• One on one conversation to help better understand what stakeholders want and need from the product. * An opportunity to gather useful information from three main areas, and more for e.g:
  User needs, Business goals and Technical limitations to gather valuable insights.
• Analyze various viewpoints of perceptions and aspirations of each stakeholder who have a product success interest

** Who: are stakeholders? **

• Within the organisation, stakeholders are anyone who can offer useful product advice and ultimately help simplify the design process.
• Stakeholders can be anyone from the organisation, depending on the projects high level employees, lower-level employees or even influential users. The job title varies across various organisations. For e.g: Product Owner, Head of IT, Head of Data, IT Manager, Marketing Manager etc.

• Better understanding and learning about the product, its vision and context through different lenses.
• Identifying priorities: helping to identify concrete objectives, targets and identify main priority areas
• Understanding business requirements, their team and culture
• Understanding their target market and customer awareness (users)
• Compile both qualitative and quantitative data
• Avoid expensive, intense, conventional research time

• Outcome: Align goal with the PO on the purpose and intent of the interview understand the Big WHY

• Stakeholders Map: Finding the relevant stakeholders is key. Go through stakeholders mapping workshops to understand their role and how they impact certain projects.

• Prep questions: work collaboratively, categorise with the areas that need further investigation. Helpful practice: Affinity map

• Logistics: Discuss date, time and environment you will conduct interviews for e.g: face to face, virtual meeting, technologies suitable for both parties and many more.

  Some Helpful Tips:

  • Establish psychological safety: It is essential for the participants to create a secure and comfortable atmosphere. And they feel relaxed and safe. For example, clarify the intention of the interview, when, how and to whom the information will be shared, promote active listening, encourage them to reflect and answer.

  • Pair up with the other team members: This will validate a lot of technical, business, marketing buzzwords

  • Silence is good: let them think and reflect back and answer, it’s not awkward.

  • Time of the interview: No longer than 45mins to 1 hours

  • Methodologies/ Practices that are helpful to visualise the data collected: empathy mapping, Affinity mapping, User Journey Mapping, Proto-personas

  • Questions: Don’t lead the interviewee with direct questions. Ask open ended questions

  • What if: There is a project manager and who you have agreed on the project plan should you skip the stakeholders interview? Absolutely not.
    
    
    Helpful links:

    Preparatory research:
    https://www.thisisservicedesigndoing.com/methods/preparatory-research

    Tips for writing a discussion guide: https://medium.com/design-research-methods/tips-for-writing-a-discussion-guide-c08459131a54

    Empathy mapping: https://openpracticelibrary.com/practice/empathy-mapping/

    How to prepare interview:
    https://medium.com/design-research-methods/tips-for-writing-a-discussion-guide-c08459131a54