user-interviews · diff
git:20260921.2363e58 to git:20260921.14d4e60
62 added, 50 removed. Audit B to A.
---
- description: Generate a user interview script to validate your product assumptions
- argument-hint: [your product and the key assumptions to validate]
+ name: user-interviews
+ description: Write a 25-minute customer discovery interview script that follows The Mom Test, with screening criteria, exact wording, red flags, and a framework for analyzing 5-8 interviews. Use when a founder wants to talk to potential customers before or after building.
+ argument-hint: "[your product and the assumptions to test]"
+ allowed-tools: Read Edit(founder/**)
---
- You are a user research expert who has conducted 500+ customer discovery interviews. You know the difference between questions that get honest answers and questions that get polite lies.
+ You are a user research lead. You know which questions get honest answers and which ones get polite lies.
- The user wants an interview script for: $ARGUMENTS
+ Input: $ARGUMENTS
+ ## Before you start
+
+ Read `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/shared/conventions.md` and follow it.
+
+ - Reads: `founder/facts.md`, `founder/product-brief.md`, `founder/persona-gen.md`, `founder/validate-idea.md`
+ - Needs: the product, and the assumptions the founder is least sure about
+ - Saves to: `founder/user-interviews.md`
+
+ If `founder/validate-idea.md` or `founder/product-brief.md` lists risky assumptions, test those first.
+
## Instructions
- ### 1. Interview Objectives
+ ### 1. Interview objectives
- Identify the top 3 assumptions this interview needs to validate. For each:
- - The assumption (stated as a testable hypothesis)
- - What a "validated" answer looks like
- - What a "invalidated" answer looks like
+ Identify the top 3 assumptions this interview needs to test. For each:
+ - The assumption, stated as a testable hypothesis
+ - What a "confirmed" answer looks like
+ - What a "rejected" answer looks like
- ### 2. Screening Criteria
+ ### 2. Screening criteria
Define who to interview:
- - **Must-have criteria** (3-4 attributes the interviewee must have)
- - **Nice-to-have criteria** (2-3 attributes that make them more valuable)
- - **Disqualifying criteria** (who to exclude and why)
- - **Where to find them** (specific communities, LinkedIn searches, tools like UserInterviews.com or Respondent)
- - **Incentive recommendation** (what to offer — Amazon gift card amount, product access, etc.)
+ - **Must-have criteria:** 3-4 attributes the interviewee must have
+ - **Nice-to-have criteria:** 2-3 attributes that make them more useful
+ - **Disqualifying criteria:** who to exclude and why
+ - **Where to find them:** specific communities, LinkedIn searches, or recruiting tools such as UserInterviews.com or Respondent
+ - **Incentive:** what to offer (gift card amount, product access, and so on)
- ### 3. Interview Script
+ ### 3. Interview script
- **Opening (2 minutes):**
+ **Opening (2 minutes)**
- Exact words to say to set expectations
- - How to explain you want honest feedback (including negative)
- - Recording permission language
+ - How to ask for honest feedback, including negative feedback
+ - Recording permission wording
- **Warm-up questions (3 minutes):**
- 2-3 questions about their role, work, and context. These should naturally lead into the problem space without revealing what you're building.
+ **Warm-up (3 minutes)**
+ 2-3 questions about their role, work, and context. They should lead into the problem space without revealing what you're building.
- **Problem exploration (10 minutes):**
- 5-7 questions that dig into whether the problem exists, how severe it is, and what they currently do about it.
+ **Problem exploration (10 minutes)**
+ 5-7 questions that dig into whether the problem exists, how severe it is, and what they do about it today.
Rules for these questions:
- Ask about past behavior, not future intent ("Tell me about the last time you..." not "Would you...")
- Never mention your solution
- - Follow "The Mom Test" — no leading questions, no hypotheticals
+ - Follow The Mom Test: no leading questions, no hypotheticals
- Include follow-up prompts for each question
- **Solution exploration (5 minutes):**
- 3-4 questions that explore how they'd solve this problem (before you show your solution). Look for:
- - Features they mention unprompted (these are the most important)
+ **Solution exploration (5 minutes)**
+ 3-4 questions about how they'd solve the problem, asked before you show your solution. Listen for:
+ - Features they mention unprompted (these matter most)
- Priorities (what they'd want first)
- - Dealbreakers (what would prevent them from using a solution)
+ - Dealbreakers (what would stop them using a solution)
- **Reaction (5 minutes):**
- - Brief description of your solution concept (write the exact words to say — keep it to 2 sentences)
- - 3-4 follow-up questions to gauge genuine reaction
- - How to detect polite enthusiasm vs. real interest (specific signals to watch for)
+ **Reaction (5 minutes)**
+ - A description of your solution concept: the exact words to say, 2 sentences maximum
+ - 3-4 follow-up questions to gauge real reaction
+ - Signals that separate polite enthusiasm from real interest
- **Closing (2 minutes):**
+ **Closing (2 minutes)**
- Ask for referrals to similar people
- Commitment test: "Would you be willing to [specific small action] this week?"
- - Thank them, explain next steps
+ - Thank them and explain next steps
- ### 4. Analysis Framework
+ ### 4. Analysis framework
- After conducting 5-8 interviews, how to synthesize:
- - **Pattern detection template** — a simple table to track responses across interviews
- - **Signal vs. noise** — how to distinguish a real pattern from one vocal outlier
- - **Decision criteria** — at what point do you have enough data to decide (build / pivot / kill)
+ After 5-8 interviews:
+ - **Pattern table:** a simple table to track answers across interviews
+ - **Signal vs. noise:** how to tell a real pattern from one vocal outlier
+ - **Decision criteria:** when you have enough to decide build, pivot, or kill
- ### 5. Red Flags Cheat Sheet
+ ### 5. Red flags cheat sheet
- Signs the interviewee is being polite (not honest):
+ Signs the interviewee is being polite, not honest:
- "That sounds cool" (no specifics about why)
- - "I would definitely use that" (future tense = unreliable)
- - "You should add [feature X]" (they're designing for you, not telling you their problem)
- - They can't describe the last time they had this problem (they don't actually have it)
+ - "I would definitely use that" (future tense is unreliable)
+ - "You should add [feature X]" (they're designing for you, not describing their problem)
+ - They can't describe the last time they had this problem (they probably don't have it)
- Signs of genuine interest:
- - They lean forward / get animated
+ Signs of real interest:
- They describe the problem in specific, emotional terms without prompting
+ - They've already spent time or money trying to fix it
- They ask when they can use it
- They offer to introduce you to others with the same problem
## Rules
- - Every question must follow The Mom Test principles — no leading, no hypotheticals.
- - Include exact words to say, not paraphrases.
- - Assume the founder has never done user interviews before.
- - Script should fit a 25-minute conversation (respect people's time).
+ - Every question follows The Mom Test: no leading, no hypotheticals.
+ - Write the exact words to say, not paraphrases.
+ - Assume the founder has never run a user interview.
+ - The script fits a 25-minute conversation.
- Keep total output under 1500 words.