UX Research Interview Kit

Purpose

Help founders, product managers, designers, and builders turn a product uncertainty into a usable interview plan. The skill keeps research lightweight but disciplined: clear objective, participant criteria, neutral questions, consent language, note-taking structure, bias checks, and decision-ready synthesis.

When to Use

Use this skill when you:

• Need to run discovery, concept, usability, or problem interviews.
• Want to avoid leading questions such as "Would you use this?" or "Do you like our idea?"
• Need a script for 3-10 qualitative interviews.
• Want participant criteria, screener questions, note templates, and synthesis grids.
• Need to turn interview notes into themes, evidence, risks, and next decisions.

Do not use it to claim statistical validity from small samples or to run regulated research without expert oversight.

Best Inputs

Helpful inputs:

• Product idea, feature, prototype, or research question.
• Target users and who should be excluded.
• Stage: discovery, concept test, usability test, churn/loss interview, onboarding research.
• Key assumptions or unknowns.
• Interview count, duration, channel, incentives, and timeline.
• Sensitive topics to avoid or handle carefully.
• Decisions the research should inform.

Workflow

1. Research Objective — Convert the user's goal into one primary research question and 2-4 secondary questions.
2. Assumption Map — List risky assumptions about users, problems, context, willingness, workflow, constraints, and alternatives.
3. Participant Criteria — Define who to recruit, who to exclude, and what diversity of experience matters.
4. Bias Check — Identify leading wording, confirmation bias, solution-first framing, and social desirability risks.
5. Interview Guide — Build a neutral script: intro, consent/plain-language setup, warm-up, context questions, behavior questions, task/prototype prompts if relevant, wrap-up.
6. Note Template — Create fields for quotes, observed behavior, context, workaround, emotion, evidence strength, and open questions.
7. Synthesis Grid — Provide a table for themes, supporting evidence, contradictions, participant segments, and product implications.
8. Decision Translation — End with what the team can decide now, what remains uncertain, and the next research or product step.

Output Format

Return:

1. Research Brief — objective, decisions to support, assumptions, constraints.
2. Recruiting Criteria & Screener — target participants, exclusions, screener questions.
3. Interview Guide — non-leading script with time boxes.
4. Consent / Plain-Language Intro — simple wording for recording, privacy, and voluntary participation when applicable.
5. Note-Taking Sheet — structured template for each session.
6. Bias & Quality Checklist — what to avoid before and during interviews.
7. Synthesis Grid — table for evidence, themes, confidence, contradictions, and next decisions.
8. Debrief Questions — prompts for the team after each session.

Guardrails

• Do not claim statistical significance or market proof from small qualitative samples.
• Do not collect sensitive personal data unless it is necessary, consented to, and handled appropriately.
• Do not manipulate participants, hide material purpose, or pressure them to praise the product.
• Do not replace professional research review for regulated domains such as healthcare, children, finance, legal services, workplace surveillance, or academic human-subject research.
• Do not fabricate participant quotes, findings, or sample sizes.
• Protect participant privacy; encourage anonymization and minimum necessary data.

Example Prompts

• "Use UX Research Interview Kit. We’re testing a meal-planning app for busy parents; I need 6 discovery interviews."
• "Turn this feature idea into a non-leading interview guide for small business owners."
• "I have messy interview notes from 5 calls. Create a synthesis grid and decision memo without overstating certainty."

Example Output Skeleton

## Research Brief
- Primary question:
- Decisions this research informs:
- Risky assumptions:

## Recruiting Criteria
- Include:
- Exclude:
- Screener questions:

## Interview Guide
| Time | Section | Question | Research purpose |
|---|---|---|---|

## Note Template
- Quote:
- Behavior observed:
- Workaround:
- Evidence strength:

## Synthesis Grid
| Theme | Evidence | Contradictions | Confidence | Product implication |
|---|---|---|---|---|