UX Pre-research — User interview template — Google Sheets

A big shout-out to Baran Masoumian for teaming up with me to design this fantastic template! Together, We’ve created something truly unique.

The story began when we set out to design a product in the field of management, intended to be an intelligent management assistant aimed at creating an efficient environment and enhancing collaboration and connection. This product was meant to help companies move correctly toward their vision and make more accurate and reliable decisions and analyses.

Also, it helps in the proper formation of the company’s or product’s structure and serves as an evaluation tool to measure various dimensions of a company, including members’ activities, decisions, outcomes, and more. Additionally, this product is fully customizable and flexible, allowing individuals, even with limited knowledge, to personalize the tool according to their needs.

Also, it helps in the proper formation of the company’s or product’s structure and serves as an evaluation tool to measure various dimensions of a company, including members’ activities, decisions, outcomes, and more. Additionally, this product is fully customizable and flexible, allowing individuals, even with limited knowledge, to personalize the tool according to their needs.

For this purpose, we needed to interview managers from companies with 200 or more employees and also conduct secondary research alongside them. We chose these two research methods for our initial investigations, but the problem was that to present the research results coherently in a way that made it easy to see the steps taken and the insights gained at a glance, we needed a template.

We searched extensively to find a tool that could help us achieve this goal. However, the tools were scattered and we couldn’t find one that covered all the stages comprehensively while being simple to use.

Therefore, we decided to create a comprehensive template in Google Sheets. This was because we anticipated needing to conduct multiple research projects in the future and needed to view the data in an organized manner with consistency.

Research Plan:

The first sheet focuses on the research plan. Before diving into any research, it’s best to understand:

• What information we have
• What we are looking for
• Where the endpoint of the research will be
• The criteria that will indicate a successful research
• The research scope and focus area
• What is outside the scope of the research
• The deliverables

• The next steps

To plan everything and avoid any ambiguity during the research process.

The image you see is part of the initial section of the research plan sheet. It includes sections for an overall introduction to the research, its timeline, the chosen method, and any background information.

These details help keep the process on track and prevent distractions from unnecessary details.

Before starting any research, the most important aspects that need to be determined are the objectives of that research and its success criteria. As you can see in the image below, explanations for each, along with examples, have been written within the template.

The overall purpose of research objectives is to provide guidance for the research process, ensuring the researcher remains focused on a clear path and making sure that the collected data is aimed at improving the user experience.

The success criteria of a research project refer to the metrics used to measure the impact and effectiveness of the efforts made during the research process. These metrics determine how close we have come to achieving our objectives.

Also, they simplify the decision-making process for the research by clearly indicating the outcomes and performance.

The template provided for you is specifically designed for user interviews, but it can also be customized for other research methods. Some sheets, such as the research plan, research questions, and report, are common across different research methods.

Another crucial point to consider before starting any research is defining the research scope and focus area. It’s easy to get sidetracked during the research process and shift your focus to unrelated topics that are not part of your project plan. To avoid this, provide detailed information about tasks, deadlines, and other aspects to concentrate on the high-priority sections and enhance efficiency.

Research questions:

The next sheet is the Research Questions sheet. Research questions are essentially the objectives of the research presented in the form of questions. These are the questions we aim to answer through our research.

To conduct precise research, we must ask the right questions and ask them correctly. For this purpose, the questions need to adhere to specific standards.

They should be:

Specific: The question should be clear and focused, addressing a particular aspect of the user experience. It should avoid being too broad or vague so that it can guide the research effectively.

Practical: The question should be realistic and feasible to investigate within the constraints of time, resources, and technology available. It should be something that can be answered through practical research methods.

Actionable: The question should lead to insights that can inform design decisions or improvements. It should aim to produce findings that can be directly applied to enhance the user experience.

In this sheet, we have listed these standards as checkboxes so that researchers reviewing the questions can easily indicate them. Additionally, you can specify which important keywords the question is referring to, which persona is being addressed, the level of importance, and which area of the product is being focused on. Finally, each researcher can indicate their final selected questions on the left side of the sheet.

Interview questions:

In this sheet, finalized research questions are entered. Next, the questions that need to be asked of candidates to answer the research questions are written down. There is also space for potential follow-up questions so you can attend the interview fully prepared. Typically, two to three interview questions are needed to answer each research question. These questions should have specific characteristics, such as being

Open-ended: A question that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and requires a more detailed response. For example, Instead of asking “Do you like this app?” (closed-ended), ask “What do you like or dislike about this app?” (open-ended).

Unbiased: A question should not suggest a particular answer or influence the respondent’s response in any way. For example Instead of asking “How much do you love this app?” (biased), ask “How do you feel about this app?” (unbiased).

Not leading: A question that does not imply or prompt a specific answer, allowing the respondent to answer based on their thoughts and experiences.

To clarify what each question aims to uncover and what it specifically addresses, we have included “Signal” and “Tag” columns. Finally, to better decide which questions to choose for the interview, you can indicate their importance and impact.

Choosing candidates

This page is designed for entering candidate details and tracking the process of scheduling meetings with them. As meetings can be conducted in person, online, or over the phone, we have provided an option to select the meeting type.

Additionally, the interview status can be selected from the following options:

pending, confirmed, scheduled, completed, canceled, and no-show, allowing you to track the interview’s progress accurately. The table can be customized by adjusting the columns based on the number of personas, candidate requirements, and necessary personal information.

The final and most important part of the research is the report.

Here, we provide detailed information on the items mentioned in the research plan’s deliverables section. The report aims to be thorough and relevant for multiple research projects. Keep in mind that different projects might require unique deliverables, so these sections can be changed as needed.

The report consists of the following sections:

1. Research objectives 2. Company objectives 3. Research methods used

These points were also included in the research plan sheet, and we reiterate them in summary form here to make the report comprehensive and self-sufficient for future reference.

The next section of the report focuses on the main findings of the research. We have chosen thematic analysis as the predetermined method for analyzing the collected data. In this approach, data is examined to identify themes, which are then used to determine insights.

After listing the key findings, it’s time to identify opportunities that can improve the product or business. You can categorize the identified opportunities in a value/effort matrix, divided into four quadrants, as shown in the image:

1. Easy wins (High value + Low complexity)
2. Strategic initiatives (High values + High complexity)
3. Worth pursuing later (Low value + Low complexity)
4. Deprioritized (Lo value + High Complexity)

This categorization helps prioritize the opportunities based on their potential impact and the resources required to implement them.

By using this matrix, you can determine which opportunities will yield the most significant benefits with the least amount of effort. This allows for efficient resource allocation and focuses on the improvements that matter most to the product or business.

By providing a clear roadmap for the post-research phase, you can help the team effectively utilize the insights gained from the research and drive meaningful improvements in the product or business.

You can download the template from here: User Interview Template