Discovery Interview Guide

Discovery Interview Guide (BPM–HCM Internal)

This guide standardizes Discovery interviews for BPM-HCM projects to ensure consistent data collection, clear documentation, and evidence-based outcomes. Use this guide for stakeholder, SME, compliance, analytics, and operational interviews.

Overview

  • Standard interview length: 30–60 minutes
  • Goal: capture current-state reality, constraints, and desired outcomes (not solution commitments)
  • Output: completed interview notes that can be synthesized into themes, gaps, risks, and requirements

Interview Roles

  • Facilitator (required): BPM-HCM
  • Note-Taker (recommended): BPM-HCM or assigned support
  • Interviewee (required): SME, operational role, compliance stakeholder, analytics partner, or leadership participant
  • Optional attendees: Only when needed for clarification; avoid large groups to support candid feedback

Opening Script (Facilitator)

Thank you for your time. This session is part of the Discovery phase for [Project Name]. Discovery is used to understand the problem, constraints, and outcomes before any solution decisions are made.

Today we are capturing how work is performed today, what is not working, and what “better” looks like. We will document your input and combine it with other stakeholder feedback and available data.

We may follow up if we need clarification. Your input will be summarized into themes for the Discovery team to review and analyze.

Interview Structure

  1. Role & Context (what the interviewee does, frequency/volume, dependencies)
  2. Current-State Walkthrough (step-by-step, approvals, exceptions)
  3. Pain Points / Breakdowns (delays, errors, rework, confusion)
  4. Constraints (policy/compliance/security/system/capacity/timing)
  5. Desired Outcomes (what success looks like without promising solutions)
  6. Risks & Dependencies (no-change risk, change risk, cross-team needs)
  7. Wrap-Up (missing questions, additional stakeholders, next steps)

Question Bank

A) Role & Context

  • What is your role in this process? What tasks do you personally perform?
  • How frequently do you interact with this process (daily/weekly/seasonal)?
  • What upstream inputs do you depend on? What downstream teams depend on you?

B) Current-State Walkthrough

  • Walk me through the process from your perspective, step-by-step.
  • Where does the work start for you, and what indicates you can begin?
  • What approvals or decision points occur? Who is involved?
  • What exceptions or special cases are most common?

C) Pain Points / Workarounds

  • Where does the process break down most often?
  • What steps cause the most delays, rework, or confusion?
  • What workarounds exist today? Why were they created?

D) Constraints

  • Are there policy, compliance, audit, or legal constraints we must follow?
  • Are there security constraints that limit options (who can see/do what)?
  • Are there system or integration constraints affecting feasibility?
  • What timing constraints exist (payroll deadlines, term start dates, cycles)?

E) Desired Outcomes & Success Measures

  • What would “better” look like for your area?
  • If we improved one thing first, what would have the biggest impact?
  • What outcome must be true for you to say this was successful?
  • What measures would you trust (cycle time, errors, rework, compliance findings)?

F) Risks, Dependencies, and Impacts

  • What is the risk of doing nothing?
  • What risks do you see if we change the process?
  • What teams or roles must be involved for this to work?

Role-Based Add-Ons

HR Partners / Operational Users
  • What information is most often missing when you start the transaction?
  • What are the top error reasons or “sent back” causes?
  • Where do training gaps show up most often?
Payroll
  • What timelines are non-negotiable?
  • Where do upstream errors show up downstream?
  • What controls or validations must remain in place?
HR Policy / Compliance
  • What policy requirements constrain approvals, documentation, or timing?
  • Are there audit hot-spots or recurring compliance findings?
  • What documentation must be preserved?
Training / Change Readiness
  • What would the campus need to do differently?
  • What job aids, training, or communications would be required?
  • Where do users historically struggle with similar changes?
Data Analytics
  • What data sources exist today to baseline performance?
  • What metrics should leadership care about?
  • What tracking is missing that would improve decision-making?

How to Conduct Interviews

  1. Start with the Opening Script and clarify that Discovery is not a solution commitment.
  2. Use the Interview Structure to keep conversation consistent and comparable across interviews.
  3. Ask for examples and evidence where relevant (reports, screenshots, scenarios, volumes).
  4. Summarize key points back to confirm understanding before closing.
  5. Document constraints, risks, and dependencies explicitly as they arise.

Wrap-Up

  • Ask: “Is there anyone else we must talk to?”
  • Ask: “Is there anything we did not ask that you think is important?”
  • Confirm next step: findings will be summarized and reviewed with the Discovery team for analysis.
  • Complete the interview notes template immediately after the meeting (same day recommended).
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