Focus Groups is a good technique according to a top UX company

The principal the differentiator of a UX design company is that user preferences have a say in this category. The designer tweaks his designs based on customer preferences. This usually results in an overall better design. There are different ways using which you can judge customer preferences e.g.- the user interviews and contextual inquiries. In this article, we shall focus on a different kind of procedure to gauge customer preferences like focus groups. Top UX design studios use this method to get a better understanding of customer preferences. Let us look at the finer aspects of this method.

A designer’s bias

A designer has a particular view in mind while creating the designs. He does his best to look at the designs from different angles. However, certain angles do remain unexplored. The logic that one cannot check his or her own work comes to the forefront. Hence, it is always better to have an outsider/ independent point of view.

It’s all about the perspective

When you conduct customer interviews you get to understand her/ his views, opinions, journey and the struggle. Similarly, you are able to gauge customer preferences in the contextual inquiry as you are able to watch her/ his reactions to the problems under different circumstances. This gives you an idea of the user behavior the pattern in turn leading to understanding the changes required to project design. You can simulate a similar atmosphere in a closed room as well. This concept is known as the Focus Groups concept. Let us see how this concept works.


Focus Groups:

Leverage the power of group discussions

In this concept you have different people with diverse backgrounds assembling in a room to discuss the aspects of a design problem. Each person has a separate view of the functionality of the product. A moderator directs the discussion in a constructive manner. He guides the members subtly to focus on the areas you wish to observe them explore. This room has a one-way mirror for viewing your body language while you voice your opinions. This is a good way of evaluating designs because you get independent third party reviews just in the similar way you would have got from customers who actually used the design.

Based on this feedback, you can modify the designs to best suit the needs of the users. One of the best ways of incorporating changes in designs is to have a healthy mix of all the procedures. When you have different people evaluating your designs, you benefit more as you get different views at the same time. The customer’s choice is the main criteria when designing a product. When independent people evaluate your designs they take these factors into consideration with an unbiased mind. They bring a completely different angle to the entire proceedings. They generate a lot of constructive positive and negative reviews in the bargain. This results in a fantastic product that passes several quality checks before coming into the market.