Interview snapshot
The template described in this article is the one proposed by Teresa Torres in Continuous Discovery Habits (2021), within her continuous discovery methodology built around the opportunity solution tree.
The six elements of the interview snapshot
Photo or other visual aid
The snapshot should be as visual as possible. A photo of the interviewee or the logo of the company they work for provides better context than any text. The photo can be a screenshot taken during the video call (with permission). If that is not possible, any visual aid that makes sense to the team will do.
Memorable quote
A striking phrase from the interview, in the user's exact words. It helps refresh memory and vividly captures the user's perspective.
Personal details
Quick, business-relevant facts that indicate the type of user: sign-up date, frequency of use, which services they use, and what role they have. They help contextualize the interview and identify patterns across users over time.
Opportunities
When recording opportunities, it is important to capture them as needs, not as solutions. If the user asks for something specific, you need to ask why they need it. Using the user's own language is recommended to avoid misinterpretations later on.
Insights or observations
Interesting themes or behaviors that emerge in the interview but are not yet clearly a need, problem, or desire. Over time, if they recur across several interviews, they may become opportunities.
User experience map
Drawing the structure of the user's experience—with nodes and links—helps you remember it and see how it aligns with the product's overall user experience map.
What they are for
- Maintain a habit of regular user interviews without losing accumulated learning.
- Identify long-term patterns across interviews: if the same insight appears in several conversations, it is a sign that it is relevant.
- Share knowledge about the user with team members who did not attend the interview.
Common mistake
Recording solutions instead of needs. When a user asks for "a button to do X," the natural tendency is to write that down. But what is valuable is recording why they want X: the need or problem behind it. If the snapshot ends up full of solutions proposed by the user, the team loses sight of the real problem and designs features that may not address what the user needs.
Resources
🏦 Skill Design ThinkingState of the art and development guide · Skill Arena
🔧 Interview snapshot templateResources · Scrum Manager
References
- Torres, Teresa. (2021). Continuous Discovery Habits: Discover Products that Create Customer Value and Business Value. Product Talk LLC.
See also
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