What Types of Insights Should You Look for in In-Depth Interviews?
Author: Jay Thomas
UX Designer who builds UX research teams, leads design teams, and implements Jobs to be Done (JTBD) in companies
When companies want to build or improve a product, the most obvious—but wrong—approach is to just ask users what they need. The problem is: users don’t always know their real needs. Most describe their experience through the lens of what they already know. They can complain about pain points, but rarely suggest breakthroughs that truly reshape workflows.
That’s why a good researcher looks not just for obvious problems, but also for hidden opportunities, which can only be uncovered by observing user behavior. In JTBD interviews, there are two key types of insights:
Clear Needs
These are things users are aware of and can articulate. They usually stem from obvious friction or missing features.
Examples:
Nutrition tracking apps: Users complain about clunky interfaces, missing local foods in the database, or no sync with fitness trackers.
LMS platforms: Teachers say it’s hard to set up courses, assess students, or embed multimedia content.
Hidden Opportunities
These are not directly voiced by users. You find them by analyzing behavior—especially unnecessary steps in completing a task.
Examples:
Nutrition tracking apps: You observe users wasting time manually entering product data. Barcode scanning via camera could speed things up drastically.
LMS platforms: You notice teachers spend tons of time grading. Introducing AI-based auto-checking can streamline that and boost efficiency.
Understanding these two insight types helps you go beyond surface-level improvements and uncover innovation levers that make your product truly valuable.
Jay Thomas
A UX strategist with a decade of experience in building and leading UX research and design teams. He specializes in implementing Jobs to be Done (JTBD) methodologies and designing both complex B2B admin panels and high-traffic consumer-facing features used by millions.
Previously, he led UX development at DomClick, where he scaled the UX research team and built a company-wide design system. He is a guest lecturer at HSE and Bang Bang Education and has studied JTBD at Harvard Business School.
Jay has worked with ONY, QIWI, Sber, CIAN, Megafon, Shell, MTS, Adidas, and other industry leaders, helping them create data-driven, user-centered experiences that drive engagement and business growth.
