By Dr. Swapnil Sahoo · Published · About 5 minutes plus practice
A friendly answer can be weak evidence
An imagined founder wants to offer a clothing-repair service. ‘Would you use a convenient repair app?’ suggests both a problem and a preferred solution. A person can agree politely without having faced the problem recently or being willing to pay.
Start instead with ‘Tell me about the last item of clothing you needed repaired. What did you do next?’ If the person cannot recall such an event, record that limit rather than supplying a story for them.
Follow the sequence
Ask how they found an alternative, what was difficult and who made the decision. Ask about actual time or money spent; a broad estimate is enough. Keep questions neutral and let the person say that the current approach works well.
For example, ‘The tailor was two streets away and charged about ₹150’ is a reported account. ‘Customers need doorstep pickup’ is your interpretation. The second statement needs further evidence, including whether pickup matters enough to change behaviour.
Look for limits as well as patterns
A few interviews can expose a mistaken assumption, but they do not estimate market size or establish the behaviour of everyone in a city. Record who you spoke with, how you found them and which relevant people are missing.
Ask permission before taking notes or recording. Do not collect personal identifiers or private financial records for this practice task. Keep reported behaviour, your inference and unresolved questions in separate parts of the evidence log.