.png)
Stop asking the wrong questions. Get 50+ proven user interview questions organized by research type plus real examples showing how to dig deeper and avoid common mistakes.
The wrong question gets you the wrong answer. And the wrong answer builds the wrong product. Choosing the right approach, including recruiting the right participants for product research, is essential. Learn more about effective market research.
Most user interviews fail because teams ask questions like "Would you use this feature?" or "What features do you want?" These questions don't uncover real insights; they just collect opinions and hypotheticals that rarely match actual behavior.
This guide gives you 50+ battle-tested user interview questions, organized by research type, that actually uncover what users need, how they behave, and what problems are worth solving.
Before we dive into the questions, let's understand what makes a question effective.
Bad: "Do you like project management tools?"
Good: "Tell me about your experience with project management tools."
The bad question gets you a yes/no answer. The good question opens a conversation that reveals context, emotion, and stories.
Bad: "Would you pay $50/month for this tool?"
Good: "What tools are you currently paying for? What made you decide they were worth the investment? Learn more about market research to understand how these decisions are informed."
People are terrible at predicting their future behavior. But they're excellent at describing what they've actually done. Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.
Bad: "Don't you think it's frustrating when tools have too many features?"
Good: "What's your experience with feature-rich tools?"
Leading questions telegraph the "right" answer. Neutral questions let users share their honest experience.
The best insights come from follow-up questions. Your initial question opens the door. Your follow-ups reveal what's really going on.
The magic follow-ups:
Keep these in your back pocket and use them liberally.
Goal: Understand problems, needs, and current workflows
Use discovery questions when you're exploring the problem space before you've decided what to build. These questions help you understand the user's world, their challenges, and opportunities for innovation.
1. "Tell me about the last time you [did relevant task]."
This is the gold-standard opening question. It grounds the conversation in reality, not theory.
Example: "Tell me about the last time you planned a project timeline."
2. "Walk me through a typical [day/week/process] related to [topic]."
Gets you a comprehensive view of their workflow and where your product might fit.
Example: "Walk me through a typical week of managing client projects."
3. "What tools do you currently use for [task]?"
Reveals the competitive landscape and workarounds they've created.
Example: "What tools do you currently use for team collaboration?"
4. "How did you get started with [activity/tool]?"
Understanding their journey helps you optimize onboarding for new users.
Example: "How did you get started with using analytics tools?"
5. "Show me how you [accomplish specific task] right now."
Ask them to share their screen and actually do the task. Actions reveal more than words.
Example: "Can you show me how you typically create a status report?"
6. "What does success look like when you're [doing task]?"
Uncovers their definition of a good outcome, not yours.
Example: "What does success look like when you're onboarding a new team member?"
7. "How much time do you spend on [activity] each [day/week]?"
Quantifies the scope of the problem. Time = value.
Example: "How much time do you spend each week in meetings?"
8. "Who else is involved in this process?"
Reveals the broader ecosystem and potential stakeholders.
Example: "Who else is involved in making purchasing decisions?"
9. "What happens if you can't complete [task]?"
Uncovers urgency and impact. Critical tasks get budget and attention.
Example: "What happens if you can't deliver the project on time?"
10. "What's changed about [process/task] in the last year or two?"
Identifies trends and evolving needs.
Example: "What's changed about how your team collaborates since going remote?"
11. "What's the hardest part about [activity]?"
Direct question that gets to the core challenge.
Example: "What's the hardest part about managing a remote team?"
12. "What frustrates you most about [current solution]?"
Reveals specific issues with tools they currently use.
Example: "What frustrates you most about your current CRM?"
13. "Can you describe a time when [problem] caused issues for you?"
Gets a story, which is more memorable and specific than general complaints.
Example: "Can you describe a time when miscommunication caused a project to go off track?"
14. "What workarounds have you created to deal with [problem]?"
Workarounds signal both the severity of the problem and potential solutions.
Example: "What workarounds have you created to track time spent on projects?"
15. "If you could wave a magic wand and fix one thing about [process], what would it be?"
Gets at their top priority, though be careful; this can lead to feature requests rather than problem understanding.
Example: "If you could fix one thing about your hiring process, what would it be?"
16. "Tell me about a time when [tool/process] failed you."
Failure stories reveal critical issues and edge cases.
Example: "Tell me about a time when your scheduling tool let you down."
17. "What keeps you up at night about [area]?"
Uncovers anxiety and high-stakes problems worth solving.
Example: "What keeps you up at night about your company's cybersecurity?"
18. "When do you feel most stressed about [topic]?"
Emotional reactions point to meaningful pain points.
Example: "When do you feel most stressed during a product launch?"
19. "What constraints do you face when [doing task]?"
Reveals real-world limitations like budget, time, or resources.
Example: "What constraints do you face when hiring new employees?"
20. "What would prevent you from switching to a new [tool/solution]?"
Uncovers switching costs and barriers to adoption.
Example: "What would prevent you from switching to a new project management tool?"
21. "How do you decide whether [tool/solution] is worth the investment?"
Reveals decision-making criteria and ROI expectations.
Example: "How do you decide whether a software tool is worth the subscription cost?"
22. "What other priorities are competing for your time/budget right now?"
Context about what you're competing against.
Example: "What other initiatives are competing for your team's attention this quarter?"
23. "Who has to approve [decision]? What do they care about?"
Critical for B2B; understanding the buying process and stakeholders.
Example: "Who has to approve software purchases? What criteria do they use?"
24. "What regulations or compliance requirements affect [process]?"
Especially important in regulated industries like healthcare, finance, or education.
Example: "What compliance requirements affect how you handle customer data?"
25. "What's your budget for [category]?"
Be direct about budget when appropriate. It saves everyone time.
Example: "What's your annual budget for marketing tools?"
Goal: Test assumptions and validate problem/solution fit
Use validation questions when you have a hypothesis to test, either about the problem or a potential solution.
26. "How often do you encounter [problem]?"
Frequency indicates severity and market size.
Example: "How often do you find yourself manually copying data between tools?"
27. "How are you solving this problem today?"
Current solution (even if it's manual or hacky) reveals:
Example: "How are you currently tracking project expenses?"
28. "What would happen if you couldn't solve [problem] anymore?"
Tests urgency. Mission-critical problems get budget.
Example: "What would happen if you couldn't generate reports for your clients?"
29. "Have you looked for solutions to [problem]? What did you find?"
Shows whether they're actively seeking solutions (high intent) or just complaining (low intent).
Example: "Have you looked for tools to help with employee onboarding?"
30. "What's the last solution you tried for [problem]? Why did you stop using it?"
Reveals what doesn't work and why users churn.
Example: "What's the last time-tracking tool you tried? Why did you stop using it?"
31. "How much time/money does [problem] cost you?"
Quantifies the problem. If they can't quantify it, it might not be that important.
Example: "How much time do you lose each week due to scheduling conflicts?"
32. "On a scale of 1-10, how important is solving [problem]?"
Direct question to gauge priority. Follow up with "Why that number?"
Example: "On a scale of 1-10, how important is improving your team's communication?"
33. "What have you already tried to solve this problem?"
Reveals their level of engagement and what hasn't worked.
Example: "What have you already tried to reduce meeting time?"
34. "If this [feature/product] existed, how would it fit into your workflow?"
Tests whether your solution makes sense in their context.
Example: "If you had automated expense tracking, how would that fit into your month-end close process?"
35. "What's missing that would make this useful for you?"
Gets feedback on gaps without asking leading "what features do you want?" questions.
Example: "We've shown you the prototype. What's missing that would make this work for your team?"
36. "How is this different from what you're doing now?"
Forces them to articulate the value proposition in their own words, which can be an essential aspect when you conduct surveys to gather actionable insights.
Example: "How is this AI-powered scheduling different from your current calendar tool?"
37. "Who on your team would use this?"
Identifies the actual user (vs. the buyer) and use cases.
Example: "If your company adopted this tool, who would use it and for what?"
38. "What concerns do you have about [solution]?"
Surfaces objections early so you can address them.
Example: "What concerns do you have about switching to a new CRM?"
39. "How would you measure success with [solution]?"
Gets their success criteria, which informs your positioning and metrics.
Example: "If you implemented this tool, how would you measure whether it's working?"
40. "What would convince you to try [solution]?"
Direct question about what drives adoption.
Example: "What would convince you to try a new project management tool?"
41. "How much would you expect to pay for something that solves [problem]?"
Gauge willingness to pay and pricing expectations. Pair this with "What are you currently paying for similar solutions?"
Example: "How much would you expect to pay for a tool that automates your reporting?"
Goal: Test product/prototype usability
Use these during usability tests when you're having users interact with your product or prototype.
42. "Before you start, what do you expect this [feature/page] to do?"
Reveals their mental model before they interact with your product.
Example: "Before you click anything, what do you expect the dashboard to show you?"
43. "What's your first impression?"
Captures initial reaction before they've had time to rationalize.
Example: "You're looking at the homepage. What's your first impression?"
44. "Where would you click first?"
Tests navigation intuitiveness.
Example: "If you wanted to create a new project, where would you click?"
45. "What are you thinking as you do this?"
Encourages narration of their thought process.
Example: "Talk me through what you're thinking as you complete this form."
46. "What do you expect will happen when you click that?"
Tests whether your interface communicates clearly.
Example: "Before you submit, what do you expect will happen next?"
47. "Why did you choose that option?"
Uncovers decision-making logic.
Example: "I noticed you clicked 'Advanced Settings.' Why did you go there?"
48. "Is anything confusing here?"
Direct question to identify friction points.
Example: "As you look at this screen, is anything confusing?"
49. "On a scale of 1-10, how easy was that to complete?"
Quantifies usability. Follow up with "What would make it easier?"
Example: "How easy was it to find and export that report?"
50. "Was that what you expected to happen?"
Tests whether the outcome matched their mental model.
Example: "You just created an account. Was that what you expected?"
51. "What would you do differently if you had to do this task again?"
Reveals learning and what could be improved.
Example: "If you had to create another project, what would you do differently?"
52. "What would you change about this experience?"
Open-ended improvement question.
Example: "If you could change one thing about the signup process, what would it be?"
These are your secret weapons. Memorize these and use them constantly.
53. "Tell me more about that."
Universal follow-up that keeps them talking.
54. "Why is that important to you?"
Digs into motivation and values.
55. "Can you give me a specific example?"
Moves from abstract to concrete.
56. "What happened next?"
Continues the story and reveals consequences.
57. "How did that make you feel?"
Uncovers emotional reactions, which drive behavior.
58. "Why do you think that is?"
Encourages them to theorize about causes.
59. "What would ideal look like?"
Gets their vision of the perfect solution.
60. "Is there anything else you think I should know?"
Open-ended catch-all at the end of interviews. Often surfaces unexpected insights.
Just as important as knowing what to ask is knowing what NOT to ask.
❌ "Don't you think this feature would be helpful?"
✅ "How would this feature fit into your workflow?"
❌ "Isn't it frustrating when tools are complicated?"
✅ "What's your experience with learning new tools?"
❌ "Would you pay $50/month for this?"
✅ "What are you currently paying for similar tools?"
❌ "Would you recommend this to a colleague?"
✅ "Tell me about the last time you recommended a tool to a colleague. What made you do it?"
❌ "What do you think about the design, the features, and the pricing?"
✅ Ask one at a time: "What's your impression of the design?" [wait for answer] "What about the features?"
❌ "Do you use project management software?"
✅ "Tell me about the tools you use to manage projects."
❌ "What features should we add?"
✅ "What problems are you trying to solve that you can't today?"
Feature requests are solutions, not problems. Your job is to understand problems. You'll design the solutions.
Goal: Understand the problem space
Goal: Test problem/solution fit
Goal: Test product usability
Let's see how these questions work in a real interview.
Context: Interviewing a marketing manager about social media management tools
You: "Tell me about the last time you scheduled a social media post."
User: "Oh, yesterday. I was scheduling posts for next week."
You: "Walk me through exactly what you did."
User: "I wrote the copy in Google Docs, designed the image in Canva, then pasted it into Buffer to schedule."
You: "Interesting: why three different tools?"
User: "Buffer doesn't have design capabilities, and I like writing in Docs so I can collaborate with my team on copy."
You: "Tell me more about collaborating on copy. How does that work?"
User: "I'll draft something, tag my manager in comments, she'll edit, then I copy the final version to Buffer."
You: "How often does this back-and-forth happen?"
User: "For every post. Sometimes it goes through 3-4 rounds of edits."
You: "How long does the whole process take, from draft to scheduled?"
User: "Probably 30-45 minutes per post. And we do 15-20 posts per week."
You: "Wow, so that's 7-15 hours per week just on scheduling?"
User: "Yeah, it's painful. I wish I could just do it all in one place."
You: "Have you looked for tools that combine these functions?"
User: "I tried Later, which has design features, but the templates weren't good and my team couldn't collaborate on copy like they do in Docs."
Key insights uncovered:
Notice how each question built on the previous answer. That's the art of interviewing; following the thread.
The questions you ask determine the insights you get. And the insights you get determine the products you build.
Remember:
Start with the templates in this guide, but adapt them to your specific research needs. The best interviewers develop their own style while following these core principles.
Your users have the answers you need. You just have to ask the right questions.
Access identity-verified professionals for surveys, interviews, and usability tests. No waiting. No guesswork. Just real B2B insights - fast.
Book a demoJoin paid research studies across product, UX, tech, and marketing. Flexible, remote, and designed for working professionals.
Sign up as an expertInstantly discover and recruit world-class industry experts, C-suite executives and consultants for research.
.png)
.png)