Types of Interview Questions to Ask SMEs

Categories: Job aids, Infographics, and Reference Materials

Responsibilities: research, analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.

Tools: Canva and PowerPoint

Project Overview

Types of Interview Questions to ask Subject Matter Experts started out as a blog post reflection on how Instructional designers can conduct more productive interview sessions with SMEs.

3 IDs needed to perform a Task Analysis, Training Requirements Analysis and Learner Analysis. One ID had some experience performing task analyses; the other two IDs were newbies.

In place of a 1500-word blog post – 5 Types of Questions to ask a Subject Matter Expert – we needed something more concise resulting in this infographic. When used correctly, the job aid activates and builds upon prior knowledge, provides a checklist to ensure IDs prepare to ask various interview questions during a brainstorming session, and motivates learners to self-direct their learning.

Using this job aid will:

• help IDs structure their interview questions efficiently, reducing the number of unnecessary meetings they need to schedule with SMEs, saving time and money.
• Improve IDs’ confidence during the interview process, thereby helping them elicit relevant information from the SME.
• In addition, the SME will be more receptive to the interview questions if the ID prepares appropriately.

The Problem

The challenge entailed condensing a 1500-word blog entry into a 136- word job aid for IDs who had a knowledge gap and were also facing an information overload.

Research and Analysis

After interacting amongst ourselves, we concluded we already knew how to ask questions. We were aware that we needed to be curious, appear engaged, and ask open-ended questions instead of questions that would generate yes and no replies. The learners had prior experience asking questions of clients in their previous careers.

It was evident in this case that if we learners had the right information, we could use it. As a result, I decided to focus on the critical knowledge we needed to be successful and leave it to us all to pick up less crucial information as required. 

Considering that we were intrinsically motivated, I was confident that we could take the initiative and responsibility for our learning once we saw the need to. As a result, I relied heavily on our need for autonomy and competence in my design decisions.

Development and Formative Evaluation

I made the decision to use a more concise instructional strategy such as an infographic or job aid instead of a blog post entry as a job aid. Job aids reduce learning time as well as provide post-training performance support. In this case, the job aid provided scaffolding for us to leverage what we already knew in a short time.

I received feedback and had to clarify what rapport-building meant in this particular context of a professional environment. I also determined that the performance requirement was for learners to create interview questions to elicit relevant information for designing a task analysis during an interview session with the SME. After which, I condensed the blog post into an infographic. During the pilot test, I evaluated the success of the job aid by using level 1 and level 2 Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model. I observed that we found the job aid easy to use to spark a conversation that lead to the brainstorming of questions under the broad categories and roleplay with where someone played the role of SME with the others asking questions.

Implementation and Outcome

We drew on our collective prior experiences as we reflected on the job aid and creatively adapted what we learned to generate all five types of questions. Some questions, we generated prior to the interview and others during the interview as we engaged in reflection-on-action. We proceeded to use the questionnaire in the interview. The results were that the client was highly impressed with the questions and the resulting task analysis, which we completed ahead of the deadline by one week.

Continuous Improvement

Equipping ourselves with the knowledge to ask relevant questions worked out well in this instance. However, there could be possible barriers to successful outcomes in the workplace.

1. One operating assumption is that we possess good listening skills and would be sensitive to the SME’s cues and interpretation of non-verbal gestures during the interview.
2. The presence of other factors such as such as tone of voice, sequence of the questions, and lack of relevant soft skills could influence the interview process .

If we had encountered a performance gap along these lines, would have invited a more experienced ID to observe and evaluate our performance to determine if there was a skill gap. A skill gap would require that we receive training or guidance that incorporates opportunities to observe demonstrations and practice the desired skills.