Interviews in the UX Context

Interviews are one of the central methods of qualitative UX research. They make it possible to capture subjective views, expectations and user experiences directly at first hand. Particularly in early project phases - such as requirements elicitation or concept development - interviews provide valuable insights that would be virtually inaccessible using purely quantitative methods.

In contrast to standardized questionnaires, interviews offer flexibility: interviewers can respond to answers, ask follow-up questions and thus understand mental models, frustrations and needs in greater depth. For example, an interview with a user of a health app can reveal that although she is technically proficient, she has data protection concerns that influence her use - an aspect that would remain invisible in usage statistics.

Interview Formats in Comparison

Different interview formats are used depending on the objective and project phase:

• Explorative interviews are particularly suitable for exploring new topics. They are kept open and do not follow a fixed structure. Example: “What comes to mind spontaneously when you think of digital education?” - This allows unknown contexts of use or latent needs to be identified.

• guide interviews are semi-structured: A list of questions ensures comparability, but leaves room for spontaneous in-depth discussion. For example, when evaluating a banking app, a UX team can ask specifically about experiences with the login process, but also address individual stories if required.

• Structured interviews are based on fixed questions with defined answer options. They are particularly useful when data needs to be comparable and standardizable - for example as part of larger benchmarking studies.

Development of a User-Centered Interview Guide

A well thought-out guideline helps to conduct interviews in a consistent, focused and user-oriented manner. The funnel model has proven its worth: from general to more specific questions.

1. Introduction & Warm-up The first step should be to create an atmosphere of trust. A brief introduction (“We would like to find out more about how you work with product X”) and a few simple introductory questions (“How did you hear about the product?”) lower the inhibition threshold.

2. Main part The focus here is on specific user experiences. Instead of “Did you like the app?”, differentiating questions would be more helpful, e.g:
   “Which function do you use most often - and why?"
   "Was there a situation in which you felt unsafe?”

3. Conclusion At the end, there should be room for your own additions: “Is there anything we haven’t mentioned yet that is important to you?” - Such open questions encourage spontaneous insights that were not provided for in the guidelines.

Good Questions - and What to Avoid

The quality of an interview depends largely on the questions. The following have proved particularly effective:

• Open questions: “What was your first impression when you saw the interface?”
• Narrative questions: “Can you describe how you made your last booking?”
• Comparison questions: “How does your usage on the smartphone differ compared to the desktop?”
• Hypothetical questions: “Imagine you had to explain the app to someone - how would you do it?”
• Reflexive follow-up questions: “You said it was confusing - how did you notice that?”

Unsuitable are suggestive questions (“So you found the function rather bad?”) or yes/no questions, as they only provoke superficial answers.

Evaluation of Qualitative Interview Data

The systematic analysis begins after the interviews have been conducted. The interviews are often transcribed (i.e. written down) and then coded - i.e. certain statements are marked thematically and categorized.

One example: In interviews with users of a mobility app, the desire for better bus stop displays comes up several times. These statements can be summarized under the code “need for information on the move” - and form an evidence-based foundation for design decisions.

Tools such as MAXQDA, ATLAS.ti, Dedoose or simple Excel spreadsheets can be used depending on the scope of the project. It is particularly helpful for interdisciplinary teams if several people code and compare their results (keyword: Interrater-Reliability).

Conclusion

UX interviews offer deep insights into the subjective user perspective - and are therefore an indispensable part of user-centered development. Properly planned, conducted and evaluated, they not only provide data, but also real insights that expand the scope for design and sustainably improve the quality of digital products.

Last modified: 17 June 2025