User interview refers to direct or indirect deeper and more targeted communication with users through face-to-face communication, telephone, online video and questionnaire. Digging deep into the interviewees' hearts and thoughts, it is easy to achieve the interview effect and find some existing problems and optimization directions.
User interviews are generally attempted when there are few respondents, often combined with questionnaires, usability tests, A/B tests, eye movement tests, product experience meetings, etc.
According to the different objectives of glasses, interviews can be divided into structured, semi-structured and open.
A. structure: the interviewer throws questions prepared in advance for the respondents to answer. In order to achieve satisfactory results, the interviewer must have a clear goal, and the whole process needs to guide the interviewer not to deviate from the main task, and the questions raised need to be carefully scrutinized and polished. Prepare pre-suggested problem group review exercises and evaluate them by experienced observers.
Semi-structured: the combination of structured and completely open forms, covering fixed and open issues. In order to keep the research rigorous, the interviewer still needs to have a basic content outline as an interview guide, so that each scene can focus on the main task.
Prepare in advance
A. Defining the purpose and theme of the study
First of all, we should make clear the purpose of the interview and avoid the situation of being false and true. Just like an interview when an interaction designer communicates requirements with a product manager, when a vague requirement is received, an interview is conducted with the demanders to clarify their purpose, background and what problems they want to solve before designing a solution.
For example, it is necessary to conduct targeted research on APP users, which belongs to unclear background objectives. At this time, it is necessary to communicate clearly the purpose, try to narrow the scope of the purpose and background, and then make further design planning. Suppose after asking, I know that because the new function has just come online, I want to know if the user has encountered any problems in use and whether it conforms to their usage habits. Then in the interview with users, we need to ask them how to use it: how to find the entrance, how to use it, and whether there is a better display.
While clarifying the purpose of the study, we should also clarify the theme. Interviewers and observers should be familiar with relevant knowledge, corresponding products and interview scripts as soon as possible, because users generally have a certain understanding of the theme or products. If the organizer is not familiar with these contents, it will directly affect the quality and progress of the interview.
Good interview quality depends not only on interview skills, but also on the understanding of interview purpose and familiarity with interview topics.
B. Design an interview outline
After the purpose of the interview is clear, the interview list should be drawn up according to the purpose and interviewee. Before designing the list, ask yourself:
What is the purpose of my asking this question?
Can you solve this problem?
Can users answer this question comfortably?
* Note: All questions must point to the value of design improvement.
4. Three major processes of user recruitment
A. Where did the interviewee come from?
It's not that we don't have enough time and resources for the team to prepare interviews and invite users, but that each of us is a product user. Generally speaking, we can give priority to colleagues who meet the user's portrait, because they have a certain understanding, and the cost of invitation and communication will be lower. Of course, it is best to be a small white user, otherwise the participants are very familiar with the products, so it is not an interview, but a product seminar.
Secondly, it can be collected and invited from seed users, who are the first users of products. They are enthusiastic about products and are willing to interact with designers. Inviting them to do interviews is helpful for product optimization and promotion.
B. Screening target users
Attention should be paid to balance when screening interviewees, so as to avoid too many interviewees of the same type, resulting in incomplete interview results. We need to screen respondents according to different user role models.
For example, to do an interview with the function optimization of a video social APP, it is necessary to avoid the situation that most of the objects are married post-80 s users, because married users are not the target users, and the demand frequency of post-80 s users is not very large. Obviously, after 90' s /95' s /00' s, college students/single men and women who just entered the workplace are our target users, so we should screen the invitees according to their role models. If there is no user role model as a benchmark before, you can also do user interviews first, which will also help to improve the role model later, and the two will not interfere with each other.
C. Invite users
Negotiate the appropriate time and place with the interviewee in advance. In order to ensure the interview effect, try to make an appointment when the interviewee is free or relaxed. If the confidentiality of the product is considered, the above-mentioned method can be adopted: inviting company members to experience it, which is also a relatively agile method, and some problems and user suggestions in product design can be obtained quickly.
Prepare some suitable small gifts in advance, such as limited membership, event tickets, coupons, etc. This can not only express gratitude, but also promote products (save costs)
5. On-site interview skills
After everything is ready, you can have an on-site interview.
1. Listen to the user, don't interrupt at will, and don't explain the product to the user.
The user's point of view is the focus of the interview. Users are users of your products, and now you are trying to understand their world. Users must listen carefully and don't interrupt. If you have any questions, you can ask them after they finish. And if you have been explaining the problems (faults) picked out by users in the view, trying to explain that those problems are not the fault of the product, how to correctly explain the results. To do so is to blame the consequences on the user's ignorance. As a result, a valuable face-to-face interview with users turned into a discussion and debate because of your failed emotional management. At this moment, whether you are PM, UE or UI, your duty is always to listen to users with the mentality of solving product problems, rather than answering product problems.
Don't digress, you control the field.
You may talk about it during the interview and turn it into a spit meeting. At this time, you need to pull users back and don't be led astray by users. The interviewer is the host. You should not only learn to listen, but also control the whole interview process.
3. Pay attention to guidance, not induction.
Don't ask users leading questions, such as whether the payment button here is not easy to use, or many people think this function is not easy to use. You usually ask this question, and users may have herd mentality and will only say the answer you want, not what they really think.
We can let you choose a set meal you need through open-ended questions, and then pay to join the 100 score system of this function. How many points will you get and why? Then when the user operates or answers, we pay attention to the user's operating behavior and emotions, such as how long it took to find the payment button and whether the facial expression changed when staying on the page. Here, the observer needs to take notes. Through what you have seen and heard, we can make a comprehensive judgment: the visual guidance is not strong? Is the interaction process too complicated? Or poor product performance.
4. Guide users to tell stories
During the interview, we need to listen to users' ideas more, so as to dig out users' needs and pain points. Try to guide users to tell stories about their usage scenarios and behaviors, such as "How much did this problem affect you, how was it solved at that time, what was the result, and under what circumstances would you use this function?" Putting the problem into a specific situation will help us understand users, get information and let users help product design.
5. Help users define statements
When describing a thing, users often use vague words. For example, I think the payment function is too complicated. At this time, we need users to define what they call complexity. We can leave 10 for users, and then ask users softly, "Does complexity mean that we can't find a payment entrance?" "Not if you find it?" "I don't know the coupon rules?" "Or something else" users can also dig deep into the problem when describing their own views, such as guiding users to say more ideas by comparison.
Comparison method: Compared with the payment function of other products, is this function still complicated? What is complicated?
6. Get the real needs of users
1. Nearest principle
Definition: Ask users to describe their emotional experience and handling methods when they recently experienced similar scenes.
In the interview, we need to know the user's behavior or attitude. For example, we want to know whether users will consider matching when buying clothing products. If you ask directly, you are actually asking users to summarize and refine their behavior. There may be some problems: for example, there will be deviations due to insufficient scene description or previous conditions; Secondly, such refinement is often short-lived and direct, so researchers lose many details of users' behaviors and experiences, which is not conducive to fully understanding users and excavating deep-seated needs. In fact, summarizing and refining is what researchers should do, and users only need to tell their own stories well.
For example, let users describe the detailed process of their last purchase of clothes, such as what they bought, how to search, how to choose and how to make a decision (user behavior path), and then put the matching questions into this purchase scenario to ask. In this process, researchers can also ask questions in time, which not only shows their interest in the content answered by users, but also guides users to recall and describe more experience details.
Only by fully understanding the details of users' behavior can we thoroughly explore each other's needs and attitudes.
* * * Don't let users describe their opinions and behaviors in a dry way, ask them to tell stories with the latest scene experience. Give memories to users and summarize them to designers.
Analysis and arrangement
After the interview, transcribe and sort out the interview contents in time. Transcription is the transformation from spoken language to written language. The purpose is to facilitate future review and provide reference for relevant personnel. Make a user analysis report on the arranged interview content, extract the unique information of users for analysis, and disassemble the analysis results, including product demand level, design level and technical level. Only by subdividing dimensions can we effectively plan the iteration plan.
* Note: The ultimate goal of the interview is action. The successful handover of user interview results is very important for the whole team, and a successful user interview report should be convenient for the product team to remember the key points in the research and put them into use.
Of course, although there are routines and skills in interviews, whether we can get users' real thoughts through interviews still needs to be done more, summarized more and reviewed more.
An excellent team will not give up the opportunity of face-to-face contact with users. The team may not invest in costs at this stage, or there are other methods to investigate users, but it is not so standardized.
However, a good methodology and a good workflow need to be promoted by people. This role is not limited to PM. UE/UI should not set restrictions for itself. Responsibility has nothing to do with position. The focus is on how you can help the team solve product problems.