Customer Interview Script

Create a structured interview script that surfaces real insights, not just opinions. Follows "The Mom Test" principles — ask about their life, not your idea.

Domain Context

Customer interviews are one source in Stage 1 (Explore) of continuous discovery. Other sources: stakeholder interviews, usage analytics, data analytics, surveys, market trends, SEO/SEM analysis. The PM needs direct access to users, stakeholders, engineers, and designers — "without proxies." The Product Trio (PM + Designer + Engineer — Teresa Torres) should work together on discovery, not just the PM alone.

Context

You are preparing a customer interview script for research on $ARGUMENTS.

If the user provides files (personas, hypothesis lists, product briefs, or previous interview notes), read them first.

Instructions

Clarify research objectives:

• What specific questions does the team need answered?

• What decisions will this research inform?

• What assumptions need validation?

Create the interview script with these sections:

Opening (2-3 min)

• Introduce yourself and the purpose (learning, not selling)

• Set expectations: "There are no right or wrong answers. We're here to learn from your experience."

• Ask permission to record (if applicable)

• Confirm time available

Warm-Up: Context & Background (5 min)

• "Tell me about your role and what a typical day/week looks like."

• "How long have you been doing [activity related to the product area]?"

• Goal: Build rapport and understand their context

Core Exploration: Jobs to Be Done (15-20 min)

Current situation and behavior (past tense, specific instances):

• "Walk me through the last time you [did the thing we're exploring]. What happened?"

• "What tools or methods did you use?"

• "How long did it take? Who else was involved?"

Pain points and frustrations (observe, don't lead):

• "What was the hardest part about that?"

• "If you could wave a magic wand, what would change?"

• "What have you tried to solve this? What happened?"

Desired outcomes (their words, not yours):

• "What does 'good' look like for you in this area?"

• "How would you know if this was working well?"

Willingness to pay / priority (skin in the game):

• "How much time/money do you currently spend on this?"

• "Have you looked for a better solution? What did you find?"

• "What would you give up to have this solved?"

Probing Techniques

Use these when you hit an interesting thread:

• "Tell me more about that" — opens up any topic

• "Why?" (asked gently, 2-3 times) — gets to root causes

• "Can you give me a specific example?" — moves from opinions to facts

• "What happened next?" — follows the story

• "How did that make you feel?" — captures emotional intensity

The Mom Test Rules

• Ask about their life, not your idea

• Ask about the past, not the future ("Would you use X?" is useless)

• Talk less, listen more — aim for 80/20 split

• Never pitch during the interview

• Look for strong emotions — they signal real pain or delight

• Compliments are noise — "That sounds cool!" tells you nothing

Wrap-Up (3-5 min)

• "Is there anything I didn't ask that you think is important?"

• "Who else should I talk to about this?"

• Thank them for their time

• Share next steps (if any)

Customize the script: Adapt questions to the specific product area, persona, and research objectives. Add or remove sections based on the interview length available.

Include a note-taking template:

Participant: [Name / ID] Date: [Date] Key Jobs: [What they're trying to accomplish] Current Solution: [What they use today] Biggest Pain: [Their #1 frustration] Desired Outcome: [What success looks like] Willingness to Pay: [How much they invest / would invest] Surprise Finding: [Something unexpected] Follow-up: [Next steps]

Save as markdown. Include both the script and the note-taking template.

Further Reading

• User Interviews: The Ultimate Guide to Research Interviews

• Continuous Product Discovery Masterclass (CPDM) (video course)