User Interview Skill

An AI-powered workflow that guides product managers through the complete user interview lifecycle: preparation, analysis, and integration.

Built for Claude Code. Works with any product, any user type, any team setup.

What it does

Phase	What happens
Setup	One-time configuration: define your user types, connect your hypothesis source, set up analytics prompts
Prepare	Collects context, generates analytics prompts, loads hypotheses, creates a focused interview guide following The Mom Test
Analyze	Imports transcript, captures interviewer debrief, produces a structured synthesis with hypothesis validation and key quotes
Integrate	Files evidence into your hypothesis docs, surfaces new opportunities, maintains an interview index

You can enter at any phase. The skill detects where you are and picks up from there.

Quick Start

Install

Clone this repo and copy the skill into your Claude Code commands:

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/user-interview-skill.git

# Copy to your project's commands (project-level)
cp user-interview-skill/SKILL.md your-project/.claude/commands/user-interview-guide.md

# Or copy to your global commands (available everywhere)
cp user-interview-skill/SKILL.md ~/.claude/commands/user-interview-guide.md

First Run

Invoke the skill in Claude Code:

/user-interview-guide

On first use, the skill runs a setup flow:

1. Where to store interviews (folder path)
2. What user types you interview
3. What context you need per user type
4. Where your hypotheses live (optional)
5. Whether you use an analytics chat tool (optional)

Your config is saved as .interview-config.md in your interview folder. Edit it anytime.

Typical Workflow

# 1. Prepare an interview
/user-interview-guide
> "I want to prepare an interview with Lisa, she's an Admin"

# 2. Do the interview (record it with your preferred tool)

# 3. Analyze the transcript
/user-interview-guide
> "Here's the transcript from the Lisa interview"

# 4. Integrate findings
/user-interview-guide
> "Integrate the findings from Lisa's interview"

Examples

The examples/ folder contains ready-to-use configuration templates:

Example	User Types	Analytics
B2B SaaS	Admin, End User, Buyer	BI chat agent
B2C App	Free User, Premium, Churned	Amplitude/Mixpanel
Marketplace	Supply Side, Demand Side, Power User	Manual

Copy any example to your interview folder as .interview-config.md and adapt it.

Customization

The skill adapts to your context through configuration, not code changes.

User types -- Define who you interview. Each type gets its own context checklist that drives the preparation phase.

Context items -- What data do you need before an interview? Account age, usage metrics, subscription tier, churn signals -- whatever makes your questions smarter.

Hypothesis source -- Point to a folder of markdown files (your OST, research questions, epic descriptions) and the skill pulls relevant hypotheses into each interview guide. Or provide them manually. Or skip them entirely.

Analytics integration -- If your BI tool has a chat interface, the skill generates ready-to-paste prompts. If not, bring your own data.

See the Customization Guide in SKILL.md for detailed instructions.

How It Works

Prepare

The skill collects interviewee context, optionally generates an analytics prompt for your BI tool, loads relevant hypotheses, and produces an interview guide with:

• Account context summary
• 4-6 focused question topics (following The Mom Test)
• Hypotheses to validate, prioritized by relevance

Analyze

After the interview, the skill:

1. Imports the transcript (paste, file, or Google Doc link)
2. Captures your personal debrief (mandatory -- your gut feeling matters)
3. Produces a synthesis with hypothesis validation, key quotes in original language, new opportunities, and honest quality assessment

Integrate

The skill files evidence into your existing docs, creates entries for new opportunities, and maintains a running interview index.

File Structure

After a few interviews, your folder looks like this:

~/user-interviews/
  .interview-config.md
  README.md                          # Auto-maintained interview index
  2025-03-15-Lisa-Mueller/
    guide.md
    transcript.md
    debrief.md
    synthesis.md
    opportunity-mobile-workflow.md    # If new opportunities found
  2025-04-02-Tom-Schmidt/
    guide.md
    transcript.md
    debrief.md
    synthesis.md

Principles

This skill follows a few non-negotiable principles:

• The Mom Test -- Questions ask about past behavior, not opinions or predictions
• Debrief first -- The interviewer's gut feeling is captured before automated analysis
• Quotes stay original -- Interview quotes are preserved in the language they were spoken
• Honest synthesis -- One interview is a data point, not a conclusion. The skill says so explicitly
• Focused scope -- Max 4-6 topics per interview. Depth over breadth

Requirements

• Claude Code CLI or IDE extension
• A folder on your machine for interview files
• A way to record and transcribe interviews (Granola, Otter, Google Gemini Notes, or similar)

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.