Interview Script
Generate a Mom Test–aligned customer interview guide with JTBD probing so discovery conversations surface past behavior, not opinions about your idea.
Overview
interview-script is an agent skill for the Idea phase that creates a structured customer interview script with JTBD probing following The Mom Test principles.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills --skill interview-scriptWhat is this skill?
- Produces a full interview script: opening, warm-up, core JTBD exploration, and wrap-up aligned to The Mom Test
- Clarifies research objectives, decisions informed, and assumptions to validate before writing questions
- Avoids leading questions and pitching—focus on past behavior and the customer’s life
- Situates interviews inside Teresa Torres continuous discovery and Product Trio collaboration
- Accepts personas, hypothesis lists, briefs, or prior notes as context when the user supplies files
- Opening section designed for roughly 2–3 minutes
- Script sections: opening, warm-up, core exploration, and wrap-up
Adoption & trust: 1k installs on skills.sh; 12.3k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are about to talk to users but only have vague questions that invite compliments and false validation instead of evidence about their real workflow.
Who is it for?
Indie PMs and solo founders running their own discovery calls who want Mom Test discipline and JTBD depth without a dedicated researcher.
Skip if: Surveys at scale, stakeholder-only alignment meetings, or situations where you already have a signed-off script from a UX research team.
When should I use this skill?
Preparing for user interviews, creating interview guides, or planning discovery research on a defined topic.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You receive a sectioned interview guide with non-leading JTBD questions tied to your research objectives and assumptions to test.
- Structured customer interview script with JTBD probing
- Documented research objectives and assumptions to validate
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Structured customer interviews are core Idea-phase audience work—continuous discovery Stage 1 Explore—before validation artifacts harden assumptions. The script targets real users and their jobs, which is audience understanding rather than competitor scraping or broad market scanning alone.
How it compares
Use instead of ad-hoc question lists that pitch your idea—this enforces discovery scripts built for learning, not validation theater.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is interview-script for?
Solo builders and small Product Trios preparing customer discovery on a specific topic who need a repeatable, Mom Test–aligned interview guide.
When should I use interview-script?
Use it during Idea audience research when planning user interviews, creating interview guides, or aligning discovery with hypotheses before you validate scope or build features.
Is interview-script safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page and the skill repository; the skill reads user-provided research files and does not require store credentials by default.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Interview Script
## Customer Interview Script Create a structured interview script that surfaces real insights, not just opinions. Follows "The Mom Test" principles — ask about their life, not your idea. ### Domain Context Customer interviews are one source in **Stage 1 (Explore)** of continuous discovery. Other sources: stakeholder interviews, usage analytics, data analytics, surveys, market trends, SEO/SEM analysis. The PM needs direct access to users, stakeholders, engineers, and designers — "without proxies." The **Product Trio** (PM + Designer + Engineer — Teresa Torres) should work together on discovery, not just the PM alone. ### Context You are preparing a customer interview script for research on **$ARGUMENTS**. If the user provides files (personas, hypothesis lists, product briefs, or previous interview notes), read them first. ### Instructions 1. **Clarify research objectives**: - What specific questions does the team need answered? - What decisions will this research inform? - What assumptions need validation? 2. **Create the interview script** with these sections: ### Opening (2-3 min) - Introduce yourself and the purpose (learning, not selling) - Set expectations: "There are no right or wrong answers. We're here to learn from your experience." - Ask permission to record (if applicable) - Confirm time available ### Warm-Up: Context & Background (5 min) - "Tell me about your role and what a typical day/week looks like." - "How long have you been doing [activity related to the product area]?" - Goal: Build rapport and understand their context ### Core Exploration: Jobs to Be Done (15-20 min) **Current situation and behavior** (past tense, specific instances): - "Walk me through the last time you [did the thing we're exploring]. What happened?" - "What tools or methods did you use?" - "How long did it take? Who else was involved?" **Pain points and frustrations** (observe, don't lead): - "What was the hardest part about that?" - "If you could wave a magic wand, what would change?" - "What have you tried to solve this? What happened?" **Desired outcomes** (their words, not yours): - "What does 'good' look like for you in this area?" - "How would you know if this was working well?" **Willingness to pay / priority** (skin in the game): - "How much time/money do you currently spend on this?" - "Have you looked for a better solution? What did you find?" - "What would you give up to have this solved?" ### Probing Techniques Use these when you hit an interesting thread: - **"Tell me more about that"** — opens up any topic - **"Why?"** (asked gently, 2-3 times) — gets to root causes - **"Can you give me a specific example?"** — moves from opinions to facts - **"What happened next?"** — follows the story - **"How did that make you feel?"** — captures emotional intensity ### The Mom Test Rules - Ask about **their life**, not your idea - Ask about **the past**, not the future ("Would you use X?" is useless) - **Talk less, listen more** — aim for 80/20 split - **Never pitch** during the interview - Look for **strong emotions** — they signal real pain or delight - **Compliments are noise** — "That sounds cool!" tells you nothing ### Wrap-Up (3-5 min) - "Is there anything I didn't ask that you think is important?" - "Who else should I talk to about this?" - Thank them for their time - Share next steps (if any) 3. **Customize the script**: Adapt questions to the specific product area, persona, and research objectives. Add or remove se