
User interviews are important for understanding users, their experiences, needs, and challenges. These interviews help gather detailed insights, find new ideas for improvement, and check if our assumptions are correct. They show what users think and feel when they use a product, allowing teams to see things from the users’ perspective.
The information we get from these interviews helps in designing and developing better products. It leads to creating user-need statements, empathy maps, personas, and customer journey maps. To get useful insights, we should ask open-ended, non-leading questions. This encourages honest and detailed answers, often by asking for examples or explanations of their experiences.
Here are 50 useful user interview questions:
I. Introduction & Context Questions
These questions help build rapport, understand the user's background, and establish the context of their daily life or work habits in relation to your product or topic.
Please tell me about yourself and your relationship to [project topic/area of interest]?
What is your occupation/role? How long have you been in that occupation/role?
Describe your typical day.
How is this particular product/service/user interface relevant to your daily life?
How often do you use/interact with [product/service/user interface/topic]?
II. Current Experiences & Pain Points Questions
These questions delve into users' existing behaviours, challenges, mental models, and the "why" behind their actions, helping to identify problem areas and opportunities.
Walk me through the last time you did this [issue/task].
What if any issues/pain points do you have with [issue/task]?
How do you currently deal with [issue/task/problem]?
What are the most difficult parts of [issue/task]? Why?
What are the easiest parts of [issue/task]? Why?
Are there any obstacles you must overcome when dealing with [issue/task]? Tell me about those.
Do you have any workarounds for this [issue/task]? Tell me about those.
How much of your time is typically spent dealing with [issue/task], and how much time would you like to spend?
Why is this [issue/task] important to do?
What other methods, if any, have you tried for dealing with this [issue/task]? How well did they work/not work?
What do you like, if anything, about how you are currently dealing with [issue/task]? If yes- what is it? If no- why not?
How would you describe your experience with [tool, website, or application/product]?
In what ways is [product/service/interface] better or worse than those you felt were similar? Why?
What do you like about the current [project website or application/product]?
What don’t you like about the current [project website or application/product]?
Is there anything you often look for on [project website or application] that is missing or hard to find?
Is there any way [project website or application] isn't supporting your needs currently?
What is the most important when you look for [product/service]?
How do you usually get to [project website or application]? (Follow up: Do you use a bookmark? What terms do you search? What sites do you link from?)
What devices do you normally use when visiting/using [website/tool/product]?
When you are on a computer and the internet, are there any challenges you face accessing information?
What are the most important tasks you need to perform using [product or application]?
How do your [colleagues/friends/family/etc.] complete [task]?
Where did you learn how to do [task]?
How did you feel when learning how to do [task]?
III. Opportunities & Future State Questions
These questions help uncover potential solutions, explore new ideas, and understand user needs and desires for a future or improved product/service.
What would an alternative solution to this task look like [issue/task]?
What do you think [product] is best used for?
What are all the ways you use [product]?
For what else do you imagine you could use this product/service/interface for?
What’s stopping you from using [product/service/interface] for that?
If you could improve this product/service/interface, what would you change?
How would those changes affect your use of it?
How valuable would the product/service/interface be to you if you enacted those changes?
How likely/unlikely are you to use this product/service/interface? Why or why not?
Do you feel this product/service/interface would be useful for you? Why or why not?
In what ways would this product/service/interface be useful for you? In what ways would you use it?
What are reasons you might not use this product/service/interface?
What do you think is the primary function of the [project topic/product]?
What is your main goal when visiting the [project website or application]? Do you have any secondary goals?
What would prevent you from achieving [project goal]?
What improvements could be made to make [project goal] easier or better?
How do you use the information on the [project website or application]?
Would you ever need to share these metrics/information with others? If yes – who, what format and method of sharing?
Would you ever need to export [information or asset in project]? If yes – when, why and in what format?
What do you wish our product could do that it can't today?
When you conduct interviews, ask follow-up questions to get more information. Use questions like "Tell me more about that," "Can you expand on that?" or "Why is that important to you?"
These questions help uncover people's motivations and perceptions. Avoid leading questions that hint at a desired answer. While this guide gives a good starting point, make sure to tailor your questions to fit each project and its specific research goals.