User interview synthesis

What it does

Takes messy notes from one or more user interviews and synthesises them into themes, tensions, and clear research implications.

When to use

• After a round of user interviews
• When you have a wall of notes and need to present findings to a client
• As a starting point for a research report or JTBD analysis

The skill

I'm going to paste notes from user interviews. Read everything, then produce:

1. Top themes (3–5 max). Each theme needs a name, a one-sentence description, and 2–3 direct quotes that support it.
2. Tensions or contradictions. What did different people disagree on? What surprised you?
3. What's confirmed. Anything that aligns with existing assumptions.
4. What's challenged. Anything that contradicts what we thought we knew.
5. Recommended next steps. Two or three specific research or product actions.

Keep themes tight. If a theme appears in only one interview, flag it as a signal rather than a finding. Don't summarise everything, prioritise what's actionable.

Here are the notes:

[paste interview notes]