· Lan Nguyen
Interview prep when the stakeholder runs operations
Ops leads give short answers under time pressure. Prepare questions that fit between their shift handovers.
Schedule interviews adjacent to existing rituals — after a morning dispatch huddle, not as a blank two-hour block on their calendar.
Lead with a concrete artifact: a ticket, a failed handoff, a screenshot. Abstract capability questions yield abstract answers.
End by confirming what you may quote in writing. Ops teams are often careful about vendor and SLA language.
Stakeholder Interview Coaching exists for the meetings where a misphrased question can stall an entire analysis week.