2013

Get up, get, get, get down Focus Groups are a joke in your town

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Public_Enemy_4.jpg

Dan Berlin Experience Research Director, Mad*Pow dberlin@madpow.com @banderlin

2013

Why UXers should avoid focus groups

๏  Group dynamics

๏  Moderator bias

๏  Difficult to analyze

๏  Not going to reach consensus

2013

Group Dynamics – Personalities ๏  David vs. Goliath personalities

๏  Dominant voice will dominate the session

๏  Timid voice may have wonderful ideas

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Group Dynamics – Everybody Lies

๏  Participants want to seem more interesting to those around them

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaykim/3649886264/

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Group Dynamics – No Privacy

๏  Can’t discuss sensitive matters

๏  …and everything is sensitive

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannysullivan/4173190152/

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Group Dynamics – Yawning! ๏  Yawning is contagious

๏  One yawn can kill a group’s momentum

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/supporttattoosandpiercingsatwork/8691355242/

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Group Dynamics – Interrupting Cows ๏  Participants who interrupt others deprive

us from data

Knock knock. Who’s there? An interrupting cow. An interrupting c… Moo.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cow_cartoon_04.svg

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Moderator Bias – Experience ๏  Focus Groups are VERY reliant on a good

moderator

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard_Bernstein_3_Allan_Warren.jpg

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Moderator Bias – Stamina ๏  A moderator must be cheerful and attentive,

listen closely, take notes, and plan the next question for 2 hours.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David_Burlet_Friedrichsbau_variet%C3%A9_Plate_spinning_act.jpg

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Moderator Bias – Trust ๏  Moderators must instill a sense of trust

with multiple people in a short amount of time

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anspach/954545/sizes/m/in/photostream/

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Difficult to Analyze – Wandering

๏  Wandering conversations hamper note taking efficiency

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/happy_sleepy/3351331153/sizes/m/in/photostream/

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Difficult to Analyze – Insights

๏  Almost impossible to quantify how many people said something

๏  Hard to break down the data into actionable insights

Source: http://www.texample.net/tikz/examples/escher-brick-penrose-triangle/

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Difficult to Analyze – Shallow

๏  You can’t get in-depth answers

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hilton_mug_shot.jpeg

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Difficult to Analyze – Marketing Data

๏  We are UXers gathering Marketing data

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justjenn/8546896516/

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No Conclusions – Always reacting ๏  Participants are always reacting – they’re

not thoughtful

Source: http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3v3d37/

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No Conclusions – No consensus ๏  Not going to build consensus among

participants – leaves topics hanging

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/purplemattfish/3185323763/sizes/m/in/photostream/

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No Conclusions – No one used anything

๏  We can gather how participants feel about something and their out-of-context desires…

๏  But we aren’t gathering real-world data

๏  It’s all made up… by our participants

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Overnight Flight Example ๏  Focus groups said that they wanted

healthy snacks

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gezellig-girl/3784584015

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Overnight Flight Example ๏  Stewardess knew better and had

chocolate and sweets ready to go

Source: http://vintageseatcushions.deviantart.com/art/chocolate-fiend-154724164

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Why UXers Should Avoid Focus Groups

๏  Group dynamics are terrible

๏  Moderator bias is inevitable

๏  Difficult to analyze marketing data

๏  You’re not going to reach consensus

So get up, get, get, get down Focus Groups are a joke in your town