Andrew Schall

I believe that if asked, most people would say that they are good at conducting interviews. However, even the most experienced interviewers can get caught up in bad habits. We rarely take the time to assess our own interviewing skills or have others provide feedback on our technique. There is no shortage of articles about how to ace an interview as a UX job candidate, but there has been little focus on how to be an effective interviewer.

In most circumstances, research participants are pleasant, helpful, and easy to work with. However, there are a few types that can make moderating a session really challenging and put you at risk of not getting the best insights. We only have a short time to gain feedback and insights from participants and certain personas can derail your research study.

The Life & Death of Personas and Their Journeys Personas and journey maps are often rolled out with great fanfare and enthusiasm. The user experience team has completed months of qualitative and quantitative research to craft a work of art representing the archetype user: They decide to proclaim her Sally. At first, the organization is overjoyed to hear all about Sally and her experiences.