What are the principles of a good Interview?

• Understand the purpose of the interview
• Prepare questions for the interview in advance
• Interviews likely need to be 30-45 minutes
• Learn who are you interviewing before the interview
• Conduct enough interviews until you see a pattern
• If possible, conduct the interview in person
• It’s essential to speak to both end-users and the decision-maker
• Mainly ask questions (as the interviewer, you should do less than 50% of the talking)
• Most of your questions should be open-ended
• First make sure you validate the problem and not the solution
• Document the interview (record if possible)
• Try to summarize the interview in one sentence (a quote is best)
• Don’t listen only to the loudest voice or the highly paid person
• Understand what is beneath the surface (for example, use the 5 Why’s)