Solution: Interview Guide

Here is my interview guide for the Grocery Story Chain app Research Plan.

My Interview Guide

Introduction and overview of the study
My name is Alex and I’m a Product Manager here at Grocery store. The team’s been working on some exciting new ideas about the shopping experience and we wanted to share them with you and get your feedback.

The way that this interview will run is… I have a few background questions to get to know you a little bit better and some of your shopping habits. Then, we’ll switch gears and I’ll show you a prototype that the team has been working on and ask you for your feedback.

Before we get started, please review this NDA and sign it. It’s important that the things we show you and the ideas that we discuss today stay confidential.

Do you have any questions before we get started?

No questions… Great! Is it ok if I record this session? The recording is only going to be used internally by the team to refer back to our conversation. It also helps make sure that we don’t miss anything in the notes.

General questions about the user's background (as related to the product)

• Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
• How long have you been living in this city?
• Can you tell me a little bit about your living situation?
• When was the last time you went to a grocery store? How often do you go?

More specific questions about the user's experiences getting groceries

• Have you ever purchased groceries online? Why or why not?
• What types of items would you consider purchasing online? Why?
• Do you have any concerns about purchasing groceries online? Why?
• If you were to purchase groceries online, how would you like items to get to you? Why?

Tasks for the user to complete in the prototype
Now I’m going to show you a prototype that the team has been working on. Keep in mind that this isn’t a test… And there’s no right or wrong answer. We’re trying to understand how well this idea works for you. And because it’s a prototype, not everything you see in the app may work.

One more thing… As you start using the prototype, I’m going to ask you to think out loud. I’m interested in hearing what you are seeing on the screen, how you are interpreting it, and what you expect things to do.

• Go ahead and take a look around. Can you describe what you see?
• How would you go about finding items that you ordered in the past? Can you show me?
• Let’s say that you wanted to purchase more paper towels. How would you do that?
• What are the different options for getting the product to you? Which one do you prefer? Why?

User's feedback about the prototype
Awesome! Thanks so much for going through all of that with us. Just a few more questions

• Do you think this is something you would use? Why or why not?
• Is there anything you think could be improved?
• Is there any other feedback you want to share with the team?

Thank you message to the user for participating
Thanks so much for coming in! We really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts about what we’ve been working on.

Things to Remember

It’s important to have a good structure for the user study. This can be achieved by starting with an introduction and then asking broad questions, which become more focused and then switching to asking the user to complete tasks using the prototype.

When creating your research plan and running the study, it’s also very important to keep your questions open ended and avoid leading questions. This helps to make sure that you are getting unbiased, honest answers back from the user.

User Interviews Further Research

• How to conduct user interviews

• 6 Tips for Better User Interviews