structured-interview

name	Structured Interview
description	Provide in-depth interview methodology for extracting clear actionable requirements from vague descriptions

Structured Interview

Description

Provide in-depth interview methodology for extracting clear, actionable requirements from vague user descriptions.

Users

• requirements-analyst: For user interviews during the requirements exploration phase
• team-architect: For initial requirements assessment and direction confirmation

Core Methods

Funnel Questioning Method

From broad to narrow, progressively converge:

1. Open exploration: "What goal do you want to achieve?" — Let users describe freely
2. Boundary confirmation: "What does this team NOT need to handle?" — Define scope by exclusion
3. Concretization follow-up: "What specifically do you mean by X? Can you give an example?" — Eliminate ambiguity
4. Verification playback: "My understanding is Y, is that correct?" — Confirm consensus

Follow-up Triggers

Must follow up when encountering these signals:

• User uses vague words: "roughly", "probably", "things like that", "etc."
• User skips process details: States results directly without explaining process
• User's description has logical gaps: Missing B between A and C
• User's requirements have implicit conflicts: Demanding both "fast" and "high quality"

Reverse Validation Method

After user provides requirements, validate with opposite questions:

• "If role X didn't exist, which work would have no one doing it?"
• "If Y and Z were merged into one role, what problems would arise?"
• "What's the most likely reason this team would fail?"

Interview Rhythm Control

• Focus each response on one direction only, don't ask multiple unrelated questions simultaneously
• Provide an interim summary every 3-4 rounds to confirm direction is correct
• Control total interview rounds to 8-15, adjusted by complexity
• When user starts repeating previously stated content, that dimension is fully explored — move to next dimension