Customer test · Lesson 02 of 05
Ask about a real experience.
Make room for what happened before asking what might happen.
Write a question about a recent relevant experience and a follow-up that does not suggest the answer.
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Begin with an occasion.
A description of a real occasion gives you something to examine: what triggered the need, what the person did, what got in the way and how it ended. “Tell me about the last time…” is a useful opening when the person has that experience.
If they have not had the experience, keep that distinction in your notes. You can learn about their situation without treating an imagined answer as something they actually did.
Follow the story without supplying it.
“What happened next?” and “What made you choose that option?” invite the person to explain. “Wasn’t that frustrating?” supplies a feeling before you know whether it was theirs.
For this exercise, introduce the purpose, ask if the person is happy to take part and let them know they can stop. Ask permission before recording. You can make brief notes instead; avoid collecting names or personal details that your test does not need.
Keep an experience conversation and a prototype activity distinct. The conversation explores the person’s context. Showing a page and asking someone to use it explores what happens with that page. Neither automatically measures willingness to pay.
Pause and try
Which follow-up leaves room for the answer?
A commuter says, “Last time I called two shops before booking.” What should Sam ask to understand that choice?
Read the explanation
The third question follows what happened and leaves the reason open. Do not fill in “frustration” or assume that an online service would have changed the decision.
Bring it into your work
Prepare a short opening.
Write one experience question and one neutral follow-up for your situation. You can prepare them without recruiting anyone now.
These notes become part of your final test plan. Use the fictional example if you prefer. Keep sensitive personal information out of this practice.
Review your work
- Does the opening ask about an actual occasion?
- Can the person disagree with your assumption?
- Would you still learn something if their existing approach worked well?
An existing tool opens separately. It does not receive an answer automatically. Its editable file remains separate from your course file.
Keep your place.
When you have worked through the explanation, practice and application, mark this lesson reviewed. This is your record, not a test score.
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Background and related reading
Original Brass Charter teaching, exercises and fictional examples. Background on asking about experience in an interview. This course exercise does not establish commercial demand.
Digital.gov: How to conduct an interview