UR
Stakeholder Interviews
A practical discovery method for understanding business goals, assumptions, constraints, and internal priorities.
How to use stakeholder interviews to surface business expectations, risks, assumptions, and alignment before design or research begins.
Quick take
If you need to understand the business, constraints, and internal expectations before you start, run stakeholder interviews.
Related Services
What it is
glossaryStakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term interviews are a glossaryQualitative ResearchQualitative research explores user behaviours, motivations, and experiences through non-numerical data.Open glossary term method used to understand business goals, assumptions, glossaryConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term, and priorities from the people responsible for a product or service.
They are a core part of UX and glossaryProduct DiscoveryThe process of understanding problems before building solutions.Open glossary term, helping align teams before design or serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service begins.
Unlike guideUser InterviewsDirect conversations with users to understand behaviours, needs and motivations.Open guide, these focus on internal perspectives. They reveal what the business believes, what it needs, and where risks or pressures sit.
The goal is to uncover expectations, surface assumptions, and identify where glossaryAlignmentAlignment is the shared understanding and agreement between teams, stakeholders, and objectives.Open glossary term or tension exists.
Stakeholder interviews help you understand what the business believes, what it needs, and where the pressure points sit before work begins.
When to use it
Use this method at the start of a project or when glossaryAlignmentAlignment is the shared understanding and agreement between teams, stakeholders, and objectives.Open glossary term is unclear.
It is most useful when:
It is less useful when:
Stakeholder interviews are often used alongside user interviews and analytics to balance business and user needs.
Key takeaway
Run stakeholder interviews early when business priorities, assumptions, or constraints could shape the direction of the work.
How to run it
Set up properly.
Before you start, be clear on what you need to learn about the business, which glossaryStakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term to include, and how their roles differ.
Aim for a mix of perspectives, such as product, design, engineering, marketing, and leadership.
Run the method.
A good glossaryStakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term interview is structured but flexible.
Start with their role and responsibilities. Understand their goals and success measures. Explore assumptions about users and glossaryBehaviourBehaviour refers to how users interact with a system, including actions, patterns, and responses.Open glossary term. Identify glossaryConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term and risks. Ask where they see problems or opportunities.
Good questions: What are you trying to achieve with this product or glossaryServiceA service is a component or function that performs a specific task within a system.Open glossary term. What does success look like. Where do you think the biggest problems are. What concerns you about this project. What do you believe users struggle with.
Avoid turning it into a status update or allowing one perspective to dominate.
Capture and make sense of it.
The value comes from comparing perspectives.
Look across interviews to identify shared goals and priorities, conflicting views, assumptions about users, and known risks and glossaryConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term.
Group glossaryInsightAn insight is a meaningful understanding that explains why something is happening and what it means.Open glossary term so they can be used to guide direction and glossaryPrioritisationPrioritisation is the process of ranking tasks, features, or initiatives based on their importance, impact, and effort.Open glossary term.
What to look for
Focus on:
Where it goes wrong
Most issues come from:
If everything sounds aligned, you may not have gone deep enough.
What you get from it
Done properly, this method gives you:
Key takeaway
It helps ensure you are solving the right problem, not just the visible one.
Get in touch
If this sounds like something you need, we can help you align your teams and get glossaryClarityClarity is how easily users can understand what is happening and what they need to do.Open glossary term before moving forward.
No guesswork. No assumptions. Just clear direction you can act on.
FAQ
Common questions
A few practical answers to the questions that usually come up around this method.
What are stakeholder interviews in UX?
glossaryStakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term interviews are a serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service method used to understand business goals, assumptions, and glossaryConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term from internal stakeholders.
When should you run stakeholder interviews?
They are most useful at the start of a project or when there is a lack of glossaryAlignmentAlignment is the shared understanding and agreement between teams, stakeholders, and objectives.Open glossary term across teams.
Who should be included in stakeholder interviews?
Anyone responsible for the product or glossaryServiceA service is a component or function that performs a specific task within a system.Open glossary term, including glossaryProduct ManagerA product manager is responsible for defining product direction, priorities, and outcomes.Open glossary term, designers, engineers, marketers, and leadership.
What is the difference between stakeholder interviews and user interviews?
glossaryStakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term interviews focus on internal perspectives and business needs, while guideUser InterviewsDirect conversations with users to understand behaviours, needs and motivations.Open guide focus on real glossaryUser BehaviourUser behaviour refers to how users interact with a product, including actions, patterns, and decision-making processes.Open glossary term and experiences.
Why are stakeholder interviews important?
They help uncover assumptions, align teams, and ensure decisions are based on a shared understanding of goals and glossaryConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term.