A Clear Picture of Focus Groups
By Bill Shackelford

Focus groups are a facilitated session designed to obtain valuable information about a proposed product or service. The focus group is a relatively quick, inexpensive method of gathering requirements for the final product, especially when coupled with prior research into overall business goals and performance objectives for e-learning participants. Traditional need assessments can provide invaluable inputs into the preliminary focus group and help ensure that the focus group results lead to a successful e-learning product.

Why focus groups?

Focus groups offer several important benefits for project-managing e-learning:

• Focus groups allow you to accomplish a great deal in a compressed timeframe. Bringing everyone together guarantees that ideas get shared and that important points are brought up for decision.
• Focus groups provide fixed time points for project milestones. The project initiation focus group sets the stage for upcoming interim focus groups. Your project, therefore, has not one "drop dead" deadline at the end, but rather a series of deadlines designed to demonstrate progress and reach decisions about the deliverables for the upcoming focus group sessions.
• Focus groups keep stakeholders actively participating throughout the project. Too often in projects, the initial momentum falls off after project launch. Well-managed focus groups provide a method of building and sustaining support for the project for all stakeholders.
• Focus groups make customers and stakeholders active participants in the design process. At first, the design is more concept than working model, although you may sometimes have interface prototypes from other completed e-learning products to demonstrate--even at the project initiation focus group. Once the project is under way, however, focus group reviews should center on the current working version of the new e-learning product.

Focus group scenarios

Focus group customers should include SMEs, business representatives from the area requesting the e-learning product, and a small but representative section of individuals who would be e-learners using the product. The role of the business representative is to ensure that content matches the learning objectives spelled out in the project definition. The e-learners provide feedback about the effectiveness of the product engaging learners and making the e-learning experience a positive one. Generally, both groups interact with a facilitator (sometimes the project manager but, better still, a neutral party) and a scribe (usually a member of the project team or the project manager) to evaluate the proposed product, spot areas that need improvement or correction, and prioritize content to be included in the product.

Within a given e-learning project, three basic types of focus groups are used:

1. Project-initiation focus groups. These are designed to formulate the vision for the product, determine the major functionality to be included, identify desirable learning delivery methods, and assign priorities to these functions and methods. The input of this session is the project definition. The output is a prioritized function and feature set, along with validated scope documents a risk control plan, and a communications plan.
2. Interim focus groups. These are designed to be forums for demonstrating the e-learning product, testing its learning worthiness, and revisiting priorities for the remainder of the project. The input for this session is the latest version of the delivery cycle plan. Output includes approvals of work to date, requests for rework, and reprioritization of remaining items scheduled for delivery.
3. Project acceptance focus group. This group is designed to garner final acceptance of the completed project, conduct a formal review process, and collect best practices and recommendations for future projects. Inputs are a final cycle delivery plan, project definition, progress reports, and relevant scope and risk management documentation. Output is an approved acceptance document, signed review documents, and best practices recommendations.

To determine a likely guest list for your next focus group, use the worksheet below.

Analyzing changing requirements

It's really true that the focus group always does, in fact, clear up a blurry picture of the project and brings it into a sharp, renewed focus. The project initiation workshop turns abstract requirements into a picture of what the product might look like. The interim focus groups take the current product and help steer it in a new or revised direction, thus retouching the original picture. The project acceptance focus group puts a seal of approval on the product and places it in the perspective of the overall e-learning initiative for our organizations.

Prototyping versus focus groups

Lest there be any doubt, please remember that focus groups will be reviewing a real, working e-learning product rather than throwaway prototypes. Delivery cycles are simply too short to waste time creating models that have no use. The project initiation workshop is perhaps the only exception to this rule. At that early stage, objectives should be translated into features and general description of the types of delivery methods and interfaces to be used.

Prototypes at this stage may be storyboards, drawings, and perhaps a few prefabricated interface controls used for demonstration purposes. Once the project initiation workshop is completed, development work should operate under the assumption that the deliverable being produced will be part of the final e-learning product. Obviously, when rework is truly necessary, a certain--and, it is hoped, small--percentage of the deliverables will have to be replaced or significantly revised. Most work should produce "keepers."

Bottom line

Once you've established the focus group as the primary means of demonstrating project progress, revisiting priorities, and keeping communication channels open, you will be on your way to keeping customers involved and contributing to your e-learning effort. What's more, they'll become e-learning boosters as they realize that their input has value and gets results!

Published: August2002