User Research Interview Script
A user research interview script — project and participant details, an intro with consent and recording permission, warm-up and main open-ended questions, and a wrap-up, so moderated sessions stay consistent and unbiased.
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USER RESEARCH INTERVIEW SCRIPT Project: Checkout Redesign — Discovery Participant: P04 — returning customer Date: May 23, 2026 Moderator: Sample Moderator RESEARCH GOAL (moderator note — do not read aloud) Understand how shoppers experience the current checkout, where they hesitate, and what would make them more confident completing a purchase. INTRODUCTION (read aloud) "Thanks so much for joining me today. This should take about [30-45] minutes. I'm working on [project] and I want to understand how you do things and what you think -- there are no right or wrong answers, and I didn't build this, so please be totally honest. You won't hurt my feelings. I'd like to record this session so I can focus on our conversation instead of taking notes; the recording stays within the research team and is used only to improve the product. Is that okay with you? [ ] consent to record You can skip any question or stop at any time. Any questions before we start?" WARM-UP 1. To start, can you tell me a bit about yourself and what you do? 2. How often do you shop online, and for what kinds of things? 3. Walk me through the last time you bought something online. MAIN QUESTIONS 4. Tell me about the last time you used our checkout. What were you trying to do? 5. What was going through your mind at that point? 6. Where, if anywhere, did you feel unsure or frustrated? 7. What did you expect to happen there? What actually happened? 8. If you could change one thing about that experience, what would it be? 9. How do you decide whether to trust a checkout with your card details? 10. What would make you abandon a cart at the last step? 11. Tell me about a checkout elsewhere that felt really easy. What made it work? WRAP-UP 12. Is there anything about this we haven't talked about that you think is important? 13. If you had a magic wand, what would the ideal checkout look like? 14. Do you have any questions for me? CLOSING (read aloud) "That's everything from me -- thank you, this was really helpful. [Mention any incentive / next steps.]" Tips: ask open questions, embrace silence, ask "why" and "tell me more," and avoid leading the participant or pitching the solution.
About this template
A user research interview script keeps moderated sessions consistent and, crucially, helps the moderator avoid the biases that quietly ruin qualitative research. The structure is simple: an **introduction** that builds rapport and handles logistics, a few **warm-up** questions, the **main questions** that address your research goal, and a **wrap-up**. Two things in the intro matter more than people expect. First, **set the participant at ease and remove pressure** — say there are no right or wrong answers, that you did not build the thing (so they should be honest), and that they can skip questions or stop anytime. Second, **get explicit consent to record** and explain how the recording will be used; this is both an ethical norm and, in many places, a legal requirement. The questions themselves should be **open-ended and non-leading**: "Walk me through the last time you…" and "What was going through your mind?" elicit stories, while "Don't you think this is easier?" just gets you agreement. Ask about **past behavior and specific recent experiences** rather than hypotheticals and feature votes — what people actually did predicts far more than what they say they would do. The moderator's real skill is in the moment: **embrace silence** (people fill it with the most useful material), follow up with "why?" and "tell me more," and resist the urge to explain, defend, or pitch the solution. Keep a separate **research-goal note** for yourself (not read aloud) to stay anchored on what you are trying to learn. Pilot the script with one person first, time it, and trim — most first drafts are too long. Treat it as a guide, not a rigid questionnaire: the best insights usually come from a thread you did not plan to pull.
When to use it
- Running moderated user research, discovery, or usability interviews.
- Standardizing sessions so findings are comparable across participants.
- Onboarding new moderators with a consistent, unbiased guide.
- Capturing consent and recording permission before a session.
What to include
- Project, participant, moderator, and date.
- A research goal note (for the moderator, not read aloud).
- An intro that sets ease, explains the session, and gets recording consent.
- Warm-up questions, then open-ended main questions.
- A wrap-up and a closing that mentions incentive/next steps.