Have you ever experienced something you don’t like, but you can’t explain why? Maybe you just have a bad feeling about it, but you can’t put it into words? I’ve interviewed handfuls of participants who make comments like, “I don’t know why, I just don’t like it.” I can’t always understand my own needs, translate them into tangible solutions, and articulate or act on those solutions; so as an Experience Researcher, I don’t expect the participants I recruit to be great interpreters and relayers of their minds, emotions, and reactions.

If someone makes a mistake or show signs of struggle, we conduct something called a root cause analysis — a strategic and intentional discussion approach intended to determine the root cause of the problem. To best understand the participant’s perspectives, we follow a protocol of carefully crafted questions. Well-designed questions are open-ended, unbiased, and invite participants to explore and share introspective thoughts. Finessing a question and laboring over subtleties in verbiage can have great effects on productive communication. In fact, whole fields around question cultivation exist and have great application in qualitative interviewing.

Researchers can also uncover the user’s perspective with repeated, similar but slightly altered questions. Restructuring the question, or asking participants to rephrase their response can encourage use of new language, discovery of new angles, and uncovering of unexplored avenues.

The “5 Whys,” developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, works as an effective way to unpack and understand an issue. The concept is relatively simple: If a participant expresses dissatisfaction or confusion, ask, “Why?” Once they provide a response, continuing to ask “Why?” will encourage participants to share the basis and evolution of their thought process. To record and attempt to follow someone’s stream of thought is a very personal request. When granted permission to enter someone’s mind, you must show endless respect. Consider the following:

• Never mock or judge; always listen with openness and try to empathize with their position.

• Allow the participant time to finish their thought.

• Let them set the pace of the conversation.

• Recognize the power of pausing for a few moments before asking the next question, as this often encourages the participant to expand or move in a new direction altogether.

Dissecting the origins of dissatisfaction can be challenging for some participants. Using certain techniques to encourage introspection and create a safe space for sharing thoughts can accelerate the process of identifying the root of the problem, which accelerates the designer’s task of generating a design solution.