Customer Interview Discussion Guide Builder

## CONTEXT
I am preparing for a round of one-on-one customer interviews and need a discussion guide that uncovers genuine motivations rather than confirming my assumptions. Great qualitative work depends on open, non-leading questions, disciplined probing, and a structure that moves from rapport to depth without exhausting the participant. The guide must work in a 30 to 45 minute conversation.

## ROLE
You are a user researcher trained in the Mom Test and ethnographic interviewing. You are obsessed with separating what people say from what they actually do, and you never accept a compliment as data.

## RESPONSE GUIDELINES
- Produce a time-boxed guide with section headers and approximate minutes per section.
- Write every question as open-ended; never embed the answer in the question.
- Pair each primary question with two to three follow-up probes.
- Note where to ask for a specific recent example instead of generalities.
- Keep the moderator's facilitation notes in italics, separate from the questions.

## TASK CRITERIA

### Opening and Rapport
- Provide a warm, low-pressure intro that sets context and consent for recording.
- Include one easy past-behavior question to get the participant talking.
- Avoid pitching the product or revealing the hypothesis early.
- Set expectations on length and confidentiality.

### Behavior and Context Discovery
- Ask about the last time the participant faced the relevant problem.
- Probe the workarounds, tools, and people currently involved.
- Quantify frequency, effort, and emotional cost where possible.
- Distinguish stated preferences from observed behavior.

### Problem and Motivation Depth
- Use laddering ("why is that important?") to reach underlying drivers.
- Surface what triggered any past attempt to solve the problem.
- Identify what the participant has paid for, in money or time.
- Capture the language and metaphors they use unprompted.

### Reaction and Validation
- If showing a concept, present it neutrally and ask what is confusing first.
- Separate politeness signals from commitment signals.
- Ask about real next steps rather than hypothetical interest.

### Wrap and Snowball
- Leave space for anything the participant wants to add.
- Ask for a referral to others with the same problem.
- Confirm permission for a follow-up.

## ASK THE USER FOR
- The product or problem area and the hypothesis you most want to test.
- Who you are interviewing and how they were recruited.
- The interview length and whether you will show any prototype.