Startup Validation term
Interview guide: meaning, examples, and AI prompt use.
Structures conversations around real behavior instead of leading questions.
What it means
Plain meaning
discussion guide: Structures conversations around real behavior instead of leading questions.
Aliases
discussion guide, customer interview script
People say / experts say
People usually say
- talk to users
- questions
- interview
- customer discovery
Experts usually say
Interview guide, Research question, Jobs to be done, Evidence standard
When to use it
Use it when
Your rough ask sounds like: talk to users, questions, interview. The term gives your research assistant a clearer problem shape.
When not to use it
Do not use this term to seek approval for an idea. Use it when you need evidence, assumptions, decision criteria, or behavior-based learning.
Copy-ready handoff phrase
Before and after
Weak ask
Validate this talk to users.
Exact Terms ask
Create an interview guide with behavior-first questions and no leading prompts.
Prompt templates by use case
Research prompt
Turn this idea into research using Interview guide and adjacent concepts: Research question, Jobs to be done, Evidence standard. Separate assumptions, evidence, and decision criteria.
Interview prompt
Write behavior-first customer questions that test Interview guide without leading the participant.
Decision prompt
Define the evidence required to decide whether Interview guide is strong enough to continue, change direction, or stop.
Common mistake
What goes wrong
Asking whether an idea is good before defining the assumption and evidence standard.
Better move
Use Interview guide with the related vocabulary trail: Research question, Jobs to be done, Evidence standard.