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Interview guide

Purpose. Gather qualitative evidence about how work actually happens, the constraints behind the process, and where the friction is.

This is a facilitation aid, not a script. Follow the friction.

Interview details​

FieldDetail
Interviewee
Role
Department
Date and time
Platform
Interviewer
Notes by

Opening​

"This interview is about how the system works, not about how you perform. Notes will be attributed by role, not by name, in the summary. Is that acceptable?"

Confirm consent to record, if recording.

Topic 1 — Role and responsibilities​

Objective. Understand what the person owns and how their work connects.

  • Can you describe your role and your primary responsibilities?
  • How does your team interact with other departments?
  • What are the key objectives you are focused on right now?
  • Who depends on your work, and who do you depend on?

Topic 2 — Technical environment​

Objective. Understand the tools and infrastructure, and where they fall short.

  • Can you give an overview of the systems and tools your team uses?
  • How well do those tools meet your needs? What are the limitations?
  • What challenges have you encountered with the current infrastructure?
  • What do you work around regularly?

Topic 3 — Processes and workflows​

Objective. Map the real process and its bottlenecks.

  • Walk me through the last change your team deployed, step by step.
  • Where did it wait? For how long, and on whom?
  • How does your team handle incidents, change approval and deployments?
  • Which step, if removed, would break a control you rely on?

Topic 4 — Collaboration and communication​

Objective. Find where information flow breaks down.

  • How would you describe collaboration between your team and others?
  • What tools do you use to communicate, and which actually get used?
  • Where do handoffs go wrong?
  • How do you find out about a decision that affects your work?

Topic 5 — Challenges and pain points​

Objective. Identify the highest-cost friction.

  • What are the biggest challenges in your day-to-day work?
  • What recurring issue deserves immediate attention?
  • If you could change one thing about the process or tools, what would it be?
  • What have you asked for before that did not happen, and why?

Topic 6 — Future goals​

Objective. Understand what the person wants and what support they need.

  • What improvements would help you work more effectively?
  • Which tools or practices should the organisation adopt?
  • How do you see your role changing over the next 12–24 months?
  • What support would you need for that?

Topic 7 — Security and compliance​

Objective. Understand controls and where they obstruct work (for relevant roles).

  • What security controls does your work pass through?
  • How is evidence produced for audits?
  • Which controls slow you down, and what are they protecting?
  • What happens when a control is bypassed?

Closing​

  • Who else should I speak to, and why?
  • Is there anything I should have asked and did not?
  • May I come back with follow-up questions?

Notes​

Key findings​

#FindingEvidence (quote or observation)Theme
1

Process observations​

ObservationStepImpact

Constraints discovered​

ConstraintOwnerImplication

Follow-ups​

#Follow-upOwnerDue
1

Attribute findings to a role, not a person. Use direct quotes only with permission.