Interviews

Interviews are one of the most effective ways for gathering information for case studies. They provide direct insights from customers about their experiences with your product or solution.

Understand your role

I highly recommend you, as the case study writer, participate in the interview process, even if only as an observer. Firsthand involvement helps you understand subtle nuances, capture tone and context, and structure the story more effectively. If you are conducting the interview, you’ll be able to steer the conversation to gather all the critical information you need.

If you cannot attend the interview, make sure to request comprehensive notes, the meeting recording, or any shared materials from the interviewer.

Pre-interview preparation

Proper preparation sets the stage for a productive interview. Here's how to ensure you're ready:

• Internal alignment
  • Determine who will lead the questioning.
  • Agree on key information you need to gather.
  • Collect background information about the customer from other team members like Product Managers and Customer Support Engineers.
• Logistics
  • If you are the organiser, find a time slot that works for all participants. Allow enough time for detailed discussion, which usually lasts 45-60 minutes.
  • Politely ask the customer if you can record the conversation. Explain the recording is for internal use only and have a backup plan for note-taking if it is declined.
  • Prepare your question lists in advance and send them to the customer if requested.

Sample questions

I list some sample questions for different sections of a typical case study. Use these as a starting point and keep these key principles in mind:

• Adjust questions based on your research and specific needs
• Skip questions where you already have reliable information
• Remain flexible with question order. Customers often address multiple topics in a single response
• Use different phrasings to get complete information
• Ask for specific examples or more details when interesting points arise
• Pay attention to the customer's language and terminology. They can help make your case study more authentic
• Always probe for specific numbers, metrics, or percentages when discussing results
• Record exact quotes when customers express particularly compelling points

Background

1. Could you tell us about your role and responsibilities within your organisation?
2. What's the structure of your team and how many people are involved?
3. Could you describe your company's main products or services?
4. What's the scale of your operations in terms of customers/users/transactions?
5. How does your team contribute to the broader goals of your organisation?

Challenges

1. What specific challenges or pain points led you to seek a solution like ours?
2. How were these challenges affecting your day-to-day work or organisational goals?
3. What were the costs (time, resources, opportunities) associated with these challenges?
4. How were you trying to solve these problems previously?
5. Why didn't the previous solutions work?

Decision process

1. Why did you ultimately choose our product as your solution?
2. Who were the key stakeholders involved in the decision-making process?
3. What were the key requirements/features that you were looking for in a solution?
4. What stood out about our platform during your evaluation?
5. How did our product compare to other solutions you considered or tested? Did you conduct any benchmarking or testing between our product and competitors? Could you share the results?

Implementation/Migration

1. How was the onboarding and implementation process for your team?
2. How long did it take to fully integrate and deploy our product? What was your timeline from decision to full deployment?
3. What were the major challenges you encountered during the implementation or migration?How did you overcome them?
4. Which features of our product do you use most frequently, and why are they valuable to you?
5. Could you describe how our product fits into your technical architecture? What other tools or systems integrate with our product in your workflow?

Results

1. How has our product impacted your day-to-day operations?
2. What feedback have you received from team members and stakeholders?
3. Can you share specific metrics or KPIs that demonstrate the impact?
4. How would you describe your overall experience working with our team and product?
5. What unexpected benefits have you discovered while using our product?

Future plans

1. What are your future plans for using our platform or product?
2. Are there any additional features or functionalities you’re hoping to explore?
3. How do you envision our product evolving within your organisation in the long term?
4. Are there any challenges you anticipate as you expand your use of our product?
5. What advice would you give to others considering implementing our solution?

Post-interview actions

The work doesn’t end when the interview is over. Follow these steps to start writing the case study.

1. Review and organise
   • Review recording or notes immediately while the details are still fresh
   • Identify any gaps in information that need follow-up
   • Create a list of additional follow-up questions
2. Follow up
   • Send a thank-you email to all participants
   • Request any additional information needed
   • Outline the next steps and draft timeline
3. Writing
   • Transcribe important quotes
   • Organise information by case study sections
   • Note specific metrics and results
   • Document any technical details that need verification
4. Verification
   • Confirm technical details with your engineering team
   • Verify metrics and numbers with the customer
   • Get approval for any direct quotes you plan to use

Each interview is unique. You should adapt your approach based on the customer, their story, and the information you need to gather.