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Lecture 12. Designing User Interfaces. Conducting a Focus Group.
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Lecture 12 Designing User Interfaces
Conducting a Focus Group • A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their attitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.
Types of Focus Groups • Two-way focus group - one focus group watches another focus group and discusses the observed interactions and conclusion • Dual moderator focus group - one moderator ensures the session progresses smoothly, while another ensures that all the topics are covered • Dueling moderator focus group - two moderators deliberately take opposite sides on the issue under discussion
Types of Focus Groups • Respondent moderator focus group - one or more of the respondents are asked to act as the moderator temporarily • Client participant focus groups - one or more client representatives participate in the discussion, either covertly or overtly • Mini focus groups - groups are composed of four or five members rather than 8 to 12
Benefits/ Strengths of Focus Group Discussions • Group discussion produces data and insights that would be less accessible without interaction found in a group setting -- listening to others’ verbalized experiences stimulates memories, ideas, and experiences in participants. This is also known as the group effect where group members engage in “a kind of ‘chaining’ or ‘cascading’ effect; talk links to, or tumbles out of, the topics and expressions preceding it”
Continued… • Group members discover a common language to describe similar experiences. This enables the capture of a form of “native language” or “vernacular speech” to understand the situation
Focus groups also provide an opportunity for disclosure among similar others in a setting where participants are validated. For example, in the context of workplace bullying, targeted employees often find themselves in situations where they experience lack of voice and feelings of isolation. Use of focus groups to study workplace bullying therefore serve as both an efficacious and ethical venue for collecting data
Problems and criticism • However, focus groups also have disadvantages: The researcher has less control over a group than a one-on-one interview, and thus time can be lost on issues irrelevant to the topic; the data are tough to analyze because the talking is in reaction to the comments of other group members; observers/ moderators need to be highly trained, and groups are quite variable and can be tough to get together.
Moreover, the number of members of a focus group is not large enough to be a representative sample of a population; thus, the data obtained from the groups is not necessarily representative of the whole population, unlike in opinion polls.
A fundamental difficulty with focus groups (and other forms of qualitative research) is the issue of observer dependency: the results obtained are influenced by the researcher, raising questions of validity. The issue evokes associations with Heisenberg’s famous Uncertainty Principle. As Heisenberg said, "What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning."
Indeed, the design of the focus group study (e.g. respondent selection, the questions asked, how they are phrased, how they are posed, in what setting, by whom, and so on) affects the answers obtained from respondents. In focus groups, researchers are not detached observers but always participants. Researchers must take this into account when making their analysis
Use Design Tools • In designing user interfaces, design tools are utilized to make more effective, the process of constructing such an interface to be user friendly, aesthetically pleasing, effective and efficient to use, and most importantly a reliable interface.
Are all design tools prototypes? • Not necessarily. Design tools can address both physical design and logical design. Logical design tools do not focus on functionality like the physical design tools. Therefore, the would focus on the user interfaces that the end user would be exposed to, without providing the necessary interaction of a fully functional system.
Designing a user interface that has the input of the user in the design process • It has always been stated by interface designers, that user centered interaction is best. It is always important to know your target audience before designing an interface. A lot of effort can be lost in the end if the intended audience ends up having an application that is difficult to use because of various problems/reasons.
What are some of these problems? • Screen too cluttered • Related items not grouped • Too heavy decorated screens can be distracting (even if not cluttered) • Misalignment of information • User does not feel as if he/she is in control • Not knowing what to do • Too much memory load
Always remember: • In designing and developing user interfaces, it is important to be current but relevant. Also, use qualitative and/or quantitative techniques if necessary to measure the relevance of a chosen interface. Use centered interaction is always key, therefore, acceptance testing will not present itself as a mystery to the sponsor/beneficiary of the intended system.
An iterative approach: • Because no interface is necessarily perfect upon its development, it is important to apply an iterative approach to ensure that the user gets to express as many times as reasonably possible, what problems he/she is experiencing with the interface being designed.
Interface & Functionality • Make sure that the details of the functional decomposition of the intended system will support the front-end (the user interface). A pretty interface with weak functionality is as stressful as its inverse: an ugly interface with strong functionality. Therefore, always try to meet in the middle to provide a reasonably interface that supports the black box concept (known input, unknown functionality, expected output).
Thank you guys • Have a productive and stress free preparation and sitting of your upcoming examinations. • It has been a pleasure serving you!
