Example data. Fieldnote is a fictional company used to fill all 61 boards, so the examples tell one consistent story.
Post-PMF Fieldnote: Ana and Karim plan the research on why 38 % of new companies never get a technician to 10 interventions.
What the team took away
The plan forced a split between activated and stalled companies; without it the interviews would only have told the success story.
How to run it
Preparation
Two people are enough: the designer or researcher who will run the interviews and the PM who owns the decision the research must inform.
Write down the decision at stake before the session: 'should we build X for segment Y this quarter'. No decision, no research.
Bring the list of what the team already believes, ideally the assumption map if you ran one.
On the board: the five blocks (research questions, hypotheses, method, recruiting, interview guide) empty.
Agenda
10 min
Name the decision Write the decision the research informs and the date it is needed. Everything else is scoped by this.
20 min
Research questions Write 3 to 5 questions you need answered, phrased as unknowns ('how do admins choose a tool today'), not as survey questions.
15 min
Hypotheses For each question, what you currently believe. Written down, so you can notice later when the interviews contradict you.
15 min
Method and recruiting Interviews, observation, diary, or usability test. Then who: segment, screening criteria, how many (5 to 8 per segment), where you find them, what incentive.
25 min
Interview guide Write the opening, 6 to 8 open questions ordered from past behavior to opinions, and the closing. Rewrite every question that can be answered by yes or no.
5 min
Pilot and schedule Decide who pilots the guide on a colleague tomorrow, and block the interview slots in the calendar now.
Pitfalls
Do not ask people what they want. Ask what they did last time. 'Would you use…' gives you politeness, not behavior.
Five good interviews beat a 200-answer survey when you do not yet know what to ask. Start qualitative.
Do not recruit from your fan base or your team's friends. Screen for the situation, not the enthusiasm.
Afterwards
The guide goes to whoever runs the interviews; notes come back within 24 hours of each session. After 5 to 8 interviews, run an affinity map to synthesize, then update the assumption map.