THE PLAYBOOKS / CUSTOMER RESEARCH

Customer interview decision guide

Start with the decision you need to make, not the questions you want to ask. Plan who you’ll talk to, what you’ll listen for, and what would change your mind. A few interviews can inform a decision; they rarely prove one.

01What decision will these interviews inform?

One decision, and the options you’re choosing between.

02What are you assuming that could be wrong?

State the belief that, if false, would change your choice.

03Who should you talk to, and who should you avoid?

Include recent behavior and consider people who left or never started.

04How will you find them, and what might bias the group?

Note how recruiting could skew who you hear from.

05What past behavior will you ask about?

Ask about specific recent events rather than opinions or predictions.

06What would you expect to hear if the assumption is true, and if it’s false?

Write it before the first interview.

07How will you record evidence separate from interpretation?

Quotes and observations in one place, your reading in another.

08What will you do under each plausible outcome?

Agree the decision rule before you hear the answers.

09What will these interviews not tell you?

Sample size, who is missing, and what needs another method.

Notes are yours; example answers are hypothetical. Field completion does not validate a plan.