Prototype improvement
Interview Test
An Interview Test is a structured conversation with potential users to gather direct feedback on a solution, concept, or prototype. Unlike exploratory interviews, this tool is used to test assumptions, reactions, and decisions related to something concrete you want to validate or improve.
Why Use this tool?
Replace assumptions with real conversations.
Interview Tests help you understand how people react to your solution in their own words. They’re especially useful when you need clarity around value, pain points, willingness to engage, or specific decisions (like pricing, features, or messaging). Hearing users explain their thinking helps you refine or pivot with confidence.
what you should know
Start With: A concept, solution, or prototype you want feedback on
End With: Direct user feedback and clear learning to guide next decisions
Time Needed:
• Preparation: short
• Execution: 20 min – 1 hour per interview
• Analysis: medium
Difficulty: ⭐ ⭐ ☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 – simple but requires good listening)
People:
• 3–15 users total (interviewed individually, not all at once)
• 1–2 facilitators
A quickguide to start
1. Define your focus. Decide what you want to learn or decide (e.g., value, pain, pricing, experience).
2. Prepare your script. Write a short set of open-ended questions tied to your learning goal.
3.Share the prototype. Show your solution (functional or not) and let users explore it freely.
4. Listen and observe. Ask questions, notice reactions, and avoid defending the idea.
5. Capture and reflect. Take notes, then immediately summarize key learnings after each interview.
6. Synthesize insights. Look across interviews for patterns that inform next steps.
helpful tips
- Ask “why” and “tell me more”, avoid yes/no questions.
- Let silence do some work; people often add deeper insights if you wait.
- If something surprises you, write it down, it’s usually a learning moment.
RACU meets AI
Interview Test
How Can AI Make RACU Easier ?
AI can be your creative partner and research assistant, ready to help you move faster and think deeper at every step of the RACU process.
For each RACU tool, we’ll share a ready-to-use AI prompt. Just copy the prompt into your favorite AI tool (like ChatGPT or Copilot) and it will guide you through the method step by step.
The AI becomes your facilitator, asking the right questions so you can build your thinking as you go. No need to fill out a blank form, the prompt starts the conversation and adapts to your answers in real time.
PROMPT – COPILOT, CHAT GPT
You are a facilitator helping me complete a Research & Discovery Card for a design thinking challenge.
Guide me step-by-step by asking the following questions one at a time, and wait for my answer before moving on. You can ask follow-up questions if needed to clarify or improve my responses.
Start with general context:
1. What is the challenge, project, or topic you’re working on? (Briefly describe the scope or goal.)
Then go into Research (existing data):
2. What existing information do we need to gather to better understand this challenge?
3. Where can we get that information? (e.g., internal reports, dashboards, previous research, public sources)
4. What specific questions will this data help us answer?
5. Who on the team will be responsible for gathering this information?
Then move to Discovery (new research):
6. Who should we learn from? (e.g., users, clients, collaborators, stakeholders)
7. Where can we find or reach them?
8. What topics, needs, or behaviors should we explore in the research?
9. What discovery methods could work best for this challenge? (Examples: interviews, shadowing, observation, journaling, immersing yourself in the experience, etc.)
10. How many people should we involve or study?
11. When will this research happen?
12. Who on the team will lead or coordinate this discovery work?
At the end, summarize my answers as a Research & Discovery Plan with two sections:
- Research (existing data)
- Discovery (new fieldwork)
Use bullet points and keep it simple enough to copy into a worksheet.
