Interview Script·45 min·11 questions
Discovering why department heads stick with spreadsheet budgets despite version chaos
You're seeing department heads complain about budget tracking nightmares—version control disasters, endless email chains with conflicting numbers, hours spent reconciling with finance. Yet when you dig deeper, these same leaders keep choosing spreadsheets over dedicated budget tools, even after experiencing these pain points repeatedly.
Why standard questions fail here
Direct questions about spreadsheet pain often get rehearsed complaints that don't predict behavior. This script works backward from their last budget cycle decision, reconstructing the specific moment they chose their current approach despite knowing the downsides, revealing the hidden factors that make spreadsheet chaos feel safer than alternatives.
Sample Questions
Grounded in The Mom Test and Jobs-to-be-Done.
JTBD: Understanding the user's context and scope of responsibility to frame subsequent questions
Use active listening and take notes on team size, budget scale, and reporting structure - this context will inform follow-up questions
- How large is the budget you typically manage?
- How many people are involved in your budget planning and tracking?
- Generic job descriptions rather than specific responsibilities and scope
Mom Test principle: Ask about specific past behavior rather than hypothetical future actions
Use the chronological probing technique - ask them to walk through each step in sequence, noting tools, people, and handoffs
- What tools or systems did you use at each step?
- Who else was involved and when?
- How long did each phase take?
- High-level overviews instead of step-by-step process details
- Idealized descriptions of how it should work rather than how it actually worked
JTBD: Identifying the specific job-to-be-done and trigger moments that create need for budget tracking
Use the critical incident technique - get them to recall a specific instance and probe for emotions, frustrations, and workarounds
- How did you go about making those updates?
- What was the most time-consuming part of that process?
- How did you communicate those changes to others?
- Vague generalizations like 'we always track monthly' instead of specific trigger events
Mom Test principle: Focus on specific past instances to uncover actual collaboration pain points
Use the behavioral event interview technique - probe for specific actions, not general preferences
- What format did you use to share the information?
- How long did it take to get the response or approval you needed?
- Did any confusion or back-and-forth happen during this process?
- Hypothetical statements like 'we usually just email' rather than detailed accounts of actual collaboration events
Observational research principle: Understanding the actual tools and interfaces users interact with daily
Ask for a screen share or detailed description - focus on what they actually see and use, not what they think they should be using
- How often do you check this?
- What information do you look for first?
- How do you know if the information is current?
- Abstract descriptions rather than concrete details about files, screens, or documents they actually use
JTBD: Identifying struggling moments where current solutions fail to meet the user's needs
Use emotional probing - ask follow-up questions about how it made them feel and what impact it had
- How did that impact your work or your team?
- What did you do to resolve the situation?
- How long did it take to fix?
- Minimizing problems or saying 'everything works fine' instead of recounting actual frustrating incidents
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