1. Focus Group #2 Conducted using Adobe Connect
Three participants, slightly older average age
Did these users have a similar reaction to the sites as the first focus group?
Did our iterative changes improve the user experience?
The second focus group was conducted online using Adobe Connect. We again had three users in this session, however two of them were in their 20s. Using the same script of questions from our first focus group, we asked these three participants to evaluate the different aspects of the Dollars & Sense website and Facebook page. Although all of the questions were important, we were particularly interested in how the users reacted to our iterative changes since the first focus group.

2. Reactions to Iterative Changes
Users understood the purpose of the site more clearly
Liked the addition of more visible multimedia
Still confusion over tabs on second level page
Still some confusion on Facebook page
Lets talk about their reactions to our changes from the initial focus group first. In general we made good progress and our changes seemed to help the overall user experience. For instance, users in the second focus group had no trouble identifying the purpose of the site. They knew it was a site with content about “financial tips for young adults.” They were also pleased to see actual videos embedded within the pages, and not simply hyperlinks. This made the content seem more engaging to them. In addition, the “college planning” heading seemed to make much more sense to them.
Although we received a more favorable reaction to the“buttons” on the second level page, the users did not receive the display extremely well. They wanted a different color scheme. They also wanted the big picture “preview” to appear in the same box.
In regards to the Facebook page, users still had trouble seeing the connection between the two sites, although the reaction was less so this time around. The main complaint still seemed to be that they could not find the URL for the main Dollars & Sense website from the Facebook page.

3. New Insights from Focus Group 2
Needed even more video and multimedia
Information was good, but make the sites more “personal”
There is a real interest in the “Bigger Picture”, its just a matter of getting the users there
Users want an up-to-date site
We learned a lot of additional information from the second focus group, and I’m sure all of us are glad it was conducted, and would even like to have a few more. One of the most striking things that we found was how much multimedia and interactivity the users wanted with the site. It was not simply enough to put the static text resources in there, with a few tools and videos added in. They wanted more. And they wanted each of these extra elements to be visually appealing and easy to find. Having chat features, more personalized content, and more collaborative materials would also help the site stick out from its competitors and also give them a sense of ownership and a desire to return again and again. The site would also need to be updated frequently, at least weekly in some instances, to help it stay relevant.

4. Changes Made for the Usability Test
more podcasts
live chat
multimedia icons
more video
more picture
color scheme of the second level page
As you’ll see in a minute, we took the data from our focus groups to make even more changes to the website and Facebook page prior to the usability tests. Many of these changes were cosmetic, or had to do with adding in more interactive features. This was because, for the most part the users found our existing information quite useful. It was chunked well, and the topics appealed to them. Again, they just needed an extra push to help them stay interested in the site, and return to it multiple times.