Reference table
Interview question rewrites: before and after
Twelve common faults in user interview questions and a better version of each
A reference table of twelve faults that weaken user interview questions, including leading, hypothetical, double-barreled, presupposing and too broad questions, each with a bad example and a rewrite that asks about one real past moment in neutral words. Use it when editing a discussion guide before sessions start. In Koji, the research assistant can rewrite a named question in a study on request.
Where this appears
What's in this reference table
| Fault | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Leading | How frustrating is it when exports fail? | Tell me about the last time you exported a report. What happened? |
| Hypothetical | Would you use a feature that summarised your calls? | What did you do with your notes after your last call? |
| Future price | Would you pay a monthly fee for this? | What do you pay for today to deal with this, if anything? |
| Double-barreled | How do you plan and track your sprints? | How do you plan a sprint? Then: how do you keep track once it starts? |
| Presupposing | What do you dislike about the dashboard? | When did you last open the dashboard? What were you looking for? |
| Loaded words | How much time do you waste on manual reporting? | How long did your last report take, from start to finish? |
| Closed yes or no | Is onboarding easy? | Walk me through your first day with the product. |
| Usually | How do you usually choose a supplier? | Tell me about the last supplier you chose. How did it go? |
| Asking for the solution | What features would you like us to add? | What did you have to do outside the product last week to get the job done? |
| Too broad | Tell me about your workflow. | Tell me about the last time you handed a project to a client. |
| Jargon | How do you handle stakeholder alignment in your discovery cadence? | Before you start a new project, who do you talk to, and about what? |
| Why that sounds like blame | Why didn't you finish setting it up? | What was happening when you stopped setting it up? |
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/interview-question-rewrites-before-and-after"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/interview-question-rewrites-before-and-after/interview-question-rewrites-before-and-after.png" alt="Table of twelve interview question rewrites: the fault, the original question and a better version for each, from leading and hypothetical to too broad." width="1200" height="1451" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/interview-question-rewrites-before-and-after">Interview question rewrites: before and after</a>, Koji</p>
