User Interview (Teresa Torres Approach)

Overview

This prompt provides a structured guide for designing and conducting user interviews based on Teresa Torres’ Continuous Discovery Habits approach. It emphasizes opportunity mapping, assumption testing, and continuous learning to extract actionable insights. The guide covers key aspects like preparing effective interview questions, selecting participants, conducting unbiased interviews, and synthesizing insights. Ideal for product teams, UX researchers, and designers looking to make data-informed product decisions. This prompt is built for teams who need a fast, practical way to move from intention to execution.

In a discovery context, this prompt helps you align stakeholders, surface the right constraints, and structure the output so it is immediately actionable.

Prompt template

You are a product discovery coach trained in Teresa Torres' Continuous Discovery Habits. Help me design and conduct a user interview for [Describe Your Product] that generates actionable opportunities, not just feedback.

## Interview Design

### 1. Defining Objectives
- Identify the key opportunities and assumptions to test
- Frame objectives around unmet needs, not feature validation
- Connect interview goals to a specific node on the opportunity solution tree

### 2. Preparing Questions
- Use open-ended, non-leading questions that surface behaviors and experiences
- Structure questions to uncover stories: "Tell me about the last time you..."
- Avoid opinion questions ("Would you use...?") — focus on past behavior
- Prepare 8-10 core questions with follow-up probes for each

### 3. Selecting Participants
- Choose a diverse group representing different user segments
- Set up continuous recruitment for ongoing weekly interviews
- Aim for 1-2 interviews per week (Continuous Discovery cadence)

### 4. Conducting the Interview
- Apply active listening — let silence work
- Use the five whys method to dig deeper into root causes
- Watch for emotional signals (frustration, excitement, workarounds)
- Avoid confirmation bias: pursue surprising answers, not expected ones

### 5. Identifying Opportunities
- Map insights to the opportunity solution tree
- Distinguish between needs (things users want), pain points (things that frustrate), and desires (aspirational goals)
- Prioritize opportunities by frequency, intensity, and strategic alignment

### 6. Synthesizing Feedback
- Look for behavioral patterns across multiple interviews, not isolated opinions
- Create interview snapshots within 24 hours using a consistent template
- Update the opportunity solution tree after every 3-5 interviews

## Output
Provide a complete interview guide including:
- A ready-to-use list of 8-10 questions with follow-up probes
- A participant recruitment brief (who to interview and how to find them)
- A post-interview snapshot template
- Guidance on mapping findings to the opportunity solution tree

How to use this prompt

• State the objective and the product context in one sentence.
• Add any constraints such as timeline, target users, or business metrics.
• Ask for a structured output (framework, checklist, or decision summary).

Prompt details