Applied Ergonomics 33 (2002) 27–38 Focus groups to support the industrial/product designer: a review based on current literature and designers’ feedback Anne Bruseberg a , Deana McDonagh-Philp b, * a Department of Computer Sciences, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7A4, UK b Department of Design and Technology, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK Received 1 March 2001; accepted 1 August 2001 Abstract Focus groups are widely used within human factors, social sciences and market research. Whilst user-research methods may be familiar to other disciplines, conventional design training has not, until recently, incorporated such activities. With the increased awareness for the necessity to elicit user needs beyond the functional, design research is becoming more established. However, there is a significant gap in training material for design research. This paper will review the scope of application of focus group techniques, with particular emphasis on the suitability of focus groups for use by industrial/product designers, based on the current literature and designer feedback from two case studies. r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Focus groups; User-centred designing; Design research 1. Introduction The quality and effectiveness of design solutions rely, to a large extent, on the availability of information about the future users of new products. Designers cannot always be knowledgeable about user needs and aspirations. They may benefit from carrying out user research themselves, or being very closely involved in such activities. The procedural literature available about focus group techniques, such as Morgan (1998a,b), Krueger (1988, 1998a-c), Krueger and King (1998), and Greenbaum (1998), is currently not tailored to the specific needs of designers or design researchers. The findings discussed in this paper are based upon a research project (funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) that concentrated on the development of methods based on focus groups that suit the needs of designers. This technique has been adapted and combined with a variety of other techni- ques, such as visual product evaluation and the use of mood boards. They were developed, evaluated and tested through a ‘live’ design project for a range of consumer products (i.e. kettle, toaster and coffee maker). The team comprised of an ergonomist, indus- trial designer, and industrial design researcher. This paper reviews how focus groups and related techniques are currently being applied for product development by market researchers and human factor specialistsFto give the reader an overview of the approaches available. It draws upon a variety of studies presented in the current literature. Moreover, this paper presents the results from two case studies conducted by the authors that elicited designers’ perspectives on employing user-research methods based on focus group techniquesFto set out the requirements for adapting the techniques according to the designers’ needs and suggestions. In order to encourage the application of research activities through- out the various stages of designing, it is crucial to build on designers’ skills, knowledge, and perceptions. De- tailed feedback is presented from the following case studies. Case study (1): Practising designer interviews. An introductory case study was conducted to understand the information requirements of designers, their pre- conceptions towards focus group techniques and user *Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-1509-222-665; fax: +44-1509- 223-999. E-mail address: d.c.mcdonagh-philp@lboro.ac.uk (D. McDonagh-Philp). 0003-6870/02/$-see front matter r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0003-6870(01)00053-9