Business analysis glossary
Interview Technique
What it is
Interview technique is the skill of running a one-to-one conversation that produces useful information. It uses open questions, follow-ups such as "can you show me?", listening without leading, and a written summary sent back for confirmation. Good interviewers also prepare a short list of topics but stay flexible, and they confirm their understanding by repeating it back in their own words.
Why it matters
The quality of requirements depends on the quality of the questions. Closed or leading questions produce polite agreement; open questions with examples reveal how the work really happens. Asking for real examples also reduces the polite answers people give when they guess what the interviewer wants to hear.
Example
Instead of asking a warehouse lead, "Do you need a barcode scanner?", the analyst asks, "Walk me through the last return you processed." The answer shows that most delays are caused by missing order numbers, not by slow data entry.