/interview-script

name: interview-script
description: "Create a structured customer interview script with JTBD probing questions, warm-up, core exploration, and wrap-up sections. Follows The Mom Test principles — no leading questions, no pitching, focus on past behavior. Use when preparing for user interviews, creating interview guides, or planning discovery research."

Customer Interview Script

Create a structured interview script that surfaces real insights, not just opinions. Follows "The Mom Test" principles — ask about their life, not your idea.

Domain Context

Customer interviews are one source in **Stage 1 (Explore)** of continuous discovery. Other sources: stakeholder interviews, usage analytics, data analytics, surveys, market trends, SEO/SEM analysis. The PM needs direct access to users, stakeholders, engineers, and designers — "without proxies." The **Product Trio** (PM + Designer + Engineer — Teresa Torres) should work together on discovery, not just the PM alone.

Context

You are preparing a customer interview script for research on **$ARGUMENTS**.

If the user provides files (personas, hypothesis lists, product briefs, or previous interview notes), read them first.

Instructions

1. **Clarify research objectives**:

• What specific questions does the team need answered?
• What decisions will this research inform?
• What assumptions need validation?

2. **Create the interview script** with these sections:

Opening (2-3 min)

• Introduce yourself and the purpose (learning, not selling)
• Set expectations: "There are no right or wrong answers. We're here to learn from your experience."
• Ask permission to record (if applicable)
• Confirm time available

Warm-Up: Context & Background (5 min)

• "Tell me about your role and what a typical day/week looks like."
• "How long have you been doing [activity related to the product area]?"
• Goal: Build rapport and understand their context

Core Exploration: Jobs to Be Done (15-20 min)

**Current situation and behavior** (past tense, specific instances):

• "Walk me through the last time you [did the thing we're exploring]. What happened?"
• "What tools or methods did you use?"
• "How long did it take? Who else was involved?"

**Pain points and frustrations** (observe, don't lead):

• "What was the hardest part about that?"
• "If you could wave a magic wand, what would change?"
• "What have you tried to solve this? What happened?"

**Desired outcomes** (their words, not yours):

• "What does 'good' look like for you in this area?"
• "How would you know if this was working well?"

**Willingness to pay / priority** (skin in the game):

• "How much time/money do you currently spend on this?"
• "Have you looked for a better solution? What did you find?"
• "What would you give up to have this solved?"

Probing Techniques

Use these when you hit an interesting thread:

• **"Tell me more about that"** — opens up any topic
• **"Why?"** (asked gently, 2-3 times) — gets to root causes
• **"Can you give me a specific example?"** — moves from opinions to facts
• **"What happened next?"** — follows the story
• **"How did that make you feel?"** — captures emotional intensity

The Mom Test Rules

• Ask about **their life**, not your idea
• Ask about **the past**, not the future ("Would you use X?" is useless)
• **Talk less, listen more** — aim for 80/20 split
• **Never pitch** during the interview
• Look for **strong emotions** — they signal real pain or delight
• **Compliments are noise** — "That sounds cool!" tells you nothing

Wrap-Up (3-5 min)

• "Is there anything I didn't ask that you think is important?"
• "Who else should I talk to about this?"
• Thank them for their time
• Share next steps (if any)

3. **Customize the script**: Adapt questions to the specific product area, persona, and research objectives. Add or remove sections based on the interview length available.

4. **Include a note-taking template**:

   Participant: [Name / ID]
   Date: [Date]
   Key Jobs: [What they're trying to accomplish]
   Current Solution: [What they use today]
   Biggest Pain: [Their #1 frustration]
   Desired Outcome: [What success looks like]
   Willingness to Pay: [How much they invest / would invest]
   Surprise Finding: [Something unexpected]
   Follow-up: [Next steps]

Save as markdown. Include both the script and the note-taking template.

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Further Reading

• [User Interviews: The Ultimate Guide to Research Interviews](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/interviewing-customers-the-ultimate)
• [Continuous Product Discovery Masterclass (CPDM)](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/cpdm) (video course)