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An SME Interview is a structured conversation with a Subject Matter Expert to gather domain-specific knowledge that informs product decisions, feature planning, or technical details in an app project.
Why It Matters
- Clarifies complex workflows, rules, or user expectations in niche industries
- Reduces the risk of building inaccurate or irrelevant features
- Speeds up alignment between product teams and expert knowledge
- Helps ensure compliance in regulated industries
- Supports smarter decision-making in early discovery
Use This Term When...
- You’re validating product ideas in health, law, finance, or another expert-driven field
- You’re mapping user flows that depend on industry-specific procedures
- You need clarity around laws, standards, or common practices
- You’re preparing design or content work that needs domain-accurate language
- You want to stress-test early concepts or assumptions
Real-World Example
In one of our projects, we conducted SME interviews during the discovery phase to gather domain-specific insights. This helped shape the feature set, clarified edge cases, and ensured the app aligned with real-world industry needs.
Founder Insight
Many teams treat SME interviews like casual chats, but structured interviews yield far more usable insights. Prep your questions, focus on user context, and always document responses clearly for the entire team.
Key Metrics / Concepts
- Interview Depth – The level of detail captured about workflows or processes
- Insight Quality – How actionable the feedback is for shaping app features
- Alignment Score – How closely product ideas match expert recommendations
- Interview Frequency – How often SME input is revisited as features evolve
Tools & Technologies
- Otter.ai / Loom – For recording and transcribing SME interviews
- Notion – To structure, tag, and share insights across the team
- Miro – Helpful for turning interview findings into diagrams or flowcharts
- FigJam – Great for live collaboration when debriefing SME interviews
What’s Next / Future Trends
Expect SME interviews to become more efficient with AI-assisted note-taking, smart summarisation, and insight tagging. Automated sentiment analysis and voice-driven search may also support faster knowledge sharing across product teams.
Related Terms
SME – The expert being interviewed for domain-specific knowledge
Discovery Workshop – Where SME interviews often feed into early strategy
Stakeholder Interview – Broader interviews that may include SMEs, users, and business leads
Research Prep – Planning done before conducting SME interviews
Functional Needs – Often clarified or confirmed through SME input
Helpful Videos / Articles / Pages
Blog: 7 Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring A Developer
Blog: Strategically Growing SME’s With a Digital Agency
Blog: 5 Ways Mobile App Development Solutions Can Benefit SMEs
Call to Action
Need help preparing for SME interviews or not sure who to speak with? Book a discovery call and we’ll guide you through how to structure expert conversations for the best outcomes.