Creating With People & Interviewing

“Keep in mind that the purpose of a qualitative interview is not to get the informant to answer the interview questions. Rather, the purpose is to listen to their stories so that [you] can acquire an understanding of how their experiences unfolded, and the meanings that they associated with these experiences.” Roseanne E. Roberts Qualitative Interview Questions: Guidance for Novice Researchers

Class Prompt: What are the needs and desires of the people who are experiencing the problem? How can we ensure they are co-designers in the process?

Pre-work to better outline your challenge: I would like to learn from [user] in order to understand [problem] challenge

SAMPLES:

I would like to learn from teens who use county services to understand the challenges they face in accessing services.

I would like to learn how they use 311 services from senior adults to understand the most pressing challenges.

Slides from Workshop

⁠

Designing with People_ Empathy Interviewing.pptx

4 MB

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Conversation Guide Template

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Empathy Interview Conversation Guide.docx

25.2 kB

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Introduction & ground rules

Introduce yourself & the project/effort in basic terms, like how long the conversation should take, if you are taking notes or recording the conversation.

Share some ground rules to set the context and make the participant feel more comfortable:

All answers are good answers, no right/wrong, everything you share will be helpful in building a better experience.

You can stop this interview at any time.

Everything you share will be kept anonymous/ confidential (only if true!)

Ask if the interviewee has any questions, and if it is okay with them to start.

About the User as a Person

Can you tell us about yourself?

General question(s) related to your challenge area, such as how did you learn about the Summer Camp Program?

Understanding of the Challenge Area

In your understanding, what is the purpose of [insert program/ task/ etc]?

What are your expectations of [insert program/ task/ etc]?

Additional questions to understand the interviewee’s awareness of and experience with the challenge area

Ease, Attractiveness, Social Reinforcement, Timeliness (

EAST Framework⁠

)

Sample questions below based on fictional “Summer Camp Program”

Ease: How was your experience registering your child for the Summer Camp Program?

Attractiveness: What appealed to you most about the Summer Camp Program? Least?

Social Reinforcement: If you were going to tell a neighbor or other local parent about the Summer Camp Program, what would you share?

Timeliness: When do you begin thinking about summer plans for your child(ren)?

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