My IGNITE talk from UXPA 2013 on why Focus Groups are terrible for UX research.

1. 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

2. 2013
Why UXers should avoid focus groups
๏ Group dynamics
๏ Moderator bias
๏ Difficult to analyze
๏ Not going to reach consensus

3. 2013
Group Dynamics – Personalities
๏ David vs. Goliath personalities
๏ Dominant voice will dominate the session
๏ Timid voice may have wonderful ideas

4. 2013
Group Dynamics – Everybody Lies
๏ Participants want to seem more
interesting to those around them
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaykim/3649886264/

5. 2013
Group Dynamics – No Privacy
๏ Can’t discuss sensitive matters
๏ …and everything is sensitive
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannysullivan/4173190152/

6. 2013
Group Dynamics – Yawning!
๏ Yawning is contagious
๏ One yawn can kill a group’s momentum
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/supporttattoosandpiercingsatwork/8691355242/

7. 2013
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

8. 2013
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

9. 2013
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

10. 2013
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/

11. 2013
Difficult to Analyze – Wandering
๏ Wandering conversations hamper note
taking efficiency
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/happy_sleepy/3351331153/sizes/m/in/photostream/

12. 2013
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-t

13. 2013
Difficult to Analyze – Shallow
๏ You can’t get in-depth answers
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hilton_mug_shot.jpeg

14. 2013
Difficult to Analyze – Marketing Data
๏ We are UXers gathering Marketing data
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justjenn/8546896516/

15. 2013
No Conclusions – Always reacting
๏ Participants are always reacting – they’re
not thoughtful
Source: http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3v3d37/

16. 2013
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/

17. 2013
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

18. 2013
Overnight Flight Example
๏ Focus groups said that they wanted
healthy snacks
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gezellig-girl/3784584015

19. 2013
Overnight Flight Example
๏ Stewardess knew better and had
chocolate and sweets ready to go
Source: http://vintageseatcushions.deviantart.com/art/chocolate-fiend-154724164

20. 2013
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