Evaluating and Improving a Self-Help Technical Support Web Site: Use of Focus Group Interviews

Abstract

It is critical to understand user requirements in Web site development. As a method of user requirements analysis for a self-help technical support Web site, focus group interviews can be a very efficient and effective approach both before the interface has been designed and after it has been in use for some time. This article shows how focus group interviews were used to develop a self-help technical support Web site for print quality troubleshooting. It also shows how focus group interviews led to improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the Web site. In addition, the article classifies the critical usability issues identified and shows how the feedback from focus group interviews is reflected in the Web site development. Finally, experimental results demonstrate that the use of focus group interviews significantly improved user performance and preference.