user-interview-prep

User Interview Prep

Generate a structured research brief and interview guide that a PM can use immediately. The goal is to go into interviews with clear hypotheses, unbiased questions, and a plan to learn — not confirm.

Process

1. Clarify the research goal — Restate the input as a single, testable research question. If the input is vague, sharpen it. A good research goal starts with "Understand..." or "Discover..." — never "Validate..." or "Confirm...".
2. Surface assumptions — List 3-5 hypotheses the PM is likely carrying into this research. These are the things that need to be tested, not confirmed.
3. Design the interview flow — Structure a 30-minute interview with warm-up, core exploration, and wrap-up sections. Each section has a purpose and time allocation.
4. Write the questions — Generate open-ended, non-leading questions. Follow the "Mom Test" principles: ask about their life, not your idea. Ask about the past, not hypothetical futures.
5. Add observation notes — Flag what to watch for beyond words: body language, hesitation, workarounds they mention, emotional signals.

Output Format

Research Goal

One sentence. Clear, specific, learnable.

Hypotheses to Test

#	Hypothesis	How We'll Know If It's True	How We'll Know If It's False
1	...	...	...
2	...	...	...
3	...	...	...

Interview Guide

Warm-up (5 min) — Build rapport, understand context.

• Question 1
• Question 2

Core Exploration (20 min) — Dig into the problem space.

• Question 3
• Question 4
• ...

Wrap-up (5 min) — Capture anything missed, get referrals.

• Question N
• "Is there anything I should have asked but didn't?"

Things to Watch For

Bullet list of behavioral signals, hesitations, or workarounds to note during the interview.

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Bullet list of common interviewer mistakes specific to this topic (leading questions, pitching solutions, etc.).

Rules

• Never write a question that starts with "Would you..." or "Do you think...". These invite hypothetical answers. Ask about past behavior instead.
• Every question must pass the Mom Test: would you get honest, useful data even if you asked your mom?
• No more than 12 questions total. Quality over quantity — each question should earn its place.
• Include at least 2 follow-up prompts per core question (e.g., "Tell me more about that", "What happened next?").
• Write in English.
• Keep the entire output under 2 pages. A PM should be able to print this and bring it to the interview.
• Be opinionated: if a hypothesis seems weak or untestable, call it out and suggest a better one.
• Do not include questions about the PM's product or solution. This is about understanding the problem.