Using Focus Groups for Usability Testing and Other Feedback

Benefits

The immediate benefits to your team of our consulting and usability testing with focus groups, include:

• Confirming or challenging what was previously known about your users, through survey responses or usability testing
• Confirming or challenging what is suspected about your users, through indepth discussion and/or comprehensive usability testing with focus groups
• Discovering what users want from your site or application
• Understand why users would use your site or application
• Develop stronger context for users expectations of content and functions
• Insights into new facilities and content that can be considered by your team

Deliverables

We prepare a focus group research plan including all recruiting, facility, usability testing and other research instruments (for example, eye tracking).

We provide a presentation of findings and recommendations following the usability testing, presenting that to you in an onsite session at your offices. We will allow ample time for questions and discussion.

We prepare the presentation in PowerPoint and provide it to your team as bound colour copy and electronically on CD. It may include a detailed written report that summarizes the findings and recommendations arising from the usability test.

Activities

Major activities in our usability testing and other interaction with the focus group:

1. Project Kickoff and planning
2. Prepare Focus Group Plan
3. Focus Groups Participants and Facilities
4. Moderating Focus Groups and Usability Testing
5. Qualitative Analysis and Report Preparation
6. Present Findings

1. Project Kickoff and planning

We collaborate with key members of your project team to refine the goals for all usability testing. We work with your team to plan a framework for the focus group sessions. Together both our teams develop a list of topics and questions to be discussed including the final systematic analysis implications and analysis strategy. This meeting usually takes place onsite and lasts a half or full day.

2. Prepare Focus Group Plan

• Session goals/metrics
• User criteria and recruiting screener
• Focus group facility plan
• Research-video consent form
• Sequence and Structure
• Topic - Intro - Familiarization - Opinions - Key Questions
• Usability test de-briefing

We review and get your approval for the plan and target topic outline before we begin recruiting test participants.

3. Focus Groups Participants and Facilities

We recruit and schedule representative subjects based on your direction.

Note: We recommend that this process begin as soon as the screener is approved.

4. Moderate Focus Groups and Usability Tests

We ask the participants to perform the usability test tasks in accordance with the Focus group plan and record outcomes. Focus group sessions can last for approximately 1 to 3 hours, depending on the topic, number of participants in each group and the level of group interaction required.

Protocol for discussion

• You, the focus group participants are our guests and are treated as such.
• If there is anything you need to make you more comfortable please do not hesitate to let us know.
• There are no wrong answers in usability testing or questioning. In fact, we look for diversity of thought and fully expect that you won't always agree with each other.
• We would like everyone to participate and will do our very best to ensure that each of you get the opportunity to do so.

Ground Rules for Focus Group interaction

• Speak for Easy Listening. Headline your point.
• Assume Value. Value diversity by always assuming positive intent. Credit others when they contribute to your thinking.
• Listen with an open mind. Listen to build on others' offers, not to evaluate. No heat-seeking missiles!
• Stay loose until rigour counts. Protect new ideas that arise from the group or during the usability testing, until they've had a chance to grow through the process. Evaluate constructively, by expressing concerns in 'How to' language.
• Act when the time is right. Be prepared to do your part to turn a new idea into an action plan.

5. Qualitative Analysis and Report Preparation

We review feedback gathered during the usability test and/or focus group session based on the analytic strategy defined and focus on recommendations of content and functional improvements. We develop a concise summary presentation and report of all usability testing findings and group feedback including recommendations for enhancements.

We prepare a presentation in PowerPoint that will summarize the group session's discussions and usability test findings and recommend areas of future action.

6. Present Findings

We present the findings and recommendations for this focus Group to your team. This session usually lasts part of a day. We provide this in a PowerPoint presentation. We will allow time for discussion, plus planning for next steps as appropriate.

>>> The use of focus groups is an important element in Interpix's complete suite of usability testing tools in user experience design.

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