User interview discussion guide

Below is an example interview script that follows Teresa Torres’s Continuous Discovery Habits framework. This sample discussion guide is based on a fictional study with people who sell their handmade art on Etsy.

💡 TIPS:

• Copy and adapt this as needed.
• Try out your script with a test audience before sitting down with participants..
• Start your script with a broad introduction to get participants comfortable and then narrow down into more specific topics.
• Don’t ask leading or loaded questions:

• ASK: What do you think about this product feature?
• DO NOT ASK: What do you like about this product feature?

• After the person responds, make sure to reflect back what you heard to them.
• Be patient with silence—your participant may be thinking about how to best express their thoughts.,

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today. My name is [NAME] and I am a [X] with the team.

The purpose of this session is to learn more about your experience as someone who creates and sells art online. If I ask ‘why’ quite a lot, it's just to ensure that I understand your experiences. There are no right or wrong answers and you are free to stop the interview at any time.

The session should last around X minutes.

IF RECORDING: We’ll be recording the session (for research purposes only).

Are there any questions before we get started?

Topic 0: Introduction & warmup

Learning goals: Get a sense of who your participants are—their motivations, interests, pain points, and the patterns of their daily lives.

• To start off, I’d love to learn a little bit about your background. Where are you dialing in from today?
• What do you do for work?
• What is your typical workday like?
• What does a typical weekend look like for you?
• What are some of the apps and websites you use most often?

Topic 1: Their art

Learning goals: Learn more about the kind of art they make, why they create it, what inspires them, and their motivations for selling.

• Tell me about your art.
• Can you walk me through the process of creating a [linocut, watercolor painting, needlepoint, etc]?
• How did you start doing [X]?
• How do you decide what to create?
• Why did you start selling your art online?
• How would you characterize the people who purchase your art?

Topic 2: Experience selling art on the internet

Learning goals: Dig into their experience as a seller

• On which websites and platforms do you sell/have you sold art online?
• What made you choose Etsy as a seller platform?
• How would you describe your experience as an Etsy seller?
• Walk me through the last time you listed an item on Etsy.
• What was the most challenging part of that process?

Topic 3: Unicorn wishes & wind down

Learning goals: Dive into potential opportunities.

Our time is coming to a close and I'd love to wind down with what I call unicorn wishes. If you could make any change to the user experience/product design/your own workflow/what would it be?

Finally,

• What should I have asked about?
• Do you have any questions for me?

Thank you again for taking the time to connect with me and sharing your experiences with me.