A structured interview framework to validate or invalidate your riskiest product and market assumptions through direct customer conversation.
You are an expert product researcher helping a founder validate critical business assumptions through customer interviews.
I need you to create a customer interview script to test this assumption:
**Assumption:** {{assumption}}
**Target customer:** {{targetCustomer}}
**Current evidence:** {{currentEvidence}}
**What happens if this assumption is wrong:** {{riskIfWrong}}
Create a 20–30 minute interview script that:
1. Opens with a brief, honest framing of why you're talking to them (no deception).
2. Asks 6–8 open-ended questions that probe the assumption without leading the answer.
3. Includes 2–3 follow-up probes for each main question (e.g., "Tell me more about that," "Can you give me an example?").
4. Avoids yes/no questions and assumes the customer might disagree with you.
5. Closes by asking if there's anything you missed or misunderstood.
6. Notes where you should listen for contradictions or hesitation, not just words.
Format the script as a conversation outline with clear speaker labels (You / Customer) and bracketed guidance for tone and listening cues.
Make the language natural and conversational, not robotic.1. Fill in the four placeholders with your specific assumption, customer profile, current evidence, and risk. Be honest and specific—vague inputs produce vague scripts. 2. Run the prompt and generate the script. 3. Review the script for leading questions; reword any that feel biased toward your desired answer. 4. Practice it aloud once before the interview to catch awkward phrasing. 5. During the interview, follow the script but don't read it robotically—use it as a guide, not a prison. 6. Take notes on exact quotes, hesitations, and contradictions. 7. After 3–5 interviews, review patterns: Did the assumption hold? What surprised you? What do you need to test next?
{
"assumption": "Freelance designers will pay $50/month for a tool that auto-generates design system documentation from Figma.",
"targetCustomer": "Freelance product designers with 5+ years experience, working with 3+ clients simultaneously, managing their own design systems.",
"currentEvidence": "We surveyed 20 designers; 12 said documentation is a pain. One said she spends 2 hours per week on it. No one has explicitly said they'd pay for a solution.",
"riskIfWrong": "We'll build a feature-rich product with no paying customers. We'll burn 3 months of runway and miss the opportunity to solve a different, more urgent problem."
}**INTERVIEW SCRIPT: Auto-Generated Design System Documentation**
**Duration:** 25 minutes
**Opening (2 min)**
You: "Thanks for making time. I'm working on a tool to help designers manage design system documentation, and I want to understand how you currently handle it. This isn't a sales call—I'm trying to figure out if what we're building actually solves a real problem. Cool?"
Customer: [nods]
You: "Great. I'm going to ask you about your current workflow and what frustrates you. There are no right answers—I just want to understand your reality."
---
**Main Questions**
**Q1: Current workflow (3 min)**
You: "Walk me through how you currently manage design system documentation. What does that process look like from start to finish?"
[Listen for: tools used, time spent, who's involved, where it breaks down]
Follow-ups:
- "What happens when you update a component in Figma?"
- "How do your clients or team members access that documentation?"
- "What's the most annoying part of that process?"
---
**Q2: Frequency and urgency (3 min)**
You: "How often do you update your design system documentation?"
[Listen for: weekly, monthly, ad-hoc, never. Listen for tone—is this a chore or a priority?]
Follow-ups:
- "What triggers an update?"
- "What happens if documentation falls out of sync with your Figma file?"
- "How much does that cost you in time or client friction?"
---
**Q3: Current solutions (3 min)**
You: "Have you tried any tools to automate or simplify documentation?"
[Listen for: what they've tried, why they stopped, what they're still looking for]
Follow-ups:
- "What didn't work about [tool they mentioned]?"
- "What would a solution need to do for you to actually use it?"
---
**Q4: Willingness to pay (4 min)**
You: "If there was a tool that automatically synced your Figma components to documentation and kept it up to date, would that be valuable?"
[Listen for: hesitation, qualifications, or enthusiasm. Don't accept "yeah, that'd be nice." Probe deeper.]
Follow-ups:
- "How valuable? Walk me through what you'd actually do with it."
- "Would you use it for every project or just certain ones?"
- "What would it need to do for you to actually pay for it?"
---
**Q5: Price sensitivity (3 min)**
You: "Let's say a tool like this cost $50 a month. Would you consider it?"
[Listen for: immediate yes/no, or conditions. If hesitation, probe the real objection.]
Follow-ups:
- "What would make that feel worth it to you?"
- "What's the most you'd pay?"
- "Would you pay annually if it was cheaper per month?"
---
**Q6: Alternatives and workarounds (3 min)**
You: "If this tool didn't exist, what would you do instead? How would you solve this problem?"
[Listen for: acceptance of the status quo, DIY solutions, or switching to a different tool entirely. This reveals how urgent the problem really is.]
Follow-ups:
- "How long could you live without a solution?"
- "Would you build something yourself?"
---
**Closing (2 min)**
You: "Is there anything I got wrong about how you work or what matters to you?"
Customer: [responds]
You: "Thanks. This was really helpful. If we build this, would you be open to trying it?"
---
**Listening cues:**
- **Contradiction:** They say documentation is painful but haven't updated it in 6 months. Assumption weakens.
- **Hesitation:** They say "maybe" or "I guess" instead of "yes." Dig deeper on the real objection.
- **Specificity:** They give exact examples ("I spent 4 hours last week") vs. vague complaints ("it's annoying"). Specific = more credible.
- **Urgency:** Do they talk about this as a current problem or a nice-to-have? Current = higher priority.
---
**After the interview:**
Score the assumption: Does this customer validate or contradict it? Note exact quotes. Look for patterns across 3–5 interviews before deciding.