It was great to chat with Per and James (again — 2015 is here, 2017 is here) for their legendary UX Podcast (in support of the second edition of Interviewing Users).

Our 40-minute conversation is on the episode page (with transcript here) and embedded below.

Over ten years have passed since the first edition of Steve Portigal’s legendary book Interviewing Users was released. Together with Steve, we reflect on how user research has evolved during the past decade, and how the importance of user research in order to understand people and their needs is still crucial.

We discuss in-house vs consulting for research practices, research teams and leadership, a rapidly changing and evolving industry, and ultimately the importance of a human connection in order to care about them in our designs and in business.

“I don’t think you can consistently invent your way into success. It does take this understanding, and caring for the human aspect of people.”

– Steve Portigal

Let’s talk about what happens when user research fails to land. How do you deal with this? Video embedded below, or here.

Buy the second edition of Interviewing Users!

Being in an in interview is a powerful opportunity to provoke deeper reflection – beyond but not limited to the ‘data’ – about what it is that you’re trying to understand and even change about the world.

Here’s a short excerpt from my recent appearance on the NN/g podcast.

Thanks to Therese Fessenden having me on the NN/g UX Podcast (in support of launching the second edition of Interviewing Users).

Our 45-minute conversation is on YouTube (and embedded below), and Spotify (and embedded below).

Topics/outline

• What is a User Interview
• Steve’s Journey
• Why to Choose User Interviews
• When to Choose Other Methods
• What has Changed in User Interviews
• Remote User Interviews
• What has NOT Changed in User Interviews
• Improving User Interview Skills

One of the things I do like about interviews is that it’s a method that changes the researcher — it changes their understanding of people, of the problem, of the opportunity and it does that in this experiential kind of immersive way. If I’m going to talk to a number of people over the course of a week, I’m going to be scratching my chin on the dog walk or thinking in the shower. It gives you a lot of experiential stuff to chew on. The conclusions that you take are not obvious, they’re not in the interview. For me it’s a very rewarding experience to be pushed into this sustained creative state as you’re thinking about the people that you met and how they talked and how they how they view their work and how they view their lives because it even if it doesn’t directly go there; It goes there indirectly. You start to understand something about other kinds of people so it’s really rich and rewarding which is nice on its own I guess but it’s a really powerful way to stimulate thinking about what it is that we’re trying to answer. I get a lot out of it with the data and I get a lot out of it with the experience.

I had a fun time signing copies of Interviewing Users, 2nd Edition, and Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries, at the Advancing Research conference last week.

In promoting the second edition of Interviewing Users, I spoke with Mike Green on Understanding Users: The UX Podcast.

Go check out one-hour conversation (and a transcript) on the episode page, embedded below, and at Spotify, and Apple.

Highlights

• 05:20 – How user research has evolved in the last 10 years and the genesis of the second edition of the book
• 11:00 – Remote research and the impact of COVID
• 17:22 – Developments in user research tooling
• 23:40 – Emergence of ResearchOps as a career path
• 31:40 – Navigating challenges in running user research
• 39:37 – Steve’s own key takeaway from the book
• 45:11 – Feedback loops and ways of building rapport with users
• 50:35 – The joy and privilege of researching and learning
• 57:25 – The impact of AI on research as a discipline

As part of the Advancing Research conference, I’ll be teaching a full-day workshop (registration info here) on March 27th.

Interviewing is undeniably one of the most valuable and commonly used user research tools. Yet it’s often not used well, because:

• It’s based on skills we think we have (talking and even listening)
• It’s not taught or reflected on, and
• People tend to “wing it” rather than develop their skills.

Results may be inaccurate or reveal nothing new, suggesting the wrong design or business responses, or they may miss the crucial nuance that points to innovative breakthrough opportunities.

In this highly interactive workshop, Steve Portigal will teach you crucial techniques for successful user research, and give you an opportunity to practice and reflect in a supportive environment.

Target Audience
This workshop will be valuable to anyone who is using user research to inform the decisions their organizations make. This includes both people with “researcher” in their job description, as well as designers, engineers, and product managers (also known as “People Who Do Research.”) If you’re new to interviewing people, you’ll learn the fundamentals; if you’ve been doing research for a while you’ll benefit from the opportunity to reflect on and improve your own practice.

It’s been a few years since I’ve done an in-person workshop open the public on the east coast. Please pass this along to your friends and colleagues who might benefit!

As part of the ‘book tour’ for second edition of Interviewing Users, I was interviewed by Hannah Clark for the Product Manager podcast, for an episode titled “How To Master User Interviews To Build More Lovable Products.

You can find our 40-minute conversation (and a transcript) on the episode page and also embedded below.

I like Hannah’s preface:

Before we dive in, I just want to say that what you’re about to hear was the most meta conversation we’ve ever had on this show. I’m not talking about Meta the company. I’m talking like this was the Inception edition of the Product Manager Podcast. In this episode, I got to interview a user interview expert about how to interview better while simultaneously getting better at interviewing in real time.

Yes, I am still excited about it. And not because of how helpful it was for me, but because the next half hour or so is going to make a noticeable difference in how you conduct user interviews.

Highlights

Structuring Questions for Insightful Answers

• The importance of structuring questions before silence is discussed, with an emphasis on the impact of question formulation on user feedback.
• Steve suggests having various ways to ask a question in the interviewer’s toolkit, such as comparisons, specific examples, and projections into the future.
• Examples of question structures are provided, including comparing across time, asking about colleagues or bosses, exploring exceptions, and delving into childhood influences.
• The goal is to triangulate around the interviewee’s mental models, helping them articulate the underlying reasons behind their behaviors.
• Interviewers should adapt their questioning techniques to uncover deeper insights, recognizing that individuals might not be consciously aware of the roots of their choices.

Addressing Bias in User Interviews

• Steve encourages self-forgiveness, recognizing that cognitive biases are inherent in human thinking.
• Confirmation bias, where interviewers hear what they expect, is highlighted as a challenge. Steve suggests pre-research discussions about assumptions to make biases explicit.
• Steve shares a personal story of overcoming his own ageism bias during an interview with a small business founder. He realizes his preconceived judgments were incorrect, leading to self-reflection and redirecting questions.
• Steve emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing biases during interviews, with the goal of understanding participants more deeply.

User research is gloriously messy!

Buy Interviewing Users from Rosenfeld Media.

Creating those learning-ready moments so that user research can have impact is an ongoing journey in your relationships with the rest of your team.

Here’s a short excerpt from my conversation with Larry Swanson on his podcast.