Monday, February 15, 2010

Practical User Research Interview Techniques

Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010
Speaker: Mike Hawley from Mad*Pow
Time: 6pm to 6.30pm, socializing. 6.30pm to 8.00pm, interview practice
Place: Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142 (http://tiny.cc/JiAOd)

Audience: Primarily IXDA members and UX practitioners
Light snacks sponsored by Mad*Pow

RSVP: http://tiny.cc/fH6ef

Event Description

Interviewing is a skill that is at the core of a wide variety of research methods in user-centered design including stakeholder interviews, contextual inquiry, usability testing and focus groups. Consequently, a researcher’s skill in conducting interviews has a direct impact on the quality and accuracy of research findings and subsequent decisions about design. A skilled interviewer will be able to conduct an interview that uncovers the key elements of a participant’s perspective on a topic in a manner that is unbiased by the interviewer. User researchers and user-centered designers are hired for this very ability.

But how do you know if you are a good interviewer? How do you know that you are asking the right questions in the right way? You want to be unbiased, but how can you be sure? Are you maximizing time you have with participants to uncover insights that will help transform your design? During this session, we will review research interview best practices and share an interview evaluation worksheet for coaching and staff development we developed. Meeting attendees will have the opportunity test their interviewing skills and provide constructive feedback to others during an interactive session.

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