Preparing and Conducting Interviews in Engineering and Design

This resource discusses the role interviews can play in informing engineering and design decisions, describes different approaches to interviewing, types of questions that can be used during an interview, and how engineers and designers can prepare to conduct interviews. Particular attention is given to the development of interview protocols suggesting a structure or roadmap to organize the interview and elicit relevant information from the interviewee.

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Learning Outcomes

After reading and actively engaging with this document, students will be able to:

• Define the goals of interviews in engineering and design work.
• Describe different interview approaches, question types, and best practices for planning and conducting interviews.
• Discuss a structure and roadmap for interviewing that has the potential to elicit fundamental information from stakeholders, and inform engineering and design decisions.
• Discuss how cultural context and power dynamics influence the design and conduction of an interview, and the quality of the information gathered.
• Apply best practices and interview techniques to a hypothetical scenario, defining interview goals, questions, and a roadmap for different stakeholder interviews.

Key Themes

• Purpose of Interviews in Engineering and Design Work
• Uncovering Stakeholder Needs and Experiences
• Interview Approaches and Practices
• Best Practices in the Design and Implementation of Stakeholder Interviews

Who Might Use This Resource?

• First-year students in foundational design courses for different disciplines
• Sophomores and juniors in technical communication courses
• Students in co-curricular design teams
• Capstone courses for different disciplines
• Master students in information-based community engagement course
• Engineering students participating in Global Health Design Initiative

What You Get

Facilitated Learning Package

For instructors teaching the material in an 80 minute session.

• Instructor Orientation Guide
• Lesson Plan for 80-minute class session
• Slide Deck with Facilitation Script, Annotations, and Supplemental Bibliography
• Student handouts
• Assessment Prompts
• References

Independent Learning Package

For learners to complete asynchronously.

• Instructor Orientation Guide
• Independent Learning Document with embedded activities and questions
• Assessment Prompts
• References