Resource:How to interview makerspace managers and discover best practices

13 Tips for Interviewing Makerspace Managers

• Start early. Don’t wait to start your plan and find out you missed out on potential opportunities.
• Have a goal. Concisely plan about what you want to discover.
• Conduct a pilot interview. Start by practicing your interview questions on people that you know and are comfortable with. Note which questions are drawing bigger insight and interesting responses. Which questions are creating organic and interesting responses? Those are the questions want to ask.  
• Be the ‘Connecting Element’.The core idea of a makerspace is probably being discussed by students with different backgrounds, academic staff, and university management. Bring those people who are interested together to ignite your project.
• Talk to people who talk to people. Get tips from people who are comfortable with talking to people and learn how to be comfortable talking to people.
• Clearly define your research question. Do you want to know how, what, or why? Make sure you have a clear focus.
• Start basic. Start by asking simple survey-like interview questions and then dive into the more provocative questions.
• Define challenges and bypass them. If your challenge is to find a space for your event, don’t let anyone stop you. If you have to, steal closets.
• Interview for empathy. Design for people. In order to make meaningful designs for people, understand what need not want. Understand what is driving their need. What is the root cause? Can you solve it in a way different or in a way that no one else has tried before?
• Be humble. Make a meaningful connection. Humble yourself. Let the interviewee talk, the conversation will go somewhere organic that allows you to learn more about them.
• Ask follow up questions about feelings. If someone brings up their emotions, ask them to explain. If someone is angry, ask them why. If someone is happy, delve deeper.
• Discover the real why’s. Ask ‘Why?’ 5 times to find the core reason behind the problem. Sometimes people change up their answer and you can get more insight to the real why.
• Build a vision.Dream about what you and your team would like to be in 3 years, and make it your constant thought. Subsequently, create milestones to reach your vision.

By:

Alejandro Aponte, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Camila Buenaventura Márquez, Universidad de los Andes

Matthew Lim, Georgia Institute of Technology

Mehmet Yalcin Aydin, Koc University

Nicolas Castro Helo, Universidad de los Andes

Olivia Kirkpatrick, University of Delaware

Sarah Nelson, University of St. Thomas

Special Thanks to: Josh Halverson UIF