Designing and Delivering Focus Interviews

Designing and Delivering Focus
Interviews

4
Focus interviews follow a standard structured format
Focus Interview Questions
ObjectivesObjectives
• Validate hypotheses
• Gain views on current
business situation:
– Strengths and weaknesses
• Identify potential areas for
improvement:
– Where and how much
– Provide direction for the team
• Expand your network:
– Gain support for additional
assistance and involvement
• Build commitment and
support for the project:
– Temperature check
– Generate war stories
• Validate hypotheses
• Gain views on current
business situation:
– Strengths and weaknesses
• Identify potential areas for
improvement:
– Where and how much
– Provide direction for the team
• Expand your network:
– Gain support for additional
assistance and involvement
• Build commitment and
support for the project:
– Temperature check
– Generate war stories
Standard FI Questions AreasStandard FI Questions Areas
• Interviewee
background:
– Length of service
– Years in present position
• Department overview:
– Top 3 activities
– Goals and objectives
– How are you measured?
• View of the
organisation:
– Understanding of
vision/mission
– Top 3 strengths
– Key competitive
differentiators.
– Who are main
competitors
• Interviewee
background:
– Length of service
– Years in present position
• Department overview:
– Top 3 activities
– Goals and objectives
– How are you measured?
• View of the
organisation:
– Understanding of
vision/mission
– Top 3 strengths
– Key competitive
differentiators.
– Who are main
competitors
• Identification of main
issues:
– Percentage improvement
opportunity
– Chance of project success
– Climate check
• Assessment of
organisational culture:
– Use a spectrum
• Previous
implementation
experiences:
– Reasons for failure
– Initiatives list
• Support for the project:
– Who else should we speak
to
– Elevator question
• Identification of main
issues:
– Percentage improvement
opportunity
– Chance of project success
– Climate check
• Assessment of
organisational culture:
– Use a spectrum
• Previous
implementation
experiences:
– Reasons for failure
– Initiatives list
• Support for the project:
– Who else should we speak
to
– Elevator question
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7
Thorough preparation is essential to present a professional approach and
build credibility
• Make sure you understand the FI form:
• Get the team manager or team lead to talk you through it
• Highlight the most important or “must have” questions
• Be clear on who you are interviewing:
• Do you know what they do?
• And where the interview will take place:
– Sounds basic but often gets overlooked.
• Be prepared to answer questions:
– Can you explain what the project is about?
– Be prepared for the “ten most difficult questions” you could be
asked
– If you don’t know, it’s OK to say so and inform them that you will
get back to them with an answer
The team manager should conduct an FI briefing for the whole team.The team manager should conduct an FI briefing for the whole team.
Tips for Preparing a Focus Interview

10
You need to earn the interviewee’s trust to get them to open up
Tips on Building Trust during the Focus Interview
Maintaining your objective guard is the key to avoid being drawn into arguments.Maintaining your objective guard is the key to avoid being drawn into arguments.
The interviewee may not open up
immediately . . .
The interviewee may not open up
immediately . . .
• May have a hidden agenda
• May hate the project sponsor(s)
• Say what they think you want to
hear from them
• May try to trip you up
• May question your experience
• May have a hidden agenda
• May hate the project sponsor(s)
• Say what they think you want to
hear from them
• May try to trip you up
• May question your experience
. . . which means that you need
to create the environment
. . . which means that you need
to create the environment
• Say that you want to see things
from their perspective
• Focus on gathering opinions and
facts—don’t apportion blame
• Watch body language and tone of
voice carefully
• Keep eye contact
• Listen to what they are saying:
– Read between the lines
• Say that you want to see things
from their perspective
• Focus on gathering opinions and
facts—don’t apportion blame
• Watch body language and tone of
voice carefully
• Keep eye contact
• Listen to what they are saying:
– Read between the lines

13
• Preparation of the Interview
– Did you agree a location?
– Did you agree a start time?
– Did you check the name and position of the person
being interviewed?
• Execution of the Interview - Introduction
– Did you introduce yourselves?
– Did you explain the purpose of the interview?
– Did you confirm/clarify the time contract?
– Did you confirm interviewees position/capacity?
– Did you outline the framework of the interview and explain roles?
– Did you explain to what end the interview would be used?
• Execution of the Interview - Close
– Did you finish with an open question (is there anything else you would like to tell me)?
– Did you agree/clarify any next steps and timings?
– Did you thank the interviewee?
• Follow up
– Are your interview notes in a readable form?
– Do you have any verbatim quotations?
– Are the key points summarized, you know who and when to feedback your interview notes?
– Have you quality checked the interview - do you think it is honest and accurate?
This Plan-Do-Review checklist should be second nature to all interviewers

1
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