TASK · beginner · 3-4 hours (plus scheduling)

Conduct 3 user interviews

Talk to real users following your research plan

Why it matters

Talking to users is the core of UX research. Nothing replaces real conversations.

Steps

Schedule 3 interviews (30-60 minutes each)
Send a calendar invite with context
Prepare a quiet environment
Record with permission
Follow the guide but stay flexible
Listen more than you talk
Take live notes and save recording plus transcript

Expected output

3 interview recordings with transcripts or detailed notes

Checklist

Participants recruited
Interviews recorded
Notes or transcripts saved
Diverse perspectives captured

Evidence

Interview recordings or transcripts (may be anonymized)

Self review

Did you learn something new? Were participants comfortable?

WORKED EXAMPLE · 30-MIN SESSION

From recording to 5-theme synthesis

Topic: online shopping habits. Anonymized, shared with permission. This is what a complete package looks like — yours should follow the same shape.

A · VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT (CORE 5 MIN)

04:12I

Tell me about your last online purchase — from start to delivery.

04:13P

Last week I bought running shoes. I compared three stores, read reviews with photos, checked what the one-star ratings complained about. Maybe 40 minutes before I dared to check out. The one I bought was rated 4.9; the cheapest was 4.6 but its review photos were blurry.

06:40I*

Interesting — why did that store win?

06:41P

Shipping. The price differed by 8 thousand, but this store had free shipping plus a voucher. It ended up cheaper. I also chatted first asking if it was original — replied in 2 minutes with a box photo. That convinced me.

09:05I

Ever abandoned a purchase because of shipping cost?

09:06P

Often! Yesterday my free-shipping voucher ran out, shipping was 22 thousand, I just closed the app. Three days later I bought offline near my boarding house. And returns — once bitten: the button was hard to find, I had to chat first, so I got lazy and never bought from that store again.

* spontaneous follow-up — proof of listening, not in the guide.

B · CODING TABLE (QUOTE → CODE)

QUOTE	CODE
"Compared three stores, read photo reviews, 40 minutes to check out"	comparison-research
"8 thousand gap but free shipping won"	shipping-dealbreaker
"Chatted first, replied in 2 minutes with a box photo"	trust-via-chat
"COD for new stores" (session 2, participant B)	cod-as-trust-ladder
"Return button hard to find, gave up, never bought again"	return-friction-kills

C · TALK RATIO (WORD COUNT)

P · 74%

I · 26%

Participant holds 74% — above the 70% bar. Count: participant words ÷ total core-transcript words. If you are under 70%, you talked too much — shorten prompts next time.

D · AFFINITY DIAGRAM → 1-PAGE SYNTHESIS

1. Research before checkout

"40 minutes before I dared to check out, reading photo reviews"

"I check the one-star complaints first"

→ Move buyer photo reviews above the product description.

2. Shipping = dealbreaker

"Voucher gone, 22k shipping, closed the app instantly"

"8k gap but free shipping won"

→ Show a free-shipping threshold progress bar at checkout.

3. Trust via chat

"Replied in 2 minutes with a box photo — that convinced me"

"Chatted first asking if it was original"

→ <5 min reply SLA + originality/warranty answer templates.

4. COD as trust ladder

"COD for new stores, transfer for regulars"

"First try a small amount"

→ Offer COD to new buyers, prepay discounts for regulars.

5. Hard returns kill purchase

"Had to chat first, gave up, never bought again"

"The button was hard to find"

→ "1-click return + courier pickup" label on product pages.

NEXT TASKS

Turn interview notes into themes

TOOLS USED

Zoom Loom Notion

STUCK OR UNSURE?

bring your learning to a 1-on-1All materials are free to study. If positioning, portfolio, or apply strategy stalls, we dissect it together.

Book a session