customer-interview

# Customer Interview Most interviews fail before they start: the interviewer pitches their idea, asks people to predict the future, and walks away with polite lies that feel like validation. The Mom Test (Rob Fitzpatrick) fixes this — talk about the customer's life and what they've actually done, not your idea or what they think they'd do. This skill plans a discovery interview and writes a script that can't be answered with empty compliments. It's the BEFORE; once you've run the interviews, use the `synthesize-research` skill to analyze what you heard. **Grounded in:** *The Mom Test* — Rob Fitzpatrick: ask about specific past behavior, never pitch or ask hypotheticals. **Go deeper (The Product Channel):** [Mastering Customer Interviews](https://sidsaladi.substack.com/p/mastering-customer-interviews-getting) ## When to use this - You're about to talk to users and want a plan + question script, not just a vibe - You're testing a risky assumption (is this problem real? painful enough? who has it?) - You keep getting "yeah I'd totally use that" and want truth instead of flattery - You're doing problem discovery, not a demo or a sales call ## The Mom Test rules (the spine of a good interview) - **Talk about THEIR life and past behavior, not your idea.** Their world is fact; your idea is a hypothetical they'll be nice about. - **Ask about specifics in the past, not generics or the future.** "Tell me about the last time…" beats "Do you usually…" beats "Would you…". - **Talk les...