User Needs Assesment

Photo Diary Study

Tips for interviewing and note-taking

 

Interviewer:

• Try not to interrupt. As you have questions about what they are saying, jot them down. When they pause, ask for clarification.

 

• Describe in your own words what they did and ask if that’s correct.

 

• Examples: “so what you’re saying is this:……”

“let me get this straight….”

• Reflect back everything…. This will help us make sure we understand and it will help the note-taker catch up.

 

• Have a computer handy, and if it seems like it would help, ask them to recreate something they did (only if you think it makes sense for clarification).

• Ask if they found what they were looking for each time. Did it answer their question?

 

• Ask how they learned about something. How did they learn about it in the first place? (especially for experienced users)

• If they don’t mention a particular thing that we would expect (such as they never mentioned looking for a book), ask them at the end… do you ever look for books (or other materials)? How does that work for you?

 

Note-taker:

• If you like, make a copy of the notes they send and annotate that as a quick way to take notes (either on your computer or by hand).

 

• Feel free to ask for clarification and ask for pauses for you to catch up. If you think of a key thing to ask that the interviewer isn’t asking, feel free to chime in.

 

After the interview:
           

• Allow time for the two of you to discuss everything that happened (at least half an hour).

• At the bottom of the raw notes, make a list:
• 1 – make a list of each task (we want to know what kinds of tasks people are doing)
• 1a – note whether they found what they wanted or not

2- note patterns and trends
            3 – make list of what was hard, where did people have trouble?

• 4 – make a list of little problems and fixes that we should remember
•  

• If you think of something you forgot to ask them, it’s always possible to email them after the interview. (if you think it would be important to know).

 

- Later, clean up your notes a bit if you feel it’s necessary and include your list above. We will gather these before the follow up meeting on Feb. 13.  (we’ll let you know exactly what to bring at that meeting)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web site created on February 6, 2006 - Nicole Hennig