time. We’re exploring how people [do X]. OK if we record?” | Build rapport, secure consent |
| 2–5 | “Tell me about your role and a typical day.” | Understand context |
| 5–10 | Problem Discovery | |
| • “Walk me through the last time [pain] happened.” | ||
| • “What made that frustrating?” | Surface real jobs/pains | |
| 10–15 | Current Work‑arounds / Solutions | |
| • “How did you try to fix it?” | ||
| • “What tools or processes were involved?” | Learn alternatives | |
| 15–20 | Decision Triggers | |
| • “What finally pushed you to look for something new?” | ||
| • “Who else was involved in that choice?” | Map triggers, stakeholders | |
| 20–25 | Value & Outcome • “What does success look like once this problem is solved?” • “How would you measure that?” | Define desired outcomes |
| 25–28 | Objections & Concerns | |
| • “If you were sceptical about a solution, why?” | ||
| • “What would make you hesitate?” | Identify barriers | |
| 28–30 | Wrap‑up | |
| • “Anything we didn’t cover but should have asked?” | ||
| • “Can we follow up if we build something?” | Capture extras, permission | |
| Time | Exact Quote (verbatim) | Emotion / Tone | Insight Tag (pain, trigger, outcome, objection) | Follow‑up Needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Use short codes: 😀 😐 😟 for quick emotion capture.
| Your Summary | |
|---|---|
| Biggest Pain Point | |
| Key Trigger | |
| Desired Outcome | |
| Memorable Quote | |
| 1‑Sentence Insight |
| Theme / Pattern | Evidence (interview # & quote) | Implication for Product / Marketing |
|---|---|---|
Next Step: Once patterns stabilise, translate top 2‑3 pains into messaging and roadmap actions.