User interview script
A user interview script template with warm-up questions, non-leading core questions, a 'tell me about the last time' prompt, and a wrap-up.
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How to use it well
- →Every core question should survive the test of asking about a real past event, not a hypothetical - "tell me about the last time" gets a memory, "would you use" gets a guess.
- →If a question can be answered with a feature name, it's leading. Rewrite it around the situation and the trigger, and let the person volunteer what they used to solve it.
- →Leave room to go off-script. The best line in most interviews comes from a follow-up to something the participant said, not from the next question on the page.
Part by part
- **Goal:** {{goal}}
- One stated goal, at the top. An interview trying to answer four questions answers none of them well, and the goal is what decides which follow-ups to chase.
- ## Warm-up
- Easy questions first, so the participant is talking before anything difficult arrives. It also establishes that you are listening rather than testing.
- ## Tell me about the last time...
- The most valuable question shape in user research. It asks for a memory rather than an opinion, and memories are far more reliable than predictions.
- ## Wrap-up
- A closing that invites anything missed. The best insight often arrives after the participant thinks the interview has ended.
Common mistakes
Would you use a feature that did X?People are consistently poor at predicting their own behaviour and inclined to be encouraging. The answer is almost always yes, and it predicts nothing about adoption.
Leading questions that name the problem.Asking whether something is frustrating supplies the frame and the answer. Asking what happened the last time they did it lets the frustration surface on its own, or not at all.
Demonstrating the product early.Once the participant has seen your solution, everything after is feedback on it rather than description of their own situation. Ask about their world before showing them yours.
Questions
Why ask about the last time rather than in general?
Because in general produces a summary of what someone believes they do, which is systematically tidier than reality. A specific recent instance surfaces the workarounds and irritations that a summary smooths over.
How many interviews are enough?
Five or six per user type surfaces most of the common patterns. Beyond that you get diminishing returns quickly — running two more with a different segment usually beats another five with the same one.
Should I follow the script exactly?
No. It is a checklist of what to cover, and the best material comes from following an unexpected answer. The goal at the top is what tells you which tangent is worth taking.
Is it worth recording?
Yes, with consent — you cannot take good notes and listen properly at once. Recording also lets someone else check your interpretation, which matters because interview findings are easy to hear selectively.