When creating user-centered digital experiences, it is vital to understand all aspects of the project before jumping into designing solutions. Conducting discovery interviews with stakeholders and users helps the product team identify issues in the current experience, align on business needs, and gain a deeper understanding of project goals. In this post, we’ll discuss how to conduct successful discovery interviews and derive insights that will provide the evidence needed for an effective and efficient design phase.
Discovery research begins not with users, but with the internal client team. Stakeholder interviews are a critical first step to understanding business goals, success metrics, and domain knowledge from experts in the industry.
In a recent project to design an organizational development platform for workplace equity analysis, our team began by interviewing internal stakeholders to understand how the product fits into their business strategy. These conversations helped clarify the ideal product vision: clear, actionable equity insights that HR and leadership teams could use to inform executive decision-makers about potential litigation risk. This early alignment provided a foundation for upcoming user research and product design decisions.
The best way to ensure a smooth research phase is to inform the stakeholders early and schedule interviews as soon as possible. Executive stakeholders usually have busy schedules, so providing them with as many openings as possible will make it easier to get the time you need with them. Before the interview starts, be sure to research or request a profile of the individual you are speaking with; this will save time during the intro of the call and give you an understanding of which topics they have more expertise on and can provide the most valuable insights. Also, have a flexible script for the interview, some stakeholders might only be available for 30 minutes, even though a full hour would be ideal. Prepare for this by having questions prioritized so the most valuable insights are gathered, and if time permits, you can collect more.
Taking the time to identify and speak with these subject experts helps the team clarify initial assumptions and align on the final vision of the product.
After internal alignment is established, the next step is to speak directly to the people who will benefit from your design efforts, the users. Speaking with end-users reveals critical insights about their goals, challenges, and day-to-day workflows that cannot be uncovered through internal discussions alone.
Ideally, you want to conduct one-on-one interviews with qualified users who have direct, hands-on experience with the workflow you aim to improve. Although there is no magic number, speaking with 4–6 individuals from each user group is typically enough to uncover meaningful patterns and capture diverse perspectives. Obtaining qualified users is very important to gather valuable insights, but some of the most suitable users may have busy schedules. Offering an incentive will not only make these users more willing to attend the interview but also more open to sharing an accurate depiction of their experiences.
While working with a global financial markets data provider to redesign their flagship wealth management terminal, we conducted interviews with users across a range of roles—from Financial Advisors and Wealth Managers to Investment Firm VPs. These interviews helped us understand the nuanced differences in how various job functions interacted with the platform and communicated insights up the chain to executive decision-makers.
When conducting remote interviews, ask users if they’re comfortable sharing their screens as they walk through their workflow. Seeing their screen provides valuable context into the tools they use, their goals, pain points, and any complex or repetitive tasks. A visual reference also encourages users to elaborate on their experiences and share specific examples, making their experiences easier to understand.
One-on-one interviews are ideal but might not always be feasible. In such cases, a well-constructed survey can still provide useful data at scale. However, it’s important to remember that surveys often lack the nuance and depth required to generate informed, actionable insights.
Once interviews are complete, the next step is making sense of it all through thoughtful synthesis.
All interviews are recorded, and transcriptions are reviewed and organized into observations from each user. Observations do not need to be everything the user said in the interview but should be focused on impact areas identified at the beginning of the research phase. These observations then go through an affinity mapping exercise, where all the observations are organized into groups to identify common themes and highlight pain points. Collaboration with the product team is encouraged as it creates a shared understanding and allows for multiple perspectives during analysis.
Once all observations are grouped, you can begin generating insights by discussing the most frequently mentioned themes and linking them to specific user types. For example, if a majority of Financial Advisors reported difficulties navigating between pages, that pattern can lead to discussions about the underlying issues in the current navigation flow. While not every insight will lead to a design change, having data-backed evidence is essential when presenting recommendations to project stakeholders and decision-makers.
AI-enabled tools like Dovetail can automate parts of this synthesis process by identifying common themes and generating draft insights. While this can save time, it’s essential to manually review and refine AI-generated groupings to ensure insights are both accurate and meaningful. Human analysis remains critical in transforming raw data into a strategic direction. Learn more about the pros and cons of Dovetail here.
Once insights are synthesized, it is time to package them into clear, compelling deliverables to present to the client team. Here it is important to balance advocating for user needs while focusing on the priorities and expectations set at the beginning of the project. This often includes a presentation that highlights the most impactful findings, framed in terms of business value and strategic relevance. Rather than overwhelming stakeholders with raw data, insights should be organized into clear narratives linking user observations to efficiency gains or risk reduction.
When presenting to senior stakeholders at our recent global financial markets customer, we focused on extracting meaningful metrics that directly impacted business efficiency. Rather than diving into granular details, we referred back to the success metrics identified at the beginning of the project and highlighted the findings that prevented us from reaching those goals. This approach gave the executives the clarity they needed to make confident decisions on how we could achieve our project goals.
Depending on the project scope, the presentation can include other deliverables, including user personas, journey maps, and more.
Discovery interviews are essential for building a deep, shared understanding of both business goals and user needs before design begins. By engaging stakeholders early, listening closely to end-users, and synthesizing findings into strategic insights, teams can ensure their design efforts are grounded in user-centered evidence. With the right process, discovery research becomes a powerful tool for shaping smarter, more successful digital products.
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