# Competitive interview planning worksheet

Prepared by User Intuition. Editable planning example, updated 19 September 2026.
Companion: https://www.userintuition.ai/reference-guides/agency-competitive-analysis-discussion-guide/

Replace bracketed fields before fieldwork. Timings are planning assumptions; pilot the guide.

## 1. Client decision

- Decision and owner: [Which positioning, product, or channel decision will this inform?]
- What is known: [Existing evidence and its limitations]
- What must be learned: [One primary research question]
- Action threshold: [What evidence would change the decision?]
- Not answerable by this study: [Market share, causal effect, population prevalence, etc.]

## 2. Choose the interview format

- [ ] Decision journey: reconstruct a recent purchase (plan about 30 minutes)
- [ ] Switching: understand a recent move between alternatives (plan about 25 minutes)
- [ ] Perception: explore associations grounded in actual experience (plan about 20 minutes)
- Reason this format fits: [Explain]

## 3. Eligibility and sample

- Relevant category and recent experience window: [Specify]
- Role in the decision: [Buyer / evaluator / user / other]
- Segments to include and why: [Specify]
- Recruitment source and feasibility confirmed by: [Name/date]
- Exclusions: [Employees, conflicts, insufficient relevant experience, etc.]
- Permission, incentive, and recording arrangements: [Confirm]
- Limits introduced by recruitment: [Specify]

Do not require three considered brands if the study needs to understand buyers who considered only one.
Separate prompted awareness from alternatives the participant names without prompting.

## 4. Opening and neutral prompts

Opening: “Think about the last time you chose something in [category]. What prompted you to look?”

Decision journey:
1. “Walk me through what happened from that point.”
2. “What options, if any, did you consider?”
3. “What did you look for before deciding?”
4. “What moved an option into or out of consideration?”
5. “What happened after the purchase?”

Switching:
1. “Tell me about the move from [A] to [B].”
2. “When did you first consider changing?”
3. “What happened next?”
4. “What did you expect from the replacement?”
5. “How has the experience compared with that expectation?”

Perception:
1. “Which options come to mind in this category?”
2. “What experience shaped that impression?”
3. “What differences matter to you, if any?”
4. “Can you describe a time those differences affected a choice?”

Probe only what the participant's account supports. Ask one question at a time.
Do not assume dissatisfaction, switching, comparison, or an emotional explanation.
Allow “I don't remember” and “I did not consider another option.”

## 5. Evidence record

Complete one record per participant:
- Participant ID and guide version: [Fill]
- Trigger: [Source location]
- Product choice: [Source location]
- Seller/channel choice: [Source location]
- Alternatives named without prompting: [Fill]
- Alternatives introduced by the moderator: [Fill]
- Elimination or selection reason: [Source location]
- Experience after purchase: [Source location]
- Missing or contradictory evidence: [Fill]
- Analyst interpretation, separate from participant speech: [Fill]

## 6. Pilot and client readout

- Did participants have the experience needed to answer?
- Did the guide separate product choice, channel choice, and return intent?
- Were probes neutral and grounded in the preceding answer?
- What needs to change before the next wave? Record version and date.
- Report sample source, coverage, denominators, exceptions, and limits.
- Identify the decision supported now and the follow-up evidence still needed.

Inspect an actual public interview and sample presentation:
https://www.userintuition.ai/preview/#interviews
https://www.userintuition.ai/preview/#deck

The sample shopper study illustrates evidence and presentation structure. It is not evidence about your client's category.