- Experience with environment, brand, etc.
- Attitude toward subject matter, process, or marketing
- User goals or needs when using the environment, brand, etc.
- What users do following their experience
- Who else is involved in the experience

Types of Data in User Interviews

User interview questions should elicit information about the user's experience with the environment, brand, etc. under study. They should be simple, neutral, and open-ended to avoid leading questions.

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Components of  User Interviews

The contextual interview goes through multiple iterations of a 2 step pattern:
- Watch and learn.
- Stop and initiate discussion when the user does something you don’t immediately understand,  when you want to confirm an interpretation, or to allow the participant to validate or invalidate your understanding of the user’s mental model

Try to understand the underlying processes:
- Be aware of external resources being used.
- Ask about standard steps vs. extraneous or uncommon variations in their processes and the reasons behind them.
- Explain your interpretations of their tasks and workflow for the users to confirm or correct.

Contextual inquiry structure part 3: the contextual interview

A focus group is a qualitative data collection method that involves small groups of people participating together in an interview focused on a specific issue or topic. The dynamic interaction among group members can often elicit richer, more detailed information than what might be uncovered in a traditional one-on-one interview. For example, this approach has become a standard technique in business and industry for understanding consumer tastes and preferences. Because these group discussions yield extensive qualitative data, the sessions are typically recorded and transcribed to facilitate thorough later analysis.

Focus Group

Unger, R., & Chandler, C. (2012). A project guide to UX design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making (2nd ed.). New Riders. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1593419

A Project Guide to UX Design

User Interview Questions

The structure of the interview will vary depending on the level of formality and the needs of your user research. The structure determines:

- Question order
- Number of questions
- Length of interview.

User Interview Structure

Observation is the first step of the IDEO design process. This is an attempt to understand the users through things such as behavior, pain points, and other experiences. Designers should be open to all creative opportunities. 

Observation in IDEO

The moderator facilitates the discussion between participants. Keep the conversation on track and encourage every participant to share their experience. Refrain from asking leading questions.

Role of Moderator

- observe a variety of user experiences
- identify differences in experiences and meanings behind them
- generate new ideas for research
- work through complex or collaborative features

Value of Focus Groups in UX Research

- For research pertaining to group norms, beliefs, and processes
- For a multi-method design, to examine a topic or collect group language to be used in later stages
- To clarify, elaborate, or dispute data collected through different methods
- To feedback results to focus group


When to Utilize Focus Groups:

- When participants beliefs produces expectations for the outcome of the study to be unachievable
- If participants are uncomfortable to voice opinions or find other members restless to not engage in discussion
- When topic of discussion is not something participants are able to speak on
- If quantitative data is required


When to Avoid using Focus groups:

Key Factors to a Successful Focus Group

- Interviews
- Focus groups 
- Diary studies 
- Field studies 

Common Thematic Analysis Data Collection Types

In qualitative research, group dynamics—the social and psychological processes that occur within any group—can significantly influence the data collected during focus groups. For example, participants' desire to be liked may lead them to provide inaccurate answers that they believe others will view favorably. Additionally, personality characteristics play a role, as highly extraverted individuals might dominate the group discussions, potentially skewing the results.

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