10 User Interviews Interview Questions and Answers for ux researchers

1. Can you walk me through your process for conducting a user interview?

When conducting a user interview, my process typically involves the following steps:

1. Research: I start by researching the industry, product, and target audience to ensure I have a solid understanding of the product or service being offered and the type of users who may be interested.
2. Designing questions: Based on my research, I develop a list of open-ended questions that are tailored to the specific user group I will be interviewing. I aim to make the questions conversational in tone and avoid any leading questions that may bias the user's responses.
3. Selecting participants: After developing my interview questions, I select a group of participants that matches the target audience of the product or service. I aim to get a diverse range of participants to ensure a broad range of feedback.
4. Conducting the interview: During the interview, I make sure to create a comfortable setting where the participant feels relaxed and open to share their insights. I start with broad questions and then gradually move towards more specific ones. I actively listen to the user's responses and ask follow-up questions to delve deeper into their answers.
5. Analysis: After conducting the user interviews, I take time to analyze the data I collected. I look for common themes and trends in the responses and use that information to develop actionable insights for product development.
6. Reporting: Finally, I write up my findings and present them in a clear and concise report. This report includes insights from the user interviews and any specific recommendations on how the product can be improved to better meet the needs of the target audience.

Last year, I conducted user interviews for a new e-commerce platform. By following this process, I was able to gather invaluable feedback from users that helped the development team make significant updates to the platform before its launch. The result was a platform that provided a better user experience and increased revenue for the company.

2. How do you select participants for your user interviews?

When selecting participants for user interviews, I follow a few key steps to ensure that I gather accurate and actionable feedback:

1. Define the target audience: First, I work with the product team to identify the specific target audience for our product. This might involve looking at demographic data, user behavior analytics or existing customer feedback.
2. Craft a screener survey: Next, I create a screener survey that asks a few basic questions to help me filter out participants who don't meet our target audience criteria. For example, if we are designing a product for working professionals, I might ask respondents what industry they work in, their level of experience, and what tools or technologies they use on a daily basis.
3. Recruit participants: Once the screener survey is ready, I use a combination of online platforms and social media to reach out to potential participants. For example, I might use LinkedIn to find working professionals in a specific industry, or use Twitter to ask for referrals from people in my network.
4. Screen participants: When potential participants respond to the screener survey, I review their answers to ensure that they meet our target audience criteria. Depending on the number of respondents, I might follow up with a few key candidates to ask additional questions or clarify their responses.
5. Confirm interviews: After selecting the final set of participants, I confirm the interview details and send them a thank-you email with a calendar invitation. This email will also include detailed instructions about how to prepare for the interview and what to expect.

By following these steps, I have been able to successfully recruit and interview dozens of target users for design and product initiatives. In my most recent project, our target audience was small business owners. By using a targeted screener survey and recruiting through LinkedIn, we were able to interview 15 participants who were all small business owners in a specific industry. The insights we gathered from these interviews helped us identify key pain points and design a product that better aligns with the needs of our target audience.

3. What types of questions do you typically ask participants during a user interview?

During a user interview, I typically ask a mix of open-ended and specific questions in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the user's experience. Here are some of the types of questions I typically ask:

1. What led you to use our product/service?
2. Can you walk me through your experience with our product/service?
3. What did you like best about using our product/service?
4. What did you find most challenging about using our product/service?
5. Did you encounter any errors or technical issues while using our product/service?
6. How frequently do you use our product/service?
7. What other products or services have you used in the past that are similar to ours?
8. How does our product/service compare to others you have used?
9. Do you have any suggestions for how we can improve our product/service?
10. Finally, would you recommend our product/service to others?

By asking a mix of these types of questions, I am able to gather a wide range of data and concrete results about the user's experience, likes and dislikes, and areas where improvement is needed. For example, by asking about errors or technical issues, I can identify specific bugs that are causing frustration for users, allowing us to improve the functionality of our product. Similarly, by asking about the user's comparison to similar products, I can identify areas where our product is lagging behind or excelling in comparison to our competitors, allowing us to adjust our strategy accordingly.

4. How do you balance the need for structured questioning with the desire for open-ended conversation?

When it comes to balancing structured questioning with open-ended conversation, I believe in using a hybrid approach. I start with a structured set of questions to ensure that I cover all the necessary information, but I also leave room for open-ended follow-ups to explore any interesting or unexpected responses.

1. For example, in a recent user interview, I began by asking the participant about their experience using our product. This provided a structured framework for the conversation.
2. However, when the participant mentioned a particular pain point, I asked an open-ended question: "Can you tell me more about that?" This led to a deeper discussion about their frustrations and allowed me to gather more detailed feedback.
3. To ensure I was still covering all the necessary topics, I had a list of follow-up questions prepared ahead of time. This allowed me to keep the conversation on track while still exploring interesting tangents.

This hybrid approach has been successful for me in the past. In fact, in a recent round of user interviews, I was able to gather valuable feedback that led to several key changes being made to our product. As a result, we saw a 20% increase in user satisfaction ratings.

5. How do you handle participants who may be difficult to interview or provide vague answers?

Answer:

1. Firstly, I always begin the interview with an open-ended question that sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. By asking a question that allows the participant to frame their answer in a way that is comfortable for them, I find that they are much more likely to open up and share more information.
2. If a participant is proving to be difficult, I ensure that I remain calm, professional and respectful. I never want to come across as confrontational or aggressive, as this can escalate the situation and make the participant feel even more uncomfortable. Instead, I try to redirect the conversation back to the topic at hand and ask more specific questions that may prompt them to open up.
3. When a participant provides vague answers, I ask for specific examples or details that can help me understand their perspective better. I also rephrase the question and present it in a different way to see if that prompts a more specific answer. By doing this, I find that participants are often able to provide more information than they originally thought they could.
4. During the interview, I take detailed notes to ensure that I have a clear record of what was discussed. I also review these notes after the interview to make sure I have captured all the essential points. In some cases, I have to go back and follow-up with the participant if anything was unclear or if there were any gaps in the information they provided.
5. Finally, I always try to end the interview on a positive note. I thank the participant for their time and insights and ask if there is anything else they would like to share. This often leads to more information being shared that might have been missed otherwise.

As a result of these strategies, I have been able to successfully complete numerous difficult interviews with participants who were initially hesitant or uncooperative. In several cases, I was able to uncover insights that the participant had not previously shared with anyone else, leading to more informed decision-making and better outcomes for the project.

6. Can you give an example of a time when a user interview uncovered something unexpected?

During a user interview for our e-commerce platform, we asked a customer about their overall experience using our website. The customer mentioned that they often abandoned their shopping cart because they were unsure about the quality of our products.

1. We asked follow-up questions to understand why the customer had doubts about product quality.
2. Through further probing, we learned that the lack of product reviews made the customer hesitant to purchase anything on our platform.
3. We made the decision to add a product review feature to our website, allowing customers to leave feedback on their purchases.
4. After implementing this feature, we saw a 25% increase in sales and a 15% increase in the number of returning customers.

This unexpected insight from the customer interview not only addressed a concern but also led to a significant increase in our overall sales and customer loyalty.

7. How do you incorporate participant feedback into the design process?

At my previous company, we conducted user interviews at every stage of our design process to ensure our product was meeting the needs of our target users. We started by collecting feedback through surveys and one-on-one interviews. We then analyzed this feedback to identify patterns and themes.

1. First, we created a priority list of the most common issues users experienced with our application.
2. We then brought in our design team to brainstorm solutions to address these issues.
3. After creating several potential solutions, we presented these concepts back to our users for further feedback.
4. We gauged their reactions, asked open-ended questions, and tracked which concepts received the most positive feedback.
5. Next, the design team refined their favorite concepts into prototypes to test with users.
6. We used a user-testing platform to stream our tests remotely and evaluate user feedback from around the world.
7. Utlimately, we were able to measure the success of the new design versions based on user engagement data.

Based on this intensive feedback cycle, our team redesigned and launched an updated version of our application that addressed the most critical user concerns. This improved design led to a 25% increase in user retention and a 15% increase in user satisfaction scores in six months after the redesign.

8. In what ways do you account for bias in your user interviews?

One of the most important aspects of conducting user interviews is accounting for potential bias, which can impact the accuracy of our findings. At XYZ Company, we implement several measures to ensure that our interviews are as unbiased as possible:

1. We carefully select our interviewees, ensuring that we have a diverse and representative sample of users. This helps to reduce any potential biases that may arise from relying on a homogenous group.
2. We use standardized interview questions, which have been designed to elicit specific information from users. This means that we are asking each interviewee the same set of questions, reducing the risk of interviewer bias.
3. We conduct our interviews in an open and impartial manner, avoiding leading questions that may steer user responses in a particular direction.
4. We also ask our interviewees to reflect on their responses, encouraging them to consider whether their answers may have been influenced by any external factors. This promotes self-awareness and helps us to identify potential biases in our interview findings.

Through these measures, we have been able to conduct user interviews that provide accurate and actionable insights. For example, by implementing these techniques in our recent user testing for a new app feature, we were able to identify a previously unknown user need, resulting in a redesign that improved user satisfaction by 30%.

9. How do you ensure that your user interviews are representative of the user population?

Ensuring that user interviews are representative of the user population is crucial in order to get accurate and reliable feedback. To achieve this, I follow a thorough user recruitment process that involves:

1. Defining the user population by identifying relevant demographics such as age, gender, location, job title, and education level.
2. Identifying recruitment channels that are most likely to reach the defined user population, such as social media, online forums, or user testing panels.
3. Creating screening questions to verify that the potential user fits the defined user population.
4. Offering incentives such as gift cards or discounts to increase participation rates and ensure a diverse sample.
5. Scheduling interviews at convenient times and locations for the user.

Once I have recruited a representative sample, I analyze the feedback to ensure that it is representative of the user population. For example, if the user population is evenly split between males and females, but my interviews were skewed towards one gender, I would adjust my recruitment process and screening questions to correct this bias.

By following this user recruitment process, I have been able to consistently achieve a highly representative sample. In my last project, we had a target user population of software developers aged 25-40 who worked remotely, and we were able to recruit a sample of 50 users with a 50:50 gender split and a diverse range of job titles and education levels. The feedback we received was highly valuable in informing the design and development of the product.

10. How do you measure the success of your user interviews?

Measuring the success of user interviews is a key part of understanding if we are on the right track. Here are two ways in which I typically measure the success of my user interviews:

1. User Satisfaction Scores: After each interview, I request users to fill out a satisfaction score on a scale of 1-5. From my experience, the average score has consistently been above 4.5, indicating that users have a positive experience during the interviews.
2. Number of Insights: Another way I measure success is by counting the number of unique insights gathered during the interviews. For example, in my last project, we conducted 20 user interviews, and gathered more than 100 unique insights. This indicated that the interview questions were well-designed, and allowed us to uncover many unexplored areas.

Overall, these metrics, combined with our team's feedback, help us understand how to improve our user interviews going forward, and be confident that we're heading in the right direction.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing this set of user interviews interview questions and answers in 2023. The next steps towards landing your remote UX researcher job involve crafting a cover letter that showcases your skills and qualifications. Don't forget to write an impressive cover letter by following our step-by-step guide. Another important step is to prepare an outstanding CV that highlights your relevant work experience and skills. Check out our resume guide for UX researchers to make sure your CV catches recruiters' eyes. Finally, start searching for your ideal remote UX researcher job on our website's job board. We offer a range of remote UX researcher jobs for you to explore. Take the first step and access them here!