The Pocket Universal Methods of Design

043 Focus Groups

Gauging opinions, feelings, and attitudes about a product, service, marketing campaign, or brand

• The dynamic created by a small group of carefully recruited people, when guided by a skilled moderator, can provide insight into themes, patterns, and trends.

• Allows participants to openly share experiences, perceptions, wants/needs, and fantasies.

• Design-related inquiries may include:

– Reviewing processes that take place over time

– Explanations of what is not desirable about the current state

– Uncovering the underlying emotions while going through a given process

– Work-arounds and hacks to improve the process

– Learning how members establish social capital

– Understanding constructs and mental models shared by group members ...