A full one day tutorial to improve your success with User Experience, Agile and Lean Startup approaches. To build the right product you need to understand the people who use it. Good interviewing should be one of your core skills—whether you are a designer, an entrepreneur, a product manager, or an innovator. This tutorial will show you how to get the most from your conversations with customers. In a series of mock interviews you'll learn basic techniques, mistakes to avoid, and lightweight analysis and synthesis techniques that work well in rapidly changing innovative and entrepreneurial environments.

1. Interviewing Skills
Cambridge, May 14 2014
Adrian Howard (@adrianh)
quietstars.com

2. Hello!

3. Schedule
08:30 - 09:30 Registration
09:30 - 10:45 Interviewing practice
10:45 - 11:15 Break
11:15 - 12:30 Recruiting & topic mapping
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 - 15:15 Screening & note taking
15:15 - 15:45 Break
15:45 - 17:30 Analysis & synthesis
17:30 Finish

4. Ask questions

5. Don't have to copy
the slides

6. Chatham House Rule
applies please

7. “When a meeting, or part thereof, is
held under the Chatham House Rule,
participants are free to use the
information received, but neither the
identity nor the affiliation of the
speaker(s), nor that of any other
participant, may be revealed”

8. Disclaimer: Eh?

9. I ♥ feedback

11. Swear Jar

12. (obligatory cute animal slide)

13. Who are you?

14. Tip: Drink!

15. ?

16. Stand up

18. A – B - C

19. A = Speaker
B = Interviewer
C = Observer

20. Speakers:
Shut your eyes

21. Interviewers:
Chat with the
speaker about their
best restaurant
experience.

22. Observers:
Watch what
happens. Write
observations on
post-it notes.

23. Interviewers:
Do not take notes.

24. 2 minutes

25. Reflection

26. B = Speaker
C = Interviewer
A = Observer

27. Speakers:
Shut your eyes

28. Interviewers:
Chat with the
speaker about their
best vacation
experience.

29. Interviewers:
One more thing.

30. Interviewers:
After the first
question – you
cannot speak again.
Shhhhh!

31. Observers:
Watch what
happens. Write
observations on
post-it notes.

32. Interviewers:
Do not take notes.

33. 2 minutes

34. Reflection

35. The opposite of talking isn't listening. The
opposite of talking is waiting.
- Fran Lebowitz

36. Tip: Use silence

37. Tip: Body language

38. C = Speaker
A = Interviewer
B = Observer

39. Speakers:
Shut your eyes

40. Interviewers:
Chat with the
speaker about how
they decorate &
furnish their home.

41. Tip:
Remember to use
silence and body
language.

42. Interviewers:
One more thing.

43. Interviewers: After
the first question you
can only ask “Can
you tell me more
about X?”

44. Interviewers:
(where X is
something the
speaker has
previously
mentioned).

45. Observers:
Watch what
happens. Write
observations on
post-it notes.

46. Interviewers:
Do not take notes.

47. 4 minutes

48. Reflection

49. Every clarification breeds new questions.
- Arthur Bloch

50. Tip:
Reflect back what
the speaker said.

51. Relax...

52. ?

53. Interviews ≠ Quiz

54. Interviews ≠ Survey

55. Interviews ≠ Script

56. Interviews cannot
be automated

57. Rapport

58. Empathy

59. Why do we do
interviews?

60. Learn from
customers

61. Test our
assumptions

62. Test our
hypotheses

63. Finding customers

64. Recruiters

65. Hassling people on
the street

66. Tip: Bribes

67. Tip:
Look for bored
people

68. Coffee shops

69. Tip:
Don't look scary

70. Go where your
customers are

71. Tip:
Go with somebody

72. Use your
organisation

73. Tip: Sales

74. Tip: Marketing

75. Tip: Support

76. Online

77. LinkedIn / Twitter /
Facebook / Google+

78. craigslist

79. Ethnio.net

80. More Interviewing
Tips

81. Tip:
Remember the
person.

82. Can you tell me a
little bit about
yourself?

83. Tip:
Ask open questions.

84. What was the last
book you read?

85. What do you like to
read?

86. Tip:
Ask for stories.

87. Can you tell me
about the last
time...

88. Tip:
No leading
questions.

89. Do you want to use
this at work?

90. Where would you
use this?

91. Exercise time

92. Today you found a
startup!

93. Exploring exciting
new ways to create a
great experience
eating out

94. Helping people have
the vacation of their
dreams.

95. Democratising
professional
interior decoration

96. What do you want
to find out?

97. Identify Topics

98. Individually write
down topics on
post-it notes

99. 5m

100. Group and label
them as a team

101. 5m

102. Write down list

103. Reflection

104. Talking to the right
people

105. Screening surveys

106. Identify attributes
of target group

107. Positive filters

108. Negative filters

109. Avoid leading
questions

110. Availability

111. Contact info

112. Collecting
information

113. A = Speaker
B = Interviewer
C = Observer

114. Interviewers &
Observers:
Write down the key
points that the
speaker says

115. 5m

116. Tips:
- Silence.
- Reflect back.
- Remember the person.
- Ask open questions.
- Ask for stories.
- No leading questions.

117. Reflection

118. Tip:
Observations vs
insights

119. Tip:
Interview in pairs

120. B = Speaker
C = Interviewer
A = Observer

121. 5m

122. Tips:
- Silence.
- Reflect back.
- Remember the person.
- Ask open questions.
- Ask for stories.
- No leading questions.
- Observations vs Insights.

123. Reflection

124. C = Speaker
A = Interviewer
B = Observer

125. 5m

126. Tips:
- Silence.
- Reflect back.
- Remember the person.
- Ask open questions.
- Ask for stories.
- No leading questions.
- Observations vs Insights.

127. Reflection

128. Synthesis

129. Affinity
Diagramming
(or KJ Method)

130. Empathy Mapping

132. Incremental
Persona

134. Further Reading

137. If you're keen

140. If you're really
keen

141. Ch 7 of “Mental Models” by Indi Young
Ch 9 & 10 of “User and Task Analysis for
Interface Design” by JoAnn T. Hackos, Janice C.
Redish
Ch 6 of "Observing the User Experience" by Mike
Kuniavsky, Elizabeth Goodman & Andrea Moed
Ch 4 of "Contextual Design" by Hugh Beyer and
Karen Holtzblatt

142. @adrianh
quietstars.com
slideshare.net/adrianh
adrianh@quietstars.com
Thank You
And any questions?