Week 02 · Days 6–10
User Research
Practice running real research: interviews, surveys, and persona-building.
Portfolio deliverable · 1 user research summary with 3 real interviews + persona
Recruiting & running interviews
Lesson: How to recruit interview subjects
Recruiting doesn't need a research panel. Your fastest options: friends/family who use your practice app (easiest, but watch for bias), niche subreddits or Discord communities for that app, or a short post on LinkedIn/Twitter offering a $10 gift card for 15 minutes. Aim for users with real, recent experience — not people doing you a favor with no context. Structure each call as: 2 min warm-up/context, 10 min open questions about their behavior and pain points, 3 min wrap-up ('anything else that's been frustrating?'). Always ask permission to take notes.
Task: Recruit 3 people for interviews
Using your practice app from Week 1, find and schedule (or message) 3 people who use it - ask if they'll do a 15 min chat about their experience.
Conduct interview #1
Task: Run interview 1 + take notes
Conduct your first interview using the script from Week 1. Take verbatim notes - capture quotes, not just summaries.
Lesson: Active listening & follow-up questions
The single highest-value interview move is silence followed by 'tell me more about that.' When someone mentions a frustration, resist jumping to solutions — dig into the root cause first using the 5 Whys (keep asking 'why' until you hit something emotional or structural, usually 3-5 levels deep). Example: 'I deleted the app' → why? 'too many notifications' → why did that bother you? 'I felt like I was being sold to' → why does that matter? '...I don't trust the company.' That's a much more useful insight than 'reduce notifications.'
Conduct interviews #2-3
Task: Run interviews 2 and 3
Complete your remaining 2 interviews. Note patterns and differences vs interview 1.
Affinity mapping & persona creation
Lesson: Affinity mapping
Affinity mapping turns messy interview notes into patterns you can act on. Write each notable quote or observation on its own sticky note (FigJam, Miro, or even a spreadsheet row). Spread them out, then group notes that feel related — themes will emerge organically, like 'confusion during onboarding' or 'distrust around notifications.' Don't force categories upfront; let them surface. Once grouped, name each cluster and count how many of your 3 interviewees mentioned it — even with 3 people, if all 3 hit the same theme, that's a strong signal.
Task: Build a user persona
Using your interview notes, build a 1-page persona: name, goals, frustrations, a representative quote, and 2-3 needs the product should address.
Synthesize: Research summary
Deliverable: User Research Summary
Combine your interviews, affinity map, and persona into a 1-2 page research summary doc. Include: methodology, key findings (3-5), persona, and 2 recommendations.
Advanced Challenge: Research the 'trust gap' in AI features
Add a section to your research summary specifically probing how your interviewees feel about AI-driven recommendations or chat assistants in apps they use (even if your practice app doesn't have one). Ask: do they trust AI suggestions less than human ones, and why? What would make them trust an AI recommendation more (e.g. showing sources, confidence levels, a 'why am I seeing this' explanation)? This is exactly the kind of insight that informs AI feature design — and most candidates won't have it.