The Job
Identify the job to be done
Your product is here to get a job done. You want to understand things from your user's point of view. See their struggle. Ask your users these questions to understand what problem they want to use your product to solve.
"Why did you sign up for (product)?"
"What is the biggest problem you hope (product) will help you solve?"
"What are you trying to accomplish?"
"Why did you think (product) was the right solution?"
Context
Establishing the context
You want to get a clear understanding of the environment, situation, and context surrounding the problem.
"Why do you want to solve this problem?"
"When did you first realize you had this problem?"
"What were you doing when this happened?"
"Walk me through the last time you had this problem. What happened?"
Competitors
Your real competitors
Often times our competition is not who we think they are. Here are questions to figure out where your users go to solve their problems. You want to know what solutions they have tried before.
"How are you solving that problem right now?"
"How well does your solution work?"
"Why did you choose this solution?"
"Before using (current solution) how did you solve these problems in the past?"
"How did you make the change to (current solution)? Were you forced to? Was there a deadline or specific event you had to be ready for?"
"Did you alone make the decision to change? Who else was involved and why?"
Pains and Gains
Struggles and motivations
You need to understand what is pulling your users to your solution and what is pushing them from the current solution.
"What is frustrating about (problem)?"
"What is good about (current solution)?"
"What is bad about (current solution)?"
"Did you make mistakes? Use the solution the wrong way?"
"Walk me through the past solutions you tried. What is good or bad about them?"
"What was the hardest part of figuring out what solution to use? Was there any point where you got stuck?"
"What would be the biggest relief to you?"
"With (current solution), what can you do that you couldn’t do before?"
"What savings make you happiest? Time? Money? Effort?"
"What do you wish for more of?"
"With (current solution), what can you do that you couldn’t do before?"