Question
Ask what would make the claim false
A useful claim needs a failure condition, not just more applause.
When it fits
- A statement is broad, confident and supported only by confirming examples.
When to avoid it
- Failure to recall a counterexample is not proof that none exists.
A question to ask
When does this not happen? · What is the strongest counterexample you remember? · What observation would make you revise this conclusion?
Why it matters
Ask for exceptions and disconfirming cases: when does this not happen, who behaves differently, what condition breaks the pattern, or what observation would change the person's conclusion? This often reveals hidden scope and boundary conditions.
An example
'Customers never use advanced filters' becomes a segmented claim after finding one team that uses them every morning for reconciliation.
Check your result
The statement has a narrower scope, an exception, or a clearly stated absence of known counterexamples.
Keep this limit in mind
- Failure to recall a counterexample is not proof that none exists.
Connected ideas
Useful withSeparate what happened, what it meant and what should change
Evidence and sources
GOV.UK interview guidance recommends open, neutral questions, asking for real stories and examples, listening carefully, and using follow-ups when meaning is unclear.
Neutral wording reduces one source of bias but does not make interview evidence objective or representative by itself.
Using in-depth interviews · Do the interview
GOV.UK planning guidance recommends clear, actionable research objectives linked to assumptions and information needed for upcoming decisions.
Some exploratory work legitimately starts without a single immediate decision.
Plan a round of user research · Research objectives and assumptions