How to Generate Interview Scripts for Customer Discovery Using PM Skills

PM Skills ships an interview-script skill that generates full, research-ready interview guides following the Mom Test methodology when you invoke the /interview prep command with your research topic.

The phuryn/pm-skills repository provides a declarative framework for product management workflows, including a dedicated discovery module that helps you generate interview scripts for customer discovery without writing code. By leveraging the interview-script skill located in the pm-product-discovery module, you can produce standardized markdown documents that enforce best practices for unbiased customer research.

Understanding the Interview-Script Skill Architecture

The interview-script skill is a declarative component defined in pm-product-discovery/skills/interview-script/SKILL.md. It combines YAML front-matter with markdown sections to create standardized templates that the skill executor processes when you run the /interview command.

Mom Test Methodology Implementation

The skill enforces Rob Fitzpatrick's Mom Test rules through its template structure to prevent false positives in your research. According to the source code in SKILL.md, the generated script includes sections for Opening, Warm-up, JTBD-focused Core Exploration, Probing Techniques, explicit Mom-Test rules, and Wrap-up. This structure ensures you ask about the interviewee's life and problems rather than pitching your solution, avoiding the polite misdirection that ruins discovery data.

Declarative Configuration

Because the skill uses a pure markdown and YAML structure, the skill dispatcher looks up the interview-script by its name field in the skill registry and executes the markdown generation logic defined in the skill file. This declarative approach allows you to version control and extend the template without modifying executable code, simply by editing the $ARGUMENTS placeholder and section content in SKILL.md.

How to Generate Customer Discovery Interview Scripts

The primary interface for script generation is the /interview command, fully documented in pm-product-discovery/commands/interview.md. When the command parser detects the "prep" mode, it forwards your research topic to the skill engine.

Basic Script Generation

To create a new interview script, use the prep subcommand followed by your research topic:

/interview prep Onboarding experience for enterprise users

This invocation triggers the skill executor to insert your topic into the $ARGUMENTS placeholder and return a markdown file titled "Interview Script: Onboarding experience for enterprise users." The file contains the complete script and a note-taking template ready for immediate use.

Researching New Product Areas

For exploratory research into new domains, phrase your topic as a Jobs-to-Be-Done inquiry:

/interview prep How small-business owners manage inventory

The generated script automatically structures questions to uncover current workflows, pain points, and willingness to pay without biasing respondents toward your assumed solution, following the Mom Test protocol that you must talk about their life, not your idea.

Anatomy of the Generated Script

The output file created by the skill executor contains a complete research toolkit. Based on the implementation in SKILL.md, each generated script includes:

• Opening: Rapport-building introduction that sets expectations for the conversation
• Warm-up: Context questions about the interviewee's role and responsibilities to establish baseline understanding
• JTBD-focused Core Exploration: Deep-dive questions targeting Jobs-to-Be-Done, current behaviors, and decision-making criteria
• Probing Techniques: Specific follow-up prompts like "Tell me more about that" or "When was the last time that happened?" to surface specific stories
• Mom-Test Rules: Embedded guardrails reminding you to ask about their life instead of your idea and to avoid pitching
• Wrap-up: Closing questions and next-step coordination

Additionally, the skill appends a markdown note-taking template to capture insights on pain points, willingness-to-pay signals, and surprising findings during the interview, ensuring consistent data capture across your research team.

Advanced Workflows and Transcript Analysis

Beyond script generation, the PM Skills discovery module supports end-to-end research workflows through complementary commands defined in pm-product-discovery/commands/interview.md.

Summarizing Completed Interviews

After conducting interviews, use the complementary summarize-interview skill via:

/interview summarize

When prompted, paste or upload your transcript. The tool returns a structured summary capturing Jobs-to-Be-Done, pain points, and key insights that you can merge with other interview insights for pattern analysis.

Exporting and Versioning

While optional depending on your interface implementation, you can persist generated scripts using:

/save interview-script-onboarding.md

This allows you to version control your discovery artifacts in pm-product-discovery/ alongside your product code, maintaining a historical record of your research instruments.

Summary

• The interview-script skill in phuryn/pm-skills generates Mom Test-compliant interview guides through the /interview prep command.
• The skill is defined declaratively in pm-product-discovery/skills/interview-script/SKILL.md and invoked via the command parser in pm-product-discovery/commands/interview.md.
• Generated scripts include structured sections for Opening, Warm-up, JTBD exploration, Probing Techniques, Mom-Test rules, and Wrap-up, plus a note-taking template.
• The /interview summarize command enables analysis of existing transcripts using the complementary skill.
• All outputs are markdown-based, enabling easy editing, printing, and version control without writing custom code.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Mom Test methodology used in PM Skills interview scripts?

The Mom Test, created by Rob Fitzpatrick, is a set of rules for conducting customer interviews that prevent false positives by ensuring you ask about the interviewee's life rather than pitching your idea. As implemented in the interview-script skill, these rules are embedded directly into the template to prevent you from collecting biased data based on polite lies people tell to protect your feelings. The skill enforces this by structuring questions around the customer's actual behaviors and problems rather than your proposed solution.

How do I customize the interview script template?

Since the interview-script skill is defined in pm-product-discovery/skills/interview-script/SKILL.md using declarative YAML front-matter and markdown, you can edit this file directly to modify wording, add company-specific questions, or adjust probing techniques. Changes take effect immediately for all subsequent /interview prep invocations without requiring code compilation or deployment, as the skill executor processes the markdown at runtime.

Can I use PM Skills to analyze existing interview transcripts?

Yes. The /interview summarize command activates the complementary summarize-interview skill defined in the discovery module. After invoking the command, paste your transcript or upload a file when prompted, and the tool will return a structured summary capturing Jobs-to-Be-Done, pain points, and key insights that you can integrate with other research data for comprehensive pattern analysis.

Where is the interview-script skill defined in the repository?

The skill definition resides at pm-product-discovery/skills/interview-script/SKILL.md within the phuryn/pm-skills repository. This file contains the complete template structure, Mom Test rules, and probing techniques. The command interface that invokes this skill is documented in pm-product-discovery/commands/interview.md, while the high-level discovery module overview is available in pm-product-discovery/README.md.

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