Using focus groups to evaluate a system is a very efficient way to get user
feedback and gauge initial reactions to a design. Focus groups are also good
at discovering how the system being tested differs from the user's current expectations.
As we see it, focus groups provide two major benefits. First, they are less
expensive than conducting interviews with the same number of people. Second,
they rely on group interaction to trigger memories that may not come up during
interviews.
Where task analysis often discovers the standard way people interact with
information systems, focus groups can bring out exceptions to the rules. These
exceptions are often very important interactions that users simply do not think
of in one-on-one sessions.
Conducting only a single focus group can be misleading, however, as some groups
are affected by "group-think" or may simply have irregular views. For this reason,
at least two groups should be evaluated for any one project.
The focus group leader writes up the impressions and comments of the groups
and recommends areas for improvement.
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