Managing Your Defense Against GUI's from Hell (continued)

1. Do Pre-interview Arrangements: Select a spectrum of participants. Get cooperation from the start. Show managment support. Establish expectations up front. Be considerate and professional.

Method: Send letter from you & management to user and user management.

2. Create the Setting: Establish a relationship. Get agreements from user.

Method: Introduce yourself.
Explain your needs. Show how this helps the user.
Ask user for their help.
Mention interview time requirements.
Explain that user is anonymous.
Disclaim ability to make promises about future software features.
Clarify that this is NOT a "test."
Answer any immediate questions.

3. Create Ice Breaker: Get the user thinking about the area. Get the user talking.

Method: Ask 1 to 3 questions (simple, informative and orienting--e.g., "how long have you worked here").

4. Ask a Wide-open Question: Get any unexpected responses up front. Get unbiased responses first.

Method: Ask a non-threatening question, e.g., "how do you feel about the work you do here?."
Do not permit a one-word answer.
Use the word "feel" to remove the onus of being "correct."

5. Do the Task Analysis: Learn what the user does. Get bird's-eye view, then get details for each section.

Method: Work together on paper.
Start with an input, then process, then output.
Gently reject irrelevant points.
Probe for frequency, importance and problems at each step.

6. Ask Specific Questions: Get specific answers to questions not spontaneously covered.

Method: Ask direct questions on issues that came up in other interviews, etc.
Avoid giving the user the answer you want to hear. Let them talk.

7. Ask Final Open Question: Capture the user's final ideas. Do not rush to a close.

Method: Ask open questions (e.g., "Anything else we haven't covered?").
Ask for solutions (e.g., "If you had everthing your way, how would you handle X").

8. Debrief the Interviewee: Leave the user feeling comfortable. Keep the door open for call-backs.

Method: Ask an open question (e.g., "Any questions about this interview?").
Thank the user.
Ask permission to call back with questions.