{"id":"pm-interview-guide-no-leading","audience":"product-managers","category":"research","track":"research","technique":"constraints","title":"Write interview questions that don't lead the customer","free":false,"task":"You're interviewing small landlords next week, and your researcher said your last guide asked leading questions. You need exactly 6 numbered questions, under 110 words in total, plain text: open-ended (no yes/no questions), mostly about specific past events, and never mentioning your repair-portal idea or any app feature.","materialLabel":"Your research brief (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Research brief - Landlord repairs study (Nestwise)\n\nGoal: understand how small landlords (2-10 units) handle repair requests from tenants today.\n\nWhat we think is true (unproven):\n- Requests come in by text, call and email, and some get lost.\n- Landlords struggle to find a trusted contractor fast.\n- Tenants don't get updates, so they ask again and again.\n\nMy solution idea (DO NOT pitch in interviews): a tenant repair portal with photo upload and status tracking.\n\nFeedback from Joy (UX researcher) on my last guide:\n\"Questions like 'Would you use a portal to track repairs?' and 'Is it frustrating when requests get lost?' are leading. People say yes to be nice. Ask about the last time something actually happened: what they did, who they called, how long it took. One topic per question.\"\n\nLogistics: 6 interviews, 30 minutes each, $50 gift card, Zoom. Recruiting via the landlord association newsletter.\nNote to self: book Joy to sit in on the first two.","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":6},{"type":"maxWords","max":110},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Asking for 'interview questions'","why":"The AI writes 15+ questions in sections with bold headings, warm-up and wrap-up.","fix":"Be exact: \"Exactly 6 numbered questions. Plain text, nothing else.\"","checks":["numberedItems","plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each question instead: \"each question under 16 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Allowing yes/no questions","why":"AI often writes 'Do you...' and 'Would you...' questions, which invite a polite yes.","fix":"Add: \"Open-ended only. No question that can be answered yes or no.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Pitching your idea","why":"Your solution is in the brief, so the AI asks people what they think of it.","fix":"Add: \"Never mention the portal or any app feature.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Asking about opinions, not events","why":"The AI asks how people feel in general, which gives you guesses instead of facts.","fix":"Add: \"Ask about the last time something happened, like 'Tell me about the last time a tenant reported a repair.'\"","checks":["r2"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Forbids yes/no questions","patterns":["yes.?no","open.?ended"]},{"label":"Asks about past events","patterns":["last time","past","specific (time|event)","tell me about"]},{"label":"Keeps the idea out","patterns":["portal","don'?t (mention|pitch)","no (solution|feature)","never mention"]},{"label":"Sets the number of questions","patterns":["\\b(6|six)\\b.{0,15}question"]},{"label":"Asks for plain text","patterns":["plain","no bold","no markdown","no formatting","no headings"]}],"hint":"Leading questions get polite answers, not facts. Tell the AI to ask about real past events, ban yes/no questions, and keep your idea out of it.","rubricLabels":["None of the 6 questions can be answered yes or no (none start with Do, Did, Would, Is, Are, Have, Can or Could)","No question mentions a portal, an app, photo upload, status tracking or any proposed solution","At least 4 of the 6 questions ask about a specific past event (for example 'the last time a tenant reported a repair'), each covers one topic, and there are no section headings, intro or logistics notes"]}