Protect genuine interest do not get defensive with interviewee.
Phrase questions in such a way that the users do not know how you want them to reply.
Some examples of an out line to follow if you are asking about a specific manual are:.
How frequently do you use this manual.
Under what circumstances do you use it .
When did you last use it .
What tasks are you doing when you use it .
How do you use it? Do you sit down and read it, or do you refer to it while you are doing something else?.
How would you rate it (excellent, Good, fair, poor, awful).
What do you like best about it?.
What would you change about it?.
Do you have marginal notations in it?.
Who else uses the manual?.
Do you know what they use it for?.
Some examples of questions to ask about a set of manuals for a product are:.
How easy was it to find the information you wanted? Did you.
1. Always find the right manual right away .
2. Sometimes try another manual before the right one.
3. Almost always try the wrong manual first.
4. Hunt through several manuals to find the information.
5. Mostly find it.
When you had the right manual, how easy was it to find information in it?.
1. Very easy.
2. Pretty easy.
3. Took more that three tires.
4. Had to leaf through looking.
5. Never found it.
Were the titles of the manual.
1. Very descriptive.
2. Descriptive.
3. All right.
4. Not very descriptive.
5. Not at all descriptive.
Surveying the audience.
To find out the whole customer group you must prepare questionnaires and surveys representative customers.
A sample of people can include customers chosen at random or it can be representative customers.
Surveys can be done by mail, by telephone or in person.
Mail surveys is the most convenient but the least reliable and the least likely to get responses.
Telephone surveys have a much higher response rate.
Personal interview surveys are the most expensive and most difficult but they can also be the most fruitful.