Field Notes · 3 Jun 2026
Interview habits that keep AI fitness reviews honest
How we structure stakeholder interviews so AI-assisted tool briefs reflect the people who do the work, not only the sponsors funding it.
Sponsors describe the process they wish existed. Practitioners describe the workarounds they actually use at 4:40 pm. An AI fitness review that only hears the first group will invent assistance for steps that never happen.
Our habit is simple: interview the process owner last. Start with two people who touch the work daily, then a neighbouring team that receives the output, then compliance if data is sensitive, and only then the sponsor. Each interview uses the same artefact — a printed step list — so contradictions become visible instead of polite.
We also ask for three anonymised examples before the call. Without examples, people speak in slogans. With examples, they point at the line where judgment enters. That line is usually where model assistance either helps or becomes theatre.