From Feedback to Finish: How to Leverage User Focus Groups for Website Design
summary
A civic testing engagement uses the Smart Chicago / City Tech civic testing group to run about two dozen participants through 30–45 minute, task‑oriented sessions (initially 50 questions pared to fewer than ten), with screen recordings and proctor notes returned in two weeks. Findings drive the new Drupal 8 Chicago Park District website: homepage gets consolidated, mobile search is simplified and options collapsed, mapping is made front‑and‑center, and accessibility gaps (notably for a visually impaired user) prompt design fixes, all implemented during launch.
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chapters (27)
- 0:00Intro
- 1:27About Kelly
- 3:16Chicago Park District
- 4:59Traffic spikes
- 6:05What prompted a change
- 8:14Where were we starting
- 9:32Getting external validation
- 11:28Our secret weapon
- 12:30Who do you want to test
- 14:13Developing the questions
- 15:51What makes a bad question
- 16:35Too narrow
- 17:06Not solving a problem
- 17:42Taskoriented questions
- 19:08Scheduling
- 21:08Getting Participants
- 23:20Testing Procedures
- 25:40Testing Surprises
- 30:38Outcomes
- 34:42How to Do Your Own Focus Group
- 37:50Whats Next
- 39:43Bring Your Own Device
- 41:47Finding Information
- 43:59Reporting
- 50:03Demographics
- 53:16Technical Skills
- 56:48Choosing the right data
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