INTERVIEW: Plan It, Take the Notes, Print the Record
An interview goes wrong in the write-up. The notes are a wall of prose, nobody can say which answer went with which question, and the one thing that mattered is invisible because the two sentences that cannot both be true are two pages apart. Here the questions are the structure, the notes hang off them, each note carries elapsed time from a clock you start, and a contradiction is recorded as a link you make between two answers.
What this does not do
It does not record audio or video. There is no microphone here and no recorder. It keeps typed notes, and stamps them with elapsed time so they can be lined up against a recording you made with something else.
It does not advise. Whether an interview may lawfully be recorded, who must be told, who may be accompanied, what a fair procedure looks like, and what any of it means for an employment or legal process are questions for someone qualified in your jurisdiction. This page takes notes.
1. The plan
Written before the interview, not after it. The purpose is the sentence you would give if asked why the meeting was held.
Who is present
2. The questions
No questions yet.
A template is a set of questions a competent practitioner would recognise, not a script. Cut what does not apply, add what does, and put them in the order you mean to ask them.
Add a question
3. During the interview
Start the clock when the recording starts, or when the meeting starts if there is no recording. Every stamped note carries elapsed time from that moment.
4. Documents referred to
Anything put in front of the person, or mentioned by them. The time is taken from the clock when you add it.
5. Actions arising
An action without an owner and a date is a wish. Both fields are here for that reason.
6. Inconsistencies
Every note you tagged inconsistent, with a box to say which other answer it conflicts with. The link is yours to make; nothing here guesses at it.
7. The record
The printable record is laid out as a document to be read back, corrected and signed. The JSON holds the whole session and can be loaded again here.
What this is, and what it is not
It does not record anything. There is no microphone on this page and no recorder. The clock stamps elapsed time onto each note so that, if you recorded the interview with something else, note and recording line up. The stamp is time since you pressed start, not the time of day, because that is the number written on a recording.
The templates are a starting point, not a script. Each one is the set of questions a competent practitioner in that field would recognise: a grievance meeting opens with the complainant's own account and closes with the outcome they want; a witness account takes a free narrative before any question is put. Cut what does not apply and add what does. Loading a template replaces the questions you already have, and the notes against them, and asks first.
The inconsistency is yours to find. Tag a note inconsistent and it appears in the inconsistency panel with a list of every other note taken. You pick the answer it conflicts with and write the reason the two cannot both be right. Nothing here reads the notes or decides that for you, because a machine that guessed at it would be wrong in a way nobody could check.
The printable record is a document to be signed. It prints the purpose, who was present, whether it was recorded, each question with its answers and their times, the documents referred to, the actions with owners and dates, and a signature block for the interviewer, the person interviewed and any companion. Corrections should be written on the record and initialled rather than erased.
Everything stays in this tab. The session is kept in this browser's local storage under one key and nothing is sent anywhere. Clearing site data clears it, so download the JSON before you close the matter. Loading that JSON back puts every question, note, tag and link where it was.
It gives no advice. Whether an interview may lawfully be recorded, who has to be told, who may be accompanied, what a fair procedure requires and what any of it means for an employment or legal process are questions for someone qualified where you are. This page holds the notes.
Questions people ask
Can it record the audio?
No. It has no access to a microphone and does not ask for one. Record with whatever you normally use, press start here at the same moment, and the elapsed times on the notes will match the recording.
Am I allowed to record an interview?
That depends on where you are, who is in the room and what the interview is for, and this page does not know any of it. Ask someone qualified in your jurisdiction. The page records what you tell it about the basis for recording so that the record says what was agreed, and nothing more.
What happens if I close the tab in the middle?
The plan, the questions and every note taken so far are in local storage and come back when you reopen the page. A clock that was running is paused at the elapsed time it had reached, rather than counting the hours the tab was shut. Restart it when you resume.
Why are open, closed and follow-up marked on each question?
Because the shape of the question changes the weight of the answer, and a record that shows it was a closed question is more honest than one that does not. A run of closed questions in an investigation is also worth seeing before the meeting rather than after it.
Can two people take notes on the same interview?
Not in one shared session, because nothing here goes over a network. Two people can each keep their own session and compare the JSON afterwards; that is often better practice anyway, since two independent notes of the same meeting are worth more than one.
Does the person interviewed have to sign it?
That is a matter for your procedure, not for this page. The record is laid out with a signature block because being read back and agreed is what turns a set of notes into something that can be relied on later, and because a refusal to sign is itself worth recording.