The Zoom out in and out framework is one that I use to think about the high level flow of a conversation. When you're mainly just wanting to get feedback on something very specific, you still want to understand how they're thinking about that particular topic. This is really helping you catch your blind spots and have context on where their answers are coming from later. And then the final zoom out at the end is one or two questions that ask about the bigger picture again.
Our guest today is Jeanette Mellinger, Head of UX Research at BetterUp and our User Research Expert in Residence at First Round.
In today’s conversation, Jeanette unspools her tested playbook for high-quality customer interviews, with particular advice for founders in the very early days of validating an idea, including:
- The three-step framework for a thorough user-research process
- The biggest mistakes she’s noticed after working with dozens of early-stage companies
- Specific advice for structuring an interview flow and crafting better questions that unlock essential insights
You can follow Jeanette on Twitter at @jnetmell
You can email us questions directly at review@firstround.com or follow us on Twitter @firstround and @brettberson.