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DISCOVERY WAYPOINT — INTERVIEW DISCUSSION GUIDE
Interview guide | 60–90 min to design | 3–8 people | Difficulty: Low
discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/interview-discussion-guide-workshop
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─ INTERVIEW SETUP ──────────────────────────────────────────────
  Project / study: ________________________________________
  Interview #: ___ / Total: ___
  Date: _____________  Interviewer: _______________________
  Note-taker: _____________________________________________
  Participant profile: ____________________________________

  Learning objectives — what must this interview answer?
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________

  Before you start: Read objectives aloud with your note-taker.
  Confirm recording consent.

─ INTRODUCTION SCRIPT  [~5 min] ────────────────────────────────
  "Thanks for making time. I'm [name] from [team/org].

  We're working on understanding [fill in goal — keep it broad].
  I'll be asking open questions. There are no right or wrong
  answers — I'm here to learn from your experience, not to
  test you. You can skip any question or stop at any time.

  [If recording]: Do you consent to being recorded? [Y / N]
  The recording is for note-taking only and won't be shared."

─ WARM-UP  [~5 min] ────────────────────────────────────────────
  Q: Tell me about your role. What does a typical [day/week] look like?

  ↳ Probe: What's the part that takes more time than it should?
  ↳ Probe: What's the most frustrating part of that?

─ CORE QUESTIONS  [~40 min] ────────────────────────────────────

  TOPIC 1 — [Learning Objective 1]
  Q: ________________________________________________________
  ↳ Probe: Can you tell me more about that?
  ↳ Probe: What happened just before / after that?
  ↳ Probe: How did that make you feel?
  ↳ Probe: What did you do next?
  Notes: ___________________________________________________
  _________________________________________________________

  TOPIC 2 — [Learning Objective 2]
  Q: ________________________________________________________
  ↳ Probe: Can you walk me through a specific example?
  ↳ Probe: What was hardest about that?
  ↳ Probe: What would have made it easier?
  Notes: ___________________________________________________
  _________________________________________________________

  TOPIC 3 — [Learning Objective 3]
  Q: ________________________________________________________
  ↳ Probe: Has it always worked that way?
  ↳ Probe: What do you wish were different?
  ↳ Probe: How do others around you handle this?
  Notes: ___________________________________________________
  _________________________________________________________

  OPTIONAL TOPIC 4 — [Add if time allows]
  Q: ________________________________________________________
  Notes: ___________________________________________________

⚠ ANTI-BIAS CHECK
  If your question starts with "Would you...", "Don't you think...",
  or "Have you ever considered..." — rewrite it.
  Leading questions produce confirming data, not insights.

─ WRAP-UP  [~10 min] ───────────────────────────────────────────
  "Is there anything you expected me to ask that I didn't?"

  "Who else should I talk to?"

  "Is there anything else you'd want us to know?"

  Thank participant. Confirm next steps if any.

─ OBSERVER NOTES (fill immediately after session) ───────────────
  Key quotes captured:
  1. "_______________________________________________________"
  2. "_______________________________________________________"
  3. "_______________________________________________________"

  Surprising moments:
  _________________________________________________________
  _________________________________________________________

  Hypotheses to revisit:
  _________________________________________________________
  _________________________________________________________

  What to probe differently next time:
  _________________________________________________________

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
QUALITY CHECK
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ☐ Learning objectives read aloud before session
  ☐ No leading questions in core section
  ☐ Observer notes filled within 10 min of session ending
  ☐ Key quotes captured verbatim (not paraphrased)

Full facilitation guide: discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/interview-discussion-guide-workshop
Discovery Waypoint — discoverywaypoint.com