Boba discovery: Focus group
I joined Boba in its very early days, when the idea for the product had not even been clearly formed. We had some hypotheses and ideas, but we were not sure if they would serve the socializing and entertainment needs of young people well. Basically, we had many questions and doubts – which is why we conducted this research.
Research goal
Validate the needs for using social media of the target user.
Understand user feedback and feelings about the Boba social network idea.
Help the Product team better understand the needs of the target user, prioritize features, and generate more ideas for building Boba.
My role
The UXR team was responsible for this research. I, as the sole designer for Boba at that time, participated in this research as an Observer. However, I had a chance to hosted one session.
In this article, I will only highlight a few key points in the research design and implementation process. Mostly, I will report the results, as these are the findings that my Product team relied on to build and improve the app later.
Research design
(Mini) Focus Group Discussion is a suitable research method to achieve the above objectives. The UXR team has supported Boba's product team in designing 5 discussion sessions corresponding to 5 groups of friends from different university as shown in the image.
Hypothesis and questions
Hypothesis to be validated:
(H1) Story is currently a hot trend.
(H2) Users prefer to post/consume content that has beautiful, dynamic (video), and fun effects.
(H3) Users who post stories may encounter obstacles due to their self-consciousness about their appearance, so they need to remain anonymous.
(H4) In addition to the interaction format of Like/Reaction on public stories, adding interaction through Comments will create more value and differentiation.
(H5) The ability to build a personal character/house/pet (Avatar) will make users excited.
(H6) Over time, Avatars will become boring.
Questions to be answered:
What is the motivation for using social apps?
What is the behavior of users when consuming stories?
What is the behavior of users when posting stories? Are there any obstacles?
What types of content do users post and consume in stories?
What interactions do users like on stories? (Like/react/comment/...)
What are the essential features for an ideal social app? Rank in order of priority.
Map the essential features above with the existing features of Boba, is there any difference?
General feedback on the idea of Boba social network? (like, dislike, confused, lacking, other feedback, when will it become boring)
Execution
Based on the hypotheses and questions above, the team designs a scenario for the discussion and carries it out.
Below is a picture of me hosting an interview session with a group of 5 male students from UEH.
Result
Some findings from the research for you to somehow grapse the context.
Based on these findings, my product team and I were able to decide on the app's features and a longer-term roadmap. In terms of design, I have also been able to finalize the design for the initial phase and make many adjustments for following phases.
