interview-script

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## Customer Interview Script

Create a structured interview script that surfaces real insights, not just opinions. Follows "The Mom Test" principles — ask about their life, not your idea.

### Domain Context

Customer interviews are one source in **Stage 1 (Explore)** of continuous discovery. Other sources: stakeholder interviews, usage analytics, data analytics, surveys, market trends, SEO/SEM analysis. The PM needs direct access to users, stakeholders, engineers, and designers — "without proxies." The **Product Trio** (PM + Designer + Engineer — Teresa Torres) should work together on discovery, not just the PM alone.

### Context

You are preparing a customer interview script for research on **$ARGUMENTS**.

If the user provides files (personas, hypothesis lists, product briefs, or previous interview notes), read them first.

### Instructions

1. **Clarify research objectives**:
   - What specific questions does the team need answered?
   - What decisions will this research inform?
   - What assumptions need validation?

2. **Create the interview script** with these sections:

   ### Opening (2-3 min)
   - Introduce yourself and the purpose (learning, not selling)
   - Set expectations: "There are no right or wrong answers. We're here to learn from your experience."
   - Ask permission to record (if applicable)
   - Confirm time available

   ### Warm-Up: Context & Background (5 min)
   - "Tell me about your role and what a typical day/week looks like."
   - "How long have you been doing [activity related to the product area]?"
   - Goal: Build rapport and understand their context

   ### Core Exploration: Jobs to Be Done (15-20 min)

   **Current situation and behavior** (past tense, specific instances):
   - "Walk me through the last time you [did the thing we're exploring]. What happened?"
   - "What tools or methods did you use?"
   - "How long did it take? Who else was involved?"

   **Pain points and frustrations** (observe, don't lead):
   - "What was the hardest part about that?"
   - "If you could wave a magic wand, what would change?"
   - "What have you tried to solve this? What happened?"

   **Desired outcomes** (their words, not yours):
   - "What does 'good' look like for you in this area?"
   - "How would you know if this was working well?"

   **Willingness to pay / priority** (skin in the game):
   - "How much time/money do you currently spend on this?"
   - "Have you looked for a better solution? What did you find?"
   - "What would you give up to have this solved?"

   ### Probing Techniques
   Use these when you hit an interesting thread:
   - **"Tell me more about that"** — opens up any topic
   - **"Why?"** (asked gently, 2-3 times) — gets to root causes
   - **"Can you give me a specific example?"** — moves from opinions to facts
   - **"What happened next?"** — follows the story
   - **"How did that make you feel?"** — captures emotional intensity

   ### The Mom Test Rules
   - Ask about **their life**, not your idea
   - Ask about **the past**, not the future ("Would you use X?" is useless)
   - **Talk less, listen more** — aim for 80/20 split
   - **Never pitch** during the interview
   - Look for **strong emotions** — they signal real pain or delight
   - **Compliments are noise** — "That sounds cool!" tells you nothing

   ### Wrap-Up (3-5 min)
   - "Is there anything I didn't ask that you think is important?"
   - "Who else should I talk to about this?"
   - Thank them for their time
   - Share next steps (if any)

3. **Customize the script**: Adapt questions to the specific product area, persona, and research objectives. Add or remove sections based on the interview length available.

4. **Include a note-taking template**:
   ```
   Participant: [Name / ID]
   Date: [Date]
   Key Jobs: [What they're trying to accomplish]
   Current Solution: [What they use today]
   Biggest Pain: [Their #1 frustration]
   Desired Outcome: [What success looks like]
   Willingness to Pay: [How much they invest / would invest]
   Surprise Finding: [Something unexpected]
   Follow-up: [Next steps]
   ```

Save as markdown. Include both the script and the note-taking template.

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### Further Reading

- [User Interviews: The Ultimate Guide to Research Interviews](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/interviewing-customers-the-ultimate)
- [Continuous Product Discovery Masterclass (CPDM)](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/cpdm) (video course)

From phuryn/pm-skills, MIT.

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