User interviews allow us to gather a more comprehensive knowledge of the persona, i.e. the target group for a given product or service. It's a good idea to conduct such an interview when you want to explore the user's habits and past experiences, or to find out their thoughts on a UX product in progress or already completed.

How to be better? Know your user!

It is worth scheduling user interviews already at the beginning of the design process, for example if you have preliminary information on personas that need to be clarified, or if you want to gather more information on the website, prepare and check the concept of a UX design product. Interviews should be carried out at two stages of the design process, before implementation - to establish personas and refine ideas - or during the test run - to gather expectations and experiences. Of course, it may also be worthwhile to conduct user interviews after implementation, which we recommend as part of our UX tracking service.

How does the user interview work?

A consistently structured user interview will involve your target group in the design process, which will be of great benefit. User-centred thinking is essential for objective, effective decision-making. The data gathered through the user interview - and the experience gained through observation - greatly helps the development team, as it gives us a global view of the product strategy, taking into account the thoughts and experiences of the developer, the user and the customer.

What is a good user interview?

Interviewing can be done in two ways. One way is the classic face-to-face interview. In this case there are three people in the room, the interviewer, the interview facilitator and the note-taker. The other option, which has become the dominant method, especially during the COVID period, is online interviewing (Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, etc.). Throughout the interview, it is important to adapt to the needs of the subject, to increase his/her comfort level and to follow a consistent script, so that all the conditions for an honest and open expression of opinion can be met. The other parameters of the interview, such as the duration, the number of users present, or the exact questions to be asked, may vary from project to project, but the aim is the same: to find solutions to the problems encountered, to get to know the ideas along the user groups, to discover the motivations, experiences and needs in order to improve the product.

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Collecting information for efficiency

The information gathered can help us understand the behaviour of users for a given product group - what is important to them and how they arrive at a user decision (user journey). The interviews are then compiled into a thorough list of criteria that UX designers can apply, as the clear information means they no longer have to grope in the dark.

Key element of the user interview

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In summary, the user interview is a key element of the design process, as it contains the real needs and feedback of users, which can be used as a basis for further layers of the process. By using it, additional costs, rework and redesigns can be avoided, the product will meet the required specifications and the UX designer will have a more accurate picture to do his job effectively. Afterwards, it is also worthwhile to enrich the research with quantitative data, one method of which is to send out questionnaires or examine web analytics data.

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Want to get a comprehensive picture of your users' behaviour for better results? Contact our experts for help!

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