This document summarizes JessLowry's presentation on interviewing techniques for human-centered design. The presentation covered why interviews are conducted, different styles of interviews like ethnographic discovery and contextual inquiry, how to plan and conduct interviews as a team with roles like interviewer and notetaker, and guidelines for note-taking and capturing findings. The document concludes with suggesting practicing interview planning and conducting as a group activity to focus on how someone plans a trip to India.

1. January 22, 2018
Exploration x Design presents:
Interviewing
Method Mondays at WeWork

2. Exploration x Design
JessLowry, Founder &
Principle Consultant at
ExplorationxDesign
My job as a human-centered designer is to
design for other people - not myself. Interviewing
is one of the greatest tools in my toolset. It’s not
about consensus. It’s about insights.
I want to help people explore design as a
practice, not a job function; in order to cultivate
deeper levels of empathy for themselves and
others.

3. Exploration x Design
Take a few
minutes to
breathe.
Release the day through some intentional
breathing.
Deep breathing sends fresh oxygen to
your brain. Feeding you with energy and
focus.
Image: Jessica Lowry with her daughter Hayden.

4. Let’s talk about our past experiences with
interviewing.

5. Why do we conduct interviews?

6. Exploration x Design
Reasons to
interview:
๏ Fill-in knowledge gaps
๏ Cultivate empathy
๏ Align stakeholders
๏ Co-create ideas
๏ Uncover insights
* Design decisions should not be made on the basis
of a single interview.

7. Exploration x Design
Different Styles of Interviews
๏ Ethnographic Discovery
๏ Contextual Inquiry
๏ Narrative
*If you were to simply refer to any of these as interviews you wouldn’t be wrong.

8. Exploration x Design
Ethnographic
Discovery
๏ This approach is more about
observing than talking. Tap into
your inner archeologist. Try to
be a fly on the wall.
๏ Allow participants to share
what comes to mind with the
help of a few well planned
prompts.
๏ Can be conducted with a group
or single participant.

9. Exploration x Design
Contextual Inquiry
๏ Best for one-on-one interviews.
An opportunity to learn about
someone in their environment.
๏ Questions should be open-
ended and never convey bias or
direct an opinion.
๏ Participants role is to show you
how they behave; not explain
how they might behave.

10. Exploration x Design
Narrative
๏ Ask participants to tell you a
specific, detailed story.
๏ Can be a group activity or one-
on-one engagement.
๏ Sometimes it’s helpful to make
an artifact; such as, experience
map or memory collage.

11. Get up and stretch!

12. Let’s talk about challenges and questions.

13. Interviewing is a team activity that
requires planning and preparation.

14. Exploration x Design
The Interview Team
๏ Roles should be maintained
throughout the interview (don’t
switch between roles).
๏ Keep team small.
๏ Record and document the
interview in order to collect
data for analysis and convey
knowledge to the larger team.
Interviewer
Notetaker
Photographer/
Videographer

15. Exploration x Design
Interview Planning
What do we
need to
achieve?
What are our
assumptions?
What questions
do we have?
Who is best
positioned to
answer our
questions?
What data have
we collected?
What is the best
location for the
interview?
Do we need to
make anything
in advance?
How much time
will we need?

16. Exploration x Design
Discussion Guide Outline
๏ Housekeeping
๏ Time
๏ Purpose
๏ Consent
๏ Introduction
๏ Warm-up
๏ Backstory
๏ Areas of Focus
๏ Discussion Questions
๏ Next Steps

17. Exploration x Design
Note-taking Guidelines
๏ Don’t paraphrase or translate into your own words.
๏ Capture direct quotes.
๏ Note body language, gestures, emotions and non-
audible behavior.
๏ Record important moments with timestamps (this will
help when transcribing audio recording afterwards).
๏ Notice language and use of repeated words.

18. Exploration x Design
Field research must be
captured and presented in a
way that is useful.
๏ Sometimes it’s helpful to
present findings as a video,
poster, storyboard or affinity
diagram of post-it notes.
๏ Externalize findings to engage
wider team in discussions about
meaning, context and how the
information can be used.
๏ Synthesis should occur after all
of the interviews are complete.
(Synthesis is also a team
activity.)
Image: Austin Design Fellows discussing research findings.

19. Questions?

20. Exploration x Design
Let’s practice!
๏ 45 minutes, 15 minutes for planning + 15 minutes to conduct interview +15
minutes of group discussion
๏ Contextual inquiry practice
๏ Area of focus: How does your interviewee plan a trip to India?
๏ Step 1: Break-up into groups of 4
๏ Step 2: Assign roles
๏ Step 3: Plan interview, create discussion guide
๏ Step 4: Conduct interview

21. Time’s up! Let’s talk about it.

22. Exploration x Design
Interview Resources
๏ Interviewing Users, Steve Portigal
๏ Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence,
Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact, Sarah J.
Tracy
๏ Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They
Create Widespread Empathy, Dev Patnaik

23. Exploration x Design
JessLowry, Founder &
Principle Consultant at
ExplorationxDesign
Talk to me :
jess@exploration.design
Stay connected :
https://www.facebook.com/
ExplorationxDesign
https://twitter.com/explorexdesign

24. Thank you and good-night!