User interviews are information gathering meetings wherein a team member asks real-life user questions about their experience with a product or service.

User interviews can be conducted in several ways, depending on what is best for your organization. That said, some best practices run across the board.

You’ll want to ensure that your user is comfortable, you have a reliable note-taking system ready for the interview itself, and you have a set of user research interview questions that will reveal insights into your product or service.

But how do you formulate a user research question that will provide the valuable insight you’re looking for? First, you’ll want to approach your questions with an objective in mind. For instance, if your organization is focused on uncovering and resolving common user issues, you’ll want to ask specific questions about the user’s experience, their general feelings on the product, and any specific problems they’ve run into.

Here are a few general rules to follow:

• Make questions simple enough for the interviewee to give a concise answer without thinking too hard.
• Ask open-ended questions.
• Offer specific scenarios. Some users may not feel comfortable going in depth without being prompted.

The most important aspect of user interview analysis is adequate, organized note-taking. A structured note-taking system will reveal trends on its own.

Don’t rely on memory alone—use FigJam’s user interview script example and template to record your interview data. FigJam keeps your information organized, clear, and accessible to everyone in your organization.