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This page collects the seven templates you need for a user interview study. Copy them and replace the text in [brackets] with your own details. Suggested order: research plan, interview guide, invitation, informed consent, thank-you message, and finally the findings template for your report.
One-page research plan
Use this template to align on goals before you write the interview guide. If you can't state the decision to be made, the study isn't ready to start.
- Study name: [e.g., Billing page usage interviews]
- Research lead: [name] Related teams: [product / design / operations]
- Business question: [one or two sentences, e.g., billing page visits have dropped over the past two months]
- Decision to be made: [what you'll decide after the study, e.g., whether to redesign the billing page next quarter and which part to change first]
- Research question 1: [e.g., In what situations do users need to check their bill?]
- Research question 2: [e.g., Where do users get stuck when checking their bill?]
- Participant criteria: [e.g., users who opened the billing page in the last 90 days and have paid at least once]
- Sample size: [e.g., 12 sessions per segment, 24 in total; explain the basis]
- Format: [text / voice] Session length: [e.g., 20 minutes] Language: [English]
- Participant incentive: [e.g., a 50-yuan e-gift card]
- Timeline: [guide finalized date], [interview start and end dates], [report delivery date]
- Deliverables: [e.g., insight report, quotes and counterexamples for each finding, suggested metrics for follow-up validation]
- How to validate: [which behavior data to watch after the change ships, e.g., billing page visit rate, related support inquiries]
General interview guide
This interview guide is designed for 20–40 minute one-on-one interviews. It's organized by topic, and each topic states its research goal, so the moderator or AI can tell when it has been covered.
- Introduction (about 2 minutes): Thanks for joining. Today I'd like to hear about your real experience using [product name]. There are no right or wrong answers, and the more specific, the better. This will take about [length], and the transcript will only be used to improve the product. Shall we get started?
- Topic 1 Background (research goal: understand the participant's role and usage context)
- Main question: Could you tell me a bit about when you usually use [product name]?
- Topic 2 Most recent experience (research goal: reconstruct what actually happened during use)
- Main question: Can you walk me through the last time you used [product name] to [task]?
- Follow-up: What made you open it that time? What did you do next?
- Follow-up: Which step took the most time, or made you stop and think?
- Topic 3 Problems and workarounds (research goal: find sticking points and users' own workarounds)
- Main question: During that process, did anything not go smoothly?
- Follow-up: When that happened, how did you deal with it? Did you try any other way or tool?
- Follow-up: How did the result compare with what you'd expected?
- Topic 4 Expectations (research goal: understand the outcomes they really care about, not a feature wish list)
- Main question: If this could go more smoothly, what would be the biggest difference for you?
- Wrap-up (about 2 minutes): Is there anything else you'd like to add about what we talked about today? Thank you so much for your time.
- Moderator notes: ask about one specific time, not “do you usually...”; don't put answers in the participant's mouth; if the participant doesn't want to talk about something, move on.
Participant invitation copy
The email version works for formal invitations to your own users. Spelling out the length, format, incentive, and data use helps ease participants' concerns.
- Subject: Invitation to a [length] [product name] user interview
- Hi [name],
- We're the [team name] at [product name]. To improve [feature or experience], we'd like to invite you to an online interview to hear about your real experience using it.
- Format: A [text / voice] interview moderated by [an AI interviewer / a researcher], about [length] long. You can take part any time between [start date] and [deadline].
- Thank-you incentive: after you complete the interview, we'll send you [incentive] within [number] business days.
- About your data: The transcript is used only for product research. Your name and contact details won't appear in any report, and you can ask to have your transcript deleted at any time.
- How to join: Click the link to start: [interview link]
- If you have any questions, reply to this email or contact [contact name and email].
- [Team name] [Date]
The SMS version has limited space, so keep only the key information and include a link to the details.
- [Product name] invites you to a [length] online interview about your experience using [feature]. It will be moderated by [an AI interviewer / a researcher], and you'll receive [incentive] when you finish. Open until [deadline]. Details and link to start: [short link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Informed consent form
Show this to participants before the interview, and begin only after they consent. If the interview is AI-moderated, the form must say so. Before using it, have it reviewed by your legal team or whoever owns data compliance.
- Purpose of the study: to learn about your experience using [product name] so we can improve our products and services.
- Format: This interview is moderated by [an AI interviewer / a researcher] and conducted by [text / voice], and it lasts about [length].
- What we record: We'll record the [text of the interview / audio and its transcript].
- How it's used: The transcript will be used only for this study and can be viewed only by [the research team and related product teams]. Any quotes in external reports will have names, contact details, and other identifying information removed.
- Retention: The transcript will be kept until [date or period] and deleted after that.
- Your rights: Participation is completely voluntary. You can decline to answer any question, end the interview at any time, and contact [contact info] within [time period] to have your transcript deleted. None of this will affect your use of the product.
- Thank-you incentive: participants who complete the interview receive [incentive]; for those who leave partway, [explain how the incentive is handled].
- Contact: If you have any questions about this study, please contact [contact name, email].
- I have read and understood the information above and agree to take part in this interview. [Agree / Disagree]
Post-interview thank-you message
Send it as soon as possible after the interview and say when the incentive will arrive. If you plan follow-up interviews or will share results, mention that too.
- Hi [name], thank you for taking [length] today to share your experience with [product name].
- We've noted what you mentioned about [one or two specifics, e.g., the billing section being hard to find], and we'll share it with the team responsible along with feedback from other participants.
- Your thank-you gift, [incentive], will be sent via [delivery method] within [number] business days. If you don't receive it, please contact [contact info].
- If related changes ship, we'll let you know [by email / in-app message]. If you'd rather not receive research invitations in the future, just reply “No more invitations.”
- [Team name]
Findings template
Write up each finding separately, making sure it has the count, quotes, and counterexamples, so readers can judge how reliable it is.
- Finding: [state the finding in one sentence, e.g., Most users who couldn't find their bill checked online banking instead of contacting support]
- Participant count: [number who mentioned it] / [total valid participants] (example: 7 of 18 participants)
- Representative quotes (two or three): “[quote]” — [participant ID, where in the interview]
- Counterexamples: [what participants who don't fit the finding said, and how many]
- Researcher inference: [interpretation beyond the quotes, clearly labeled as inference]
- Impact on decisions: [which decision in the research plan this finding supports or changes]
- Recommended action: [what specifically to change, and which team should own it]
- Validation: [which behavior data to watch after launch, and how you expect it to change]
- Confidence: [High / Medium / Low]; reason: [e.g., many participants, consistent across segments; or appears in only one segment]
Common mistakes
- Leaving data use out of the invitation: participants worry about privacy and decline. State in both the invitation and the consent form how the transcript will be used and whether it can be deleted.
- Writing the guide as a long list of questions: the moderator will just read through them. Organize it by topic, and state the research goal and follow-up directions for each.
- Findings with opinions but no counts: readers can't tell whether something is widespread or a one-off. State the participant count and counterexamples for every finding.
How to do it in heari
In heari, once you enter a business question, AI generates a research plan and interview guide, and the research lead can review and edit them against the templates above. AI runs the interviews by text or voice, in parallel, and the introduction explains the format and how data will be used. Every finding in the insight report comes with quotes and counterexamples and is labeled with participant counts, following the same structure as the findings template on this page, and researchers can accept, edit, or reject each one.
FAQ
What should a user interview guide include?
A complete interview guide usually includes an introduction, three to five topics, and a wrap-up. Each topic states its research goal, one main question, and a few follow-up directions. The introduction explains the purpose, length, and how the transcript will be used; the wrap-up leaves time for anything else the participant wants to add and thanks them.
What should an informed consent form include?
At a minimum, an informed consent form should cover the purpose of the study, how it's moderated (including whether by AI), what is recorded, who can see it, how long it's kept, that participants can decline to answer and leave at any time, how to request deletion, and a contact person. Have your legal team or whoever owns data compliance review it before use.
How do you write an SMS invitation that participants will respond to?
An SMS needs to cover four things in one sentence: who's inviting, what you'll talk about, how long it takes, and what participants get as thanks. Then add the deadline and a link to start. Keep the tone plain, don't oversell the incentive, and include a way to opt out.
How do you write interview findings your team will trust?
Every finding should state how many participants it covers out of the total valid participants, include two or three representative quotes, list counterexamples that don't fit, and label researcher inferences separately from participants' own words. Finally, state which decision the finding affects and what data you'll use to validate it after launch.
