Write a plan someone else could run

Warm-up

From last time, watching Sara order. Is each note something you could see, or a guess?

1. She tapped the wrong spice level once.

   Seen Guessed

   Right, it's something you could see. Anyone watching would agree. You could count it.

   Not quite. It's something you could see. Anyone watching would agree. You could count it.

2. She doesn't enjoy ordering.

   Seen Guessed

   Right, it's a guess. It's a guess about how she feels.

   Not quite. It's a guess. It's a guess about how she feels.

3. Seven of eight people paid by 12:10.

   Seen Guessed

   Right, it's something you could see. A count, at a time.

   Not quite. It's something you could see. A count, at a time.

Last time, you watched Sara order lunch, and wrote down what you could see. The team now has six interviews and one morning of watching.

Next week, Mia is away. Nora Kim, the growth manager, will run two more interviews. Peter, the head of sales, has an idea for what they should find out.

Think first

Peter, head of sales, to the team: Nora’s question should be simple. Do offices want group ordering?

How would you write Nora’s research question?

Your research question Hint: ask what you need to learn, not what you want to build. For a gym, instead of Do members want a new app? you might write: How do members book classes today, and where does it go wrong?

Lock in my answer Skip, show me

You

Which of these is closest to your answer?

Do offices want group ordering?

Shirish

It’s simple. But you know what offices will say to do you want it? They’ll say yes to be kind.

What does the team actually need to learn?

What features do offices want in group ordering?

Shirish

That gets a wish list, like the one Anna gave Mia. It still assumes group ordering is the answer.

What do you need to know before you pick an answer?

How do offices get lunch for a group today, and where does it go wrong?

Shirish

Yes. That’s Mia’s own research question. It asks about now, and it lets offices show you the problem.

Who should Nora talk to, to answer it?

Your reply

Continue Skip

You

What this means

A research question asks what you need to learn, not what you want to build. Peter’s question can only get a yes. Mia’s can find a problem nobody expected.

Reset

What goes in the plan

Mia’s plan has to work without her in the room. So it says everything she would have done in her head.

1. The research question. What you need to learn. How do offices get lunch for a group today, and where does it go wrong?
2. Who to talk to, and how to find them. Written as what people do, not their job title.
3. Consent, word for word. Who you are, what you’ll record, that there are no right answers, and that they can stop.
4. The questions, in order. Five about the past, and one show me. With a note on what to follow up.
5. What to write down. Things you can see, each with a number. Quotes in the person’s own words.
6. The debrief, straight after. Three things that surprised you, before you forget them.

Find the right people

Practice

Nora needs people who organise lunch for a group. Which of these questions would find them?

1. In the last two weeks, did you order lunch for five or more colleagues?

   Finds them Misses

   Right, it's a question that finds the right people. It asks what they did, recently. Only people who really organise lunch say yes.

   Not quite. It's a question that finds the right people. It asks what they did, recently. Only people who really organise lunch say yes.

2. Are you an office manager?

   Finds them Misses

   Right, it's a question that could let the wrong people in. A job title. Some office managers never order lunch, and Ken isn't one, but he does.

   Not quite. It's a question that could let the wrong people in. A job title. Some office managers never order lunch, and Ken isn't one, but he does.

3. How old are you?

   Finds them Misses

   Right, it's a question that could let the wrong people in. Age says nothing about who orders lunch.

   Not quite. It's a question that could let the wrong people in. Age says nothing about who orders lunch.

4. The last time your office ordered together, who paid?

   Finds them Misses

   Right, it's a question that finds the right people. It finds the payers, and tells you which kind of office it is.

   Not quite. It's a question that finds the right people. It finds the payers, and tells you which kind of office it is.

5. Do you like ordering lunch for your team?

   Finds them Misses

   Right, it's a question that could let the wrong people in. An opinion. People who never do it can still answer.

   Not quite. It's a question that could let the wrong people in. An opinion. People who never do it can still answer.

Questions like these, asked before anyone is invited, are a screener. A good screener asks what people did, not who they are.

How many interviews are enough?

The six interviews so far show a pattern. Three of the five managers, Anna, Dana and Ken, struggle to get paid back. But Ray’s company pays for lunch, so his trouble is paperwork. And Sara’s money is already solved.

So the pattern is real, but new kinds of office are still turning up. That’s why two more interviews are worth it. When new interviews stop showing you anything new, you’ve reached saturation, and you can stop.

The test: could a stranger run it?

Here’s how to check a plan. Hand it to someone who wasn’t there. Could they run the same interviews, and get the same kind of answers? Check each part:

• The research question is written down, in one sentence.
• It says who to talk to, and the screener questions that find them.
• Consent is written word for word.
• The questions are in order, with what to follow up.
• It says what to write down, with numbers.
• It says how long, and where.

If any part lives only in your head, the next person will fill it in differently. Then their answers can’t be compared with yours.

Think first

Nora’s first interview comes back full of views on group ordering. There are no stories about real days.

Which part of the plan most likely went missing?

You

Pick the answer closest to yours.

The questions, in order, with what to follow up.

Shirish

Yes. Without the questions, Nora asked her own, and some were about the future.

What would Mia’s first question have been?

How long the interview should take.

Shirish

Length matters, but a short interview can still be full of real stories.

What decides whether you get stories or opinions?

Where the interview happens.

Shirish

Place matters for watching. But stories or opinions come from something else.

What decides what people talk about?

Your reply

Continue Skip

You

What this means

Opinions come from questions about the future. A plan that lists the questions, starting with Tell me about the last time, stops that. Mia adds them, and Nora’s second interview is full of stories.

Reset

A plan with every part written down has a name: a protocol. It’s what makes research something others can repeat, not just something you did once.

Words from this lesson

Screener

Questions that decide who you invite, written about what people do. In this lessonIn the last two weeks, did you order lunch for five or more colleagues?

Protocol

Everything someone else needs to run the same study. In this lessonMia's plan: the question, who, consent, the questions, what to note.

Saturation

The point where more interviews stop teaching you anything new. In this lessonNew interviews stop showing new kinds of office.

Back to your first answer

Your first answer

Your answer

Your answer will show here after you write one at the top of this page.

You skipped this at the top. Answer it now, with what you've learned.

You've read the lesson. Would you change your answer?

I'd keep it I'd change it

Good. Which part of this lesson backs your answer?

What goes in the plan Find the right people How many interviews are enough Could a stranger run it Something else

Why? One line is enough. (optional) What would you say now?

Your bet: what should Mia do with her notes first?

Your bet

The interviews are done. Mia has the notes from every interview, a morning of watching, and 40 help requests.

Mia, research lead, to you: Peter wants an answer by Friday. Where do we start?

What should Mia do with her notes first? Make your bet, and say how sure you are.

Your guess

Write up a typical office manager Put each note on its own card, and group them by what people did Count how many people said they'd use group ordering

How sure are you?

50% 70% 90%

You'll find the answer in Chapter 4: Turn notes into decisions.

Try this during the week: write a three-line screener for people who use an app you know. Ask what they did, not who they are.

Sources

• Steve Portigal, Interviewing Users, second edition, 2023. On planning interviews and writing screeners.
• Greg Guest, Arwen Bunce and Laura Johnson, How Many Interviews Are Enough?, Field Methods, 2006. On saturation.
• Tiffin, Mia, Nora, Peter, Anna, Dana, Ken, Ray and Sara are made up for this course.