Craft
Designing a claude interview that can be believed
A guide that cannot be audited is only a tone of voice. Design the interview so a colleague who was not in the room can see what was asked, what was refused, and what was written down the same day.
Scope the decision, not the persona poster
Open the design with a single decision in a named category: the last renewal of a maintenance system, the first purchase of a laboratory information tool, the stalled replacement of a freight portal. Write the decision at the top of the guide in the buyer’s likely words, then check those words in the room and correct them. A persona called “Operations Olivia” is not a scope. It hides whether you are speaking to the person who holds the budget.
Recruit for role in that decision, using the seats listed in decision-maker interviews. Two conversations with the same job title teach you less than one conversation with the champion and one with the person who slowed the file. State in the invitation that you will not demo software. People prepare differently when they expect to be sold to, and that preparation ruins the claude record.
The arc
Four movements are enough. Context: how this category shows up in their week, before any vendor is named. Last purchase: the instance you will not leave. Near-miss: the alternative that almost won, including “do nothing” and “the spreadsheet.” Language: the phrases they use with a skeptical colleague. Silence: a planned pause after the stall, long enough that they fill it with the unpolished reason. The arc is a promise to yourself. If you are still in context at minute forty, you have lost the purchase.
- Confirm the decision you think you are studying, and let them correct the noun.
- Ask for the sequence of the last real case, including who was absent.
- Ask what nearly won, and what would have had to be true for it to win.
- Ask for the sentence they used internally when the file stalled.
- Stop talking. Count slowly to six. Write the next clause verbatim.
- Close by asking what a fair memo would be careful not to claim.
Probes that do not sell
Useful probes are small. “What happened next?” restores sequence. “Who else was in that meeting?” restores the buying group. “What was on the page you were looking at?” ties talk to an artifact you may later see in a touchpoint. “What did you try before this?” surfaces the real alternative, which is often a workaround rather than a competitor’s logo.
Harmful probes smuggle the offer. “Would it help if onboarding took half as long?” is a hypothesis test disguised as curiosity, and it teaches the guest the answer you can reward. Save comparisons for a later synthesis. During the hour, follow their nouns.
Composite field note
“I stopped asking whether the pilot worked. I asked which spreadsheet they reopened on Monday. They laughed, then described the planner’s file, cell by cell.”
A composite note from claude practice, not a testimonial and not a market measure. The point is the probe: artifacts beat adjectives.
Consent, notes, and the recording
Several US states require every party to consent before a conversation is recorded. Massachusetts and California are among them. Other states allow one-party consent, and a call that crosses state lines can put both regimes in play. Do not guess from a blog post on the morning of the interview. If you record, say so before the substantive talk begins, say what the file will be used for, and capture the agreement in the recording itself. Offer a note-only option that is genuinely equal, not a colder second class. dymtrim’s own rule in these guides is simple: if consent is incomplete, the recorder stays off.
Notes have a structure so they can be compared later without pretending the set is a sample. Mark quotations with quotation marks. Mark your inferences with the word “inference.” End with one sentence on what this case cannot support. That sentence is what keeps a later pattern memo from inflating.
A short ethics list
Do not interview someone whose employer has barred outside research, and do not ask them to paste internal data into your notes. Do not conceal a commercial interest when one exists; name it in a sentence and move on. Do not pay in a way that purchases a favorable story — a modest thank-you for time is different from a bounty for the quote you wanted. If a guest asks you to strike a remark, strike it. The claude record is not a trap.
When the design is stable, book the conversations that disagree with each other. Agreement is pleasant and thin. The friction you will need for an honest positioning line shows up where the memos do not match, which is the subject of purchase friction.
Occasional field notes
A short email when dymtrim adds a claude guide. No drip sequence, no ROI teaser, and an easy way to leave.