Participants:
2-4 people
Time:
from 60 to 90 min
Materials needed:
Camera, Notebook, Audio recorder, Pens, Pencils
Process step: Clarify Goal
9 dots

Design-Thinking method: Interview

Interview is a relevant method to understand the users' needs and requirements in the context and community in which they are placed. It is a method that allows to be in empathy with people. Interviews can be individual or in a group. In the individual one, you choose a subject and observe it in its real context. On-site interviews are very effective and allow the interviewer to inspect all the surrounding objects and to learn more about their lifestyle from the place where they live and work.

How to:

  1. Clearly define the goal of the interview and build an interview guide. To make it effective, ask yourself what you really want to find out through the interview and what you hope to gain.
  2. Prepare the tools and material needed for the interview: question guide, interviewee details and contacts, directions on how to get to the location, notepad, pens, camera, recorder, reward for the interviewee.
  3. In case of on-site interview, ask the interviewee to show how they interact with the objects, space, or tools around them. Record the interactions and take pics of the most interesting moments.
  4. Ask always “why?”, this helps you to dig deeper into user needs and the respondents to understand the reason for their behaviour.
  5. Immediately after the interview, make sure you have captured the information well. Write down observations, important parts of the story, phrases or quotes. Also ask yourself what issues you would like to explore in the next interview and what motivated you most.

You can download the card as PDFs from this link:

You can also find it on the Materials page along with all the other Resources in the course.

Resources