2. Aviva Rosenstein Rebecca Sherrill
Sr Mgr, User Research UX Lead
Salesforce.com Beaconfire.com
@uxresearch @beccas
Kyle Soucy Michael Summers
Founding Principal Global User Experience, Paypal
UsableInterface.com UserResearch.com
@kylesoucy @ez2use
John Whalen
UX Lead & Founder
Brilliant Experience.com
@johnwhalen
#uxSmackdown
#UXSmackdown
3. ROUND 1
Focus Groups
Vs.
Fie ld Res earch
#UXSmackdown
11. 4. Focus groups can have individual assignments before
group discussion to produce better data.
#UXSmackdown
12. Drip Coffee?! No M&Mâs?
I must make a Totally
Starbucks run! unacceptable!
I canât work
under these
conditions!
Diet Pepsi is
...and only 12
no substitute for
menu choices?!!
Diet Coke!
Who has the Zagats!
Finally, think of what youâd miss behind the glass...
Check out skydeckcartoons.com for more.
#UXSmackdown
13. Summary
Reasons for conducting Focus Groups:
1. Focus groups can be âsmall group
workshops,â not âfocus groupsâ.
2. You donât have to dress up like a field
studies ninja.
3. Focus groups can be âin situâ or
remote.
4. Focus groups can have
individual assignments before
group discussion to improve data
quality.
#UXSmackdown
15. âWhat
 people
 say,
Â
what
 people
 do,
 and
Â
what
 they
 say
 they
 do
Â
are
 entirely
 diďŹerent
Â
things.â
Â
âMargaret Mead
#UXSmackdown
16. Focus groups arenât enough:
If you want to find out:
⢠What users want & need
⢠What theyâre doing now
⢠How they feel about it
⢠What you can improve
18. ROLE: Business Owner
TASK: Approve visual design direction
CONTEXT: Waterfall dev process. Supervises multiple
product managers. Frequently Approve visual design direction
TASK: mobile; uses iPhone.
CHARACTERISTICS: Short aîention span.
Under significant time pressure. PM
ID
Focuses on visuals and metrics. BO
CONTENT CRITERIA: Brief, clear presentation in common
formats consumable on mobile devices
Dev Mgr
VzD
#UXSmackdown
19. Stakeholder participation in analysis =
everyone owns the study findings
Photo
 by
 Jane
 Mejdahl,
Â
 used
 under
 CC
 BY-ÂâSA
 2.0.
 19
20. Focus group falsehoods:
⢠Human memory fail
⢠Suggestibility
⢠Social norms
⢠Self-enhancement bias
⢠Self serving facilitators
#UXSmackdown
22. Oh!
How do you
Thank
like the gift I
you!
made you?
(Ugh, itâs
horrible.)
#UXSmackdown
23. How do you Oh!
like the app Great!
we built you?
(Yuck, itâs
useless.)
#UXSmackdown
24. Our study found that
focus group participants
are more generous,
more law abiding, and
floss more often.
#UXSmackdown
25. Summary
Field studies let you:
⢠Understand user needs
⢠Uncover tacit knowledge that isnât
consciously available
⢠Find deltas between how users
think they do something and their
performance
⢠Develop actionable insights
⢠Identify opportunities for
innovation
#UXSmackdown
41. In-context Feedback
â...Iâm only offered a
search by model number.
How ridiculous.â
â...I would like to see the
products availability and delivery/
shipping information listed.â
Image source: Loop11
#UXSmackdown
42. The danger...
I wonder
how a real customer
would actually use this
website?
Panelist
#UXSmackdown
61. John,
couldnât you iteratively test
something simple, like a login without a
high fidelity prototype?!
#UXSmackdown
62. John,
couldnât you iteratively test
something simple, like a login without a
high fidelity prototype?!
YES
#UXSmackdown
63. ...but my argument is that increasingly we need the
full experience to understand a designâs success.
#UXSmackdown
64. Final note: I too find great value in iterative design in the
right circumstance!
#UXSmackdown
65. Summary
Reasons for High-Fidelity
Prototypes:
1. In todayâs swipe and swish world
you need the full experience.
2. You canât really âiteratively testâ,
persuasive or multi-channel designs.
3. High-fidelity prototypes identify the
full implications of
âstakeholder designâ.
#UXSmackdown
66. High Fidelity Rapid Iterative
Prototype vs. Usability
Testing Testing
#UXSmackdown
75. It gets the entire team involved.
#UXSmackdown
76. Participants are less apt to give
negative feedback on designs that
have a "finished" appearance.
Oh, itâs lovely!
I wouldnât
change anything.
#UXSmackdown
80. Focus
G roups
Vs.
Field R
racking esearc
Eye T h
Vs.
ed Remot e Testing
U nmoderat
High Fidelity Prototypes
Vs.
Rapid Iterative Testing
#UXSmackdown