Pre-interview research (OUSS)

This is the pre-user interview OUSS Framework. Includes 3 Key sections.

👀Objective: Define the main objective of your research. By the end of the research, what should you know that you don't know now (and there is no other way for you to know)?

🤯Unknowns: Define the assumptions you are making and the unknowns. Create a list.

🥪The Sh*t Sandwich: What questions can you ask to evaluate how much they really "want," "think," "believe" something, and what are they willing to sacrifice for?

The Objective: ✔

Define the main objective of your user interviews. The objective should be specific and help the team understand why this is important for the team. Avoid objectives like "I want to understand the user more" - What about it? Just you? Does the team understand the user? If yes, then ask them to transfer that knowledge.

Create a list of unknowns and assumptions you are making. Start by typing all the unknowns and then from those knowns, define the type of assumptions you or your team are making.

Then add those to the assumption evaluation matrix to get a sense of how important each assumption you are making is. Anything that is a high risk will be the ones that you have to prioritize. If you have some unknowns and you don't even have assumptions, add them to the matrix too. Then from the ones you are prioritizing, create a list of questions. What questions can you ask that will help you uncover and validate your assumption or unknowns? Basically, create a list of the key unknowns and assumptions and add a question to the side that could help you solve in some way that "mystery". This is how you avoid asking questions that end up not helping you find the things you need.

Once you have done this work, you have to add the questions that will help you get deeper into user wants and needs using the sh*t sandwich thinking model.

The sh*t sandwich:

This model says when you offer something new to people they are very likely to say yes. The problem in product, marketing, and design is that during interviews we tend to ask questions like "would you like to…" "from one to 10 how likely are you to…" and because most people will very likely "want" that, you as a designer, marketer, or product manager go back and prioritize that on your roadmap. It misses the fact that the circumstances matter and that options do too. Like anything in life, your users have limitations in resources, time, etc., so make them ke choices, add additional questions to your question list that help you understand if the user would want something and will be willing to eat the shit sandwich, or in other words, the consequences of it. Would they want a new "feature" but would they pay more? Would they want a new feature but then Future B will be out of the table this year?

🥪Note: The sh*t sandwich is the 'concept' that people need to be willing to eat the sh*t sandwich to gain something they want. It's the idea that in reality everything has consequences. For example, that you may want to start your own business and that sounds good but are you willing to work 24/7 the first few years, and live in a lot of uncertainty and pay others first leaving you with no salary sometimes, and have to wear a lot of hats, and be willing to fail…? Or if we are talking about a product, then would your user rather have this feature over this one? Or will they pay more for it?