One-on-one in-depth user interviews may be the bread and butter of many UX researchers, but group interviews and workshops create a unique opportunity of observable collaboration, negotiation, and debate. When facilitated well, these sessions become living laboratories where one person’s idea can collide or react with another’s, creating new and unexpected findings. The key is to use group interaction itself as a source of data. Achieving this requires a thoughtful approach that balances structure with spontaneity. The following eight principles are a guide to transforming group sessions into powerful engines of discovery; taken from our own research expertise and experiences.
1. Plan with Clear Objectives
Before recruiting participants, your research team must align on fundamental learning goals. Vague objectives yield unusable data. Strong objectives focus the discussion and ensure the final insights address your team’s most critical questions.
Some example methods to keep sessions on the path towards those objectives are:
Collaborative Journey Mapping: This sort of exercise can be used to create a visual representative of the customer journey with input from all parties involved, a useful tool when groups are structured around specific cohorts. It also allows participants to mark pain points and areas of confusion immediately and collectively.
Structured Brainstorming Session: Collaborative thought around a central theme, such as new product features, is a great formulative research method. Following up with dot-voting or individual recounts allows both introverted and extroverted participants to contribute equally.
Facilitated Debate: Allowing participants to vie for or argue against specific areas of a product or set of similar products (such as in A/B Testing) tests in real time which value propositions resonate with users and reveals specific language or triggers that can make it compelling.
2. Create an Inclusive, Equal Environment
For participants to offer honest feedback, they must feel “psychological safety”—a belief that they won’t be punished for speaking up. The loudest voice is not always the most representative. A skilled moderator must manage group dynamics to prevent “groupthink,” where individuals suppress their true opinions to maintain harmony. Cultural norms and social expectations can strongly influence how freely participants share their thoughts, and from our experience, Japanese participants are especially prone to prioritizing the harmony of the group over expressing otherwise honest dissent. Techniques like round-robin sharing or asking for individual ideas before group discussion ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
3. Use Interactive and Engaging Activities
There is often a gap between what people say and what they do. To uncover deeper truths, move beyond talking and into doing. Interactive exercises like card-sorting, where participants organize concepts visually, transform them into active collaborators. These tangible activities produce observable behaviors and artifacts that provide clear evidence for their opinions.
4. Manage Time Efficiently and Flexibly
A well-managed session respects participants’ time. A visible agenda and clear time allocations for each segment set expectations and keep the group on pace. However, the most valuable discoveries can be unscripted. A facilitator must balance the agenda with the flexibility to explore emergent themes, letting the users’ stories lead the way when a valuable tangent arises.
5. Encourage Collaboration and Peer Learning
The real magic of a group session happens between the participants. The synergy of the group is its greatest strength, as one person’s comment can trigger a chain of responses. This constructive collision of perspectives exposes the shared language and social norms surrounding a product, leading to socially validated, co-created insights.
6. Utilize Visual Aids and Tools
A multi-person conversation can become chaotic. Visual tools like whiteboards or digital canvases anchor the discussion, clarify abstract concepts, and create a shared record of the group’s collective thinking. This approach uses the power of visual thinking to make complex information more coherent. It should be noted that visual tools do not have to necessarily be digital. While digital options can make visuals clear and streamlined, the technology can prove a burden to expression if too unfamiliar or not suitable for more “hands-on” interaction.
7. Summarize and Clarify Key Points
Throughout the session, the facilitator must weave disparate threads of conversation together. Periodically summarizing what has been said—a technique known as “member checking”—is crucial. It shows participants they have been heard and allows them to correct misunderstandings. This also serves as a form of real-time analysis, confirming emerging themes before moving on.
8. Gather Feedback and Follow Up
The session isn’t over when the discussion ends. End professionally by sincerely thanking participants, explaining how their contribution will make a difference, and clarifying any next steps. This respectful closure honors the human connection that made the research possible.
Final Words
Advantages of Group Sessions:
Broad Exploratory Research: Group sessions excel at generating a wide array of ideas, opinions, and feedback in a single setting. The dynamic interaction allows participants to build upon each other’s thoughts, making it an efficient method for uncovering diverse user needs, potential features, or general sentiments early in the design process.
Shared Social Context: Unlike individual interviews, group sessions reveal how ideas are understood and discussed within a social dynamic. Researchers can observe participants negotiate meaning, influence one another, and build consensus around a product’s value or its flaws. This provides a unique window into the shared language and social norms that shape how a product is perceived in the real world.
Opportunity for Participatory Design: Group sessions are the perfect venue for participatory design, turning users from feedback providers into active design partners. By collaborating on activities like sketching new interfaces or prioritizing features, the group can generate co-created solutions that are often richer and more innovative than individual efforts. This collaborative problem-solving gives researchers direct insight into what users collectively value in a solution.
Limitations and Risks:
The Echo Chamber: Groupthink and social desirability bias can lead to a false consensus. Mitigate this by using silent individual brainstorming before group discussion and explicitly stating that disagreement is helpful.
The Privacy Barrier: Group formats are poorly suited for sensitive topics like personal finances or health. For these inquiries, one-on-one interviews remain the gold standard.
The Risk of Superficiality: Conversations can go wide but not deep. A skilled moderator must keep the discussion focused on the research objectives to avoid sacrificing depth for breadth.
The Moderator’s Pull: A facilitator’s own biases can subtly steer the group. Self-awareness, peer review of the discussion guide, and using a co-facilitator can help mitigate this influence.
By embracing the dynamic nature of group sessions, UX researchers can tap into a powerful current of collective insight. It is in the interplay of voices, the shared problem-solving, and the moments of collaborative discovery that the social, cultural, and emotional context of a product is truly revealed. Through acknowledgement of its risks and wielding it with purpose, this framework provides the tools to facilitate group sessions with confidence, and our experienced researchers and moderators at Uism are skilled at both designing and facilitating sessions that reach the greatest of its benefits while mitigating its risks. Feel free to contact us for our support on planning a group interview or other research methods suitable to your UX needs.
