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Interview: Focus groups

Moderated sessions with multiple users simultaneously to collect collective perceptions on a topic.

What it is

Main objective

Collect diversity of opinions and attitudes about a product or concept.

Detailed description

Focus Groups are a qualitative methodology that facilitates structured discussions among 6-10 participants to explore perceptions, opinions, and attitudes toward specific products, concepts, or experiences. This technique allows capturing group dynamics, consensus, and divergence of opinion, revealing how individual perspectives are influenced by social interaction. Research demonstrates its effectiveness for generating ideas, evaluating concepts, and understanding cultural context (Nielsen Norman Group). It is especially useful in early exploration phases to understand the target market and validate strategic directions before significant development investments.

When it fits

Early stages to explore a concept or general expectations.

•To quickly explore collective perceptions
•When product impacts specific social groups

Use cases

Internal workshopsArchetype definition for later research

Effort level

Medium

Recommended number of users

5–10 participants per group (3 groups recommended)

What you gain and what you give up

Advantages

Efficiency: It gathers many diverse opinions in a single session, making it faster than interviewing people one by one.
Revealing interaction: Watching stakeholders or users discuss among themselves can be very revealing, surfacing problems or areas of consensus that would not come up in individual interviews.
Attitudinal depth: It is excellent for uncovering the "why" and the feelings behind users' opinions.

Disadvantages

Groupthink: Participants can be influenced by the majority opinion or by a desire for consensus, suppressing dissenting views.
Social desirability bias: Participants may answer with what they believe is socially acceptable, or what they think the moderator wants to hear, rather than the truth.
Dominance: A dominant participant can hijack the discussion and influence the others.
Observer effect: The presence of the moderator and the artificial setting influence the responses.
Not natural behavior: It is an artificial situation; it does not observe product use in its real context.