If you subscribe to a Steve Jobs-like philosophy, being a designer grants you power to make a decision on behalf of the user; we determine what the right way is, focus groups be damned. “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them,” Jobs said to BusinessWeek in 1998. The quote became a testament to Apple’s successes the following decade with the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Last Friday, I was hand selected to participate in a focus group with two other alumni to review a new business product. Even though I was pitted against one person with an MBA and another who was the COO of a local company, I was excited that someone wanted to hear my opinion from a designer’s perspective.
About a quarter of the way into the discussion, however, Jobs’ quote started whispering into my head. It quickly became apparent that, while they valued my opinion and encouraged thoughtful discussion from the group, the people who had created the project and were running the focus group already had a clear vision of what the program would look like and how it would function. They seemed so excited by the fact that someone said “this idea is good,” there was no further need for ideas to flow, no more engagement, just a sales pitch talking about how great this idea will be.
Don’t get me wrong, the whole experience was extremely rewarding; a new experience always is. I even got the person conducting the focus group to write down some of my thoughts! (It’s the small things in life people). But there seems to be a wrong and a right way for focus groups to be conducted—or, at least, a right and wrong time. I understand that trying to please everyone in a group with a design is an exercise in frustration and contradiction, but if you invite me to hear about my professional opinion, why not use it?
They say the customer is always right; that is except in these instances when the customer doesn’t know what they’re right about. That’s where the designer needs to come in, and—just as Jobs’ had done all those years ago, changing technology forever—carefully guide the idea through basic scenarios, pull the meat from the bone, and fine-tune the idea to perfection.
But maybe it’s in the fine-tuning that focus groups—and public opinion—show their value. Apple consistently evolves their products (how many lines have you stood in for the new iPhone?), and I’ll bet public opinion plays a role in those evolutions. I think this focus group could have been improved if they narrowed their focus—they knew the general shape and function and look of their product—maybe there was a particular program step or design element they weren’t sure on, and I could have helped them.
So maybe Jobs’ quote needs some adjusting—people may not know what they want until you show them, but they usually show us how to make it perfect for them.