Interviewing Subject Matter Experts

Overview
As technical communicators, you’ll often find yourself in the position where you’ll need to collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs) on work projects. A frequent interaction between the technical communicator and the SME is the interview. Interviews are commonly the most useful way to acquire critical information needed to produce high-quality documents that best serve the needs of the end users of any given technology (Lambe 2005). Additionally, in studies conducted by Whiteside (2003) and Rainey et al. (2005), when asked to list core competencies they look for in employees, supervisors of technical communicators included "skills in collaborating with" SMEs and "Interviewing/people skills" in their responses.

Introduction
The in-person interview with SMEs is among the most commonly used and useful tools technical communicators possess in their toolkit. As Lambe notes, SMEs include engineers, scientists, programmers, systems designers, and also “clerks,” “customer support personnel,” and end users. During interviews, SMEs can help technical communicators better understand the technologies they’re producing documentation for by filling in gaps in knowledge and providing unique perspectives on the development, architecture, and functionality of a given technology. To obtain the level and quality of information needed from a SME during an interview requires preparation, excellent listening skills, critical thinking, cogent note-taking, and the ability to tactfully manage the interview to produce desired results (Lambe 2005; Singer 2007; Brandenburg). This guide provides tips and approaches for technical communicators to consider before interviewing a SME, as well as during, and after the interview.

Before the Interview
As Singer (2007) notes, “one of the central components of communication that technical writers use on a daily basis” is the interview. To get the most out of an interview and to make the best use of your and the SME’s time, it is critical that you prepare well ahead of time. To prep for an interview, Lambe, Singer, and Brandenburg agree that the technical communicator should:


 * Read and evaluate any existing documentation related to the project before conducting the interview
 * Identify your objectives for the interview
 * Create a meeting agenda detailing your purpose for interviewing the SME
 * Outline or draft a list of questions for the SME, favoring open-ended questions such as, “Can you explain the reasoning for the advanced search architecture in the query form of the database search mechanism?” but including necessary close-ended questions such as, “Does the database search mechanism save a history of previous searches?”
 * Have all your materials (pen and paper for taking notes, recording device for documenting the interview, and related documents with any markup you’ve prepared beforehand)ready
 * Arrive at the interview on time

By adhering to these steps before conducting your interview, you’ll arrive prepared to meet your predetermined objectives and to get the most out of the short time you’ll have with your SME. Additionally, arriving prepared can help communicate your level of professionalism and dedication to the project, while fostering strong working relationships.

During the Interview
According to Lambe (2005), “the face-to-face interview affords you the best opportunity to get content information for your documentation project.” Therefore, it is important to make sure: the interview stays on track, the SME answers your questions, you understand the information the SME is providing you, and you ask follow-up questions to fill in information gaps where necessary. To achieve this Singer, Lambe, and Moses recommend:


 * Use critical listening skills, providing the SME your undivided attention
 * Take careful notes focusing on concepts and themes rather than sentences or ideas
 * Be cognizant of the SME’s communications style
 * Manage the interview’s trajectory in a polite and considerate manner
 * Repeat concepts back to the SME to assure you understand the information they are providing
 * Be aware of and identify information gaps in the SME’s response to your questions and ask follow-up questions to fill gaps
 * Ask the SME if you can follow-up with additional questions if any arise after the interview
 * Record the interview if permitted, remembering to ask the SME’s permission to record your conversation before starting the recording

Following these steps will help you assure your interview with the SME goes as planned and that you’ll have acquired answers to all of our questions during the time allotted for the interview. Furthermore, a successful interview will add to the wealth of existing documentation your organization has on the project, which can assist you and your colleagues in future work.

After the Interview
Brandenburg, Lambe, and Singer agree the SME interview is as much an art form as it is a science. That is, the interview requires the ability to think and problem-solve creatively while at the same time identifying unique questions that can only be answered through exploration, gathering and analyzing data, and drawing reasoned conclusions. As a technical communicator responsible for interviewing SMEs you begin using these skill sets before the interview starts and continue deploying them during the interview process. After the interview, Lambe and Singer suggest you take the following steps:


 * Review your notes shortly after conducting the interview
 * Schedule a follow-up interview if necessary
 * Report your finding to the rest of the project team

These steps will facilitate the knowledge transfer of the information you gathered during your SME interview, making it accessible to you and your project team as you produce the necessary documentation for end users of the technology your organization is developing.

Challenging Interviews
As Lange (2003) and Lambe point out, not every SME interview will go as planned. Personality difference, language barriers, and miscommunication can all derail an interview with SMEs (Lambe 2005). Additionally, as Lee and Mehlenbacher (2000) note, despite the efforts of technical communicators to prepare for an interview, SMEs’ expectations of what a technical writer brings to the table may not align with that of the communicator. Lange’s article “A Field Guide to Technical SMEs” offers technical communicators a witty guide to identifying potentially troublesome SMEs and strategies for coping with them. By comparing survey data on the perceptions of SMEs held by technical writers to previous survey data about the perceptions of technical writers held by SMEs, Lee and Mehlenbacher offer readers a unique glimpse into where these perceptions differ and where they overlap, thus providing a glimpse into where these cultures hold common and differing conceptions of the roles the other plays in the workplace. Both of these sources could be of value to the entry level technical communicator learning to navigate the at times challenging process of working with SMEs.