1st Edition

Focus Groups Supporting Effective Product Development

By Joe Langford, Deana McDonagh Copyright 2003
    240 Pages
    by CRC Press

    240 Pages
    by CRC Press

    The focus group is widely used to as a tool for increasing the understanding of users and their requirements, and identifying potential solutions for these requirements. Its main value lies in the conveyance of less tangible information that cannot be obtained using more traditional methods. Eliciting user needs beyond the functional is crucial for effective product and system development. This approach offers one way in which such needs may be elicited.
    While most texts in product development cater to marketing, political and social science research, this book describes the way focus groups can be applied particularly to ergonomics (human factors) and design-related projects. The book demystifies the subject and includes practical guidance for setting up and running focus group sessions to enable the professional (and novice) to employ these techniques usefully and with confidence. An ideal book for the professional to the undergraduate student, Focus Groups: Supporting Effective Product Development is written for ergonomists, designers and anyone running product related focus groups or involved in product research.

    Acknowledgements, Contributors, 1. Introduction, PART I Organising and Conducting a Focus Group: The Logistics, PART II Focus Groups in Human Factors/Ergonomics and Design: Case Studies, PART III Focus Group Tools, Author Index

    Biography

    Langford, Joe