User Interviews in UX Research: How, When, and Best Practices

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader

At the heart of UX research lies a simple but powerful method: the user interview. Whether you’re exploring unmet needs, validating assumptions, or uncovering motivations, user interviews give researchers a direct line to the people behind the data.

But like any method, user interviews are most effective when used with intention. Let’s explore what they are, when to use them, and the best practices that make them impactful.

What Are User Interviews?

User interviews are structured conversations with participants aimed at uncovering their behaviors, motivations, challenges, and expectations. Unlike surveys or analytics, interviews focus on depth over scale — they provide rich insights that numbers alone can’t capture.

A well-run user interview is not about asking users what features they want. Instead, it’s about understanding the context of their needs so design and business decisions can be informed by real human perspectives.

When to Use User Interviews

1. Discovery and Exploration

• Early in a product lifecycle, when you need to understand unmet needs or validate assumptions.

• Example: “How do people currently choose a health insurance provider?”

2. Concept Validation

• Before investing in development, to test whether proposed ideas align with user expectations.

• Example: “What are your first impressions of this dashboard concept?”

3. Journey Mapping

• To understand user workflows, pain points, and decision-making across touchpoints.

• Example: “Walk me through how you book travel from start to finish.”

4. Post-Launch Feedback

• To evaluate how users perceive a product or feature after release.

• Example: “How has the new appointment scheduling feature worked for you so far?”

User interviews are best used when you need context, stories, and motivation — not statistics.

Best Practices for User Interviews

1. Define Clear Objectives

Before starting, know exactly what you’re trying to learn. A vague objective leads to vague insights.

2. Recruit the Right Participants

Choose participants who reflect your target audience. Over-reliance on “friendly users” risks biased results.

3. Write Open-Ended Questions

Avoid yes/no prompts. Instead of “Do you like this feature?”, ask “Tell me about a time you used a feature like this. What worked well? What didn’t?”

4. Use a Semi-Structured Guide

Have a set of themes to cover, but allow space for the conversation to flow naturally. Unexpected insights often come from tangents.

5. Practice Active Listening

Your job is not to confirm assumptions but to hear the user’s perspective. Probe gently: “Can you tell me more about that?”

6. Minimize Bias

• Don’t lead participants with your wording.

• Don’t nod or react in ways that signal “right” answers.

7. Record and Transcribe

Notes are good, but transcripts allow for deeper analysis and sharing across teams. Tools like Otter.ai or Dovetail help streamline this.

8. Synthesize into Themes

Raw quotes are helpful, but themes are actionable. Cluster findings into patterns and link them to opportunities.

9. Tie Back to Business Outcomes

Frame results in a way leadership understands:

• “Users felt frustrated during onboarding” → “Reducing onboarding friction could increase activation by 18%, driving retention.”

Final Thought

User interviews are one of the most human-centered tools in the UX researcher’s toolkit. They bring the voice of the user directly into the design and strategy process.

When run with clear objectives, unbiased facilitation, and strong synthesis, user interviews uncover the motivations behind behavior — the “why” that surveys and analytics alone can’t answer.

The most impactful teams use interviews not in isolation but as part of a mixed-methods approach, pairing qualitative depth with quantitative validation. The result? Insights that are both empathetic and business-driven.

Philip Burgess | philipburgess.net | phil@philipburgess.net