Interview Script·45 min·10 questions

Discovering why existing users ignore invoicing features despite active billing workflows

You shipped an invoicing feature three months ago expecting strong adoption from users who clearly handle billing, but only 4% have tried it. You're seeing users continue their existing billing processes while your new feature sits unused, and you can't tell if they simply don't know it exists or don't actually need what you built.

Why standard questions fail here

Direct questions about feature awareness often get socially acceptable answers that hide the real story. This script reconstructs users' actual billing moments and decision points, anchoring in their current workflows to reveal whether the gap is discovery, timing, or fundamental feature-market mismatch.

Sample Questions

Grounded in The Mom Test and Jobs-to-be-Done.

Q1 Can you tell me a bit about your role and how you typically use our product in your daily work?
Why ask this?

Jobs-to-be-Done: establish the job context and primary use cases before diving into specific features

Technique

Use the mirroring technique - repeat back key phrases they use to show you're listening and encourage elaboration

Follow-up Prompts
  • What's the most common task you use our product for?
  • How often would you say you use it?
Watch out for
  • Generic role descriptions without specific workflows
Q2 Tell me about the last time you needed to create or send an invoice to someone.
Why ask this?

Mom Test principle: ask about specific past behavior rather than hypothetical future needs

Technique

Use the laddering technique - once they describe the situation, ask 'what happened next?' to get the complete workflow

Follow-up Prompts
  • What tools did you use for that?
  • How long did that process take you?
  • What was the most frustrating part about that experience?
Watch out for
  • Hypothetical responses like 'I would probably...'
  • Generic claims about invoicing frequency without specifics
Q3 Walk me through your current invoicing process from start to finish.
Why ask this?

Jobs-to-be-Done: map the entire job workflow to understand all touchpoints and pain points

Technique

Use the 'show me' technique - ask them to demonstrate or draw out their process if possible

Follow-up Prompts
  • What happens before you start creating the invoice?
  • Where do you get the information you need?
  • What do you do after you send it?
Watch out for
  • Skipping steps or giving oversimplified descriptions
  • Focusing only on the final output rather than the process
Q4 What's the biggest challenge you face with invoicing right now?
Why ask this?

Mom Test principle: focus on current struggles and pain points, not feature requests

Technique

Use the problem interview technique - probe for emotional responses and specific struggling moments

Follow-up Prompts
  • Can you give me a specific example of when this was a problem?
  • How did that make you feel?
  • What did you do to work around it?
Watch out for
  • Feature requests disguised as problems
  • Generic complaints without specific examples
Q5 When you think about invoicing functionality, what would you expect to find in a product like ours?
Why ask this?

Mental model testing: understand user expectations before revealing actual features

Technique

Use the assumption testing technique - capture their expectations before revealing reality

Follow-up Prompts
  • What would be most important to you in that functionality?
  • Where would you expect to find that in our interface?
Watch out for
  • Leading responses that mirror our actual feature set
  • Overly broad wish lists without prioritization
Q6 Have you noticed any invoicing-related options or features in our product?
Why ask this?

Direct awareness testing: measure actual feature discoverability without leading

Technique

Use the neutral probe technique - ask open-ended without revealing the feature exists

Follow-up Prompts
  • Can you describe what you remember about that?
  • Where did you see it?
  • What made you notice it or not notice it?
Watch out for
  • False positives where they claim to remember but give vague descriptions

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