Observing the User Experience

CHAPTER 9 Focus Groups

Focus groups are structured group interviews that quickly and inexpensively reveal a target audience’s desires, experiences, and priorities. Sometimes vilified by their association with dishonest marketing, they do not deserve the notoriety with which they are often treated. They are neither the panacea for curing bad products nor pseudoscientific voodoo used to justify irrational decision making. When guided by a good moderator, carefully analyzed, and appropriately presented, they are an excellent technique for uncovering what people think about a given topic and, especially, how they think about it. They reveal what people perceive to be their needs, which is crucial when determining what should be part of an experience ...