Stakeholder Interviews
Surfacing assumptions and competing priorities before spending time looking at the wrong thing.
What It Is
Structured conversations with internal decision-makers — product managers, directors, engineers, anyone with a stake in what the research will inform. The goal is to understand what decisions are being made, what evidence would help, and where assumptions are hiding.
Why It Matters
Every team has assumptions they don't know they have. Competing priorities that haven't been made explicit. Without surfacing these early, you risk doing excellent research that answers the wrong question.
How It Works
60-minute sessions, one-on-one, open-ended questions. Focus on what decisions are coming up, what they'd need to know to make those decisions confidently, and where they think the risks are. Listen for contradictions between stakeholders — that's where the real alignment work happens.
What It Produces
An assumption inventory — everything the team believes but hasn't validated. A decision map showing what choices are coming and what evidence each one needs. And aligned research priorities that everyone agreed to before the first participant was recruited.