Pearson Education: Focus groups
Business need
Pearson Education publishes educational resources for schools and other learning institutions. They were considering whether to complete and market a new educational software package that was in development. They needed to know what potential customers thought.
Alantext solution
I organised and facilitated two focus groups to test and explore customer opinion. The client and I determined the target market for the software: high school teachers with an emphasis on senior grades in math and science.
To ensure objectivity, the client's name was not revealed to participants; the sole contact was Alantext. I recruited 18 teachers, for two groups of nine each, with the following characteristics:
- High school teachers, with most teaching senior grades.
- Mix of younger teachers and very experienced teachers.
- Drawn from seven different boards of education.
- Half were department heads.
- Half were math or science, the others were a mix of English, geography, history, law, computer science.
- All had some experience using computers in class.
I prepared a detailed agenda, planning each portion of the software demonstration, the questions I would ask and the goal of each discussion. The client was able to review each draft and request changes.
Each focus group was 1 hour 45 minutes. I memorized each participant's name, subjects taught, size of their school, their experience with computers, etc. This enabled me to better manage the discussion by calling on an individual when I needed an opinion from someone with specific characteristics.
During each segment of the focus groups I demonstrated key features of the software and then facilitated a discussion. I took care to encourage all opinion, positive and negative, and probed for deeper insight and clarification. In addition to group discussion and questioning, I also assigned individual oral and written exercises.
Both groups were highly successful, yielding rich and diverse opinion. Participants also gave us several excellent and unexpected ideas.
My report to Pearson included detailed observations, analyses and recommendations along with an Executive Summary. Specifics included:
- Characteristics and teaching background of participants.
- Summary of discussion in each segment.
- Representative quotes from each participant in each segment.
- Analysis and implications of participants' discussion/comments.
- Recommendations.
“Congratulations are in order to you on a job well done. There is definitely great skill in managing a focus group. They were both very interesting sessions, and I think it had a lot to do with you interpreting people's initial comments and focusing their comments and criticisms into more cogent thoughts. The results were excellent.”
Narath Carlile, Software Director, Softlight Inc.
“Alan helped us to establish the strengths and weaknesses of a new software product through a series of focus groups. Alan’s level of preparedness and dedication to accomplish our goals were clearly evident.
At every stage in the process we had the opportunity to input on the project as we wished and as our schedules allowed. Alan’s ability to accommodate our changes and requirements was obvious. His follow-up after the session was immediate and gave us the level of detail we needed.”
Mark Cobham, Director Educational Technology, Pearson Education
“Alan has done a superlative job of leading focus groups for us. His sessions are well prepared, tightly structured, and obviously enjoyable for the participants. He’s very responsive to his audience and especially skilled at framing questions that draw out valuable information.”
Paula S. Goepfert, Vice President & Director, Publishing, School Division, Pearson Education Canada
Pearson Education: Software review
Business need
Once Pearson Education decided to proceed with the software package, they needed more specific direction for their developers. They required a detailed review from an experienced source, to guide the developers on what to change to improve the final product.
Alantext solution
I undertook a comprehensive review of the software. I examined such aspects as:
- User interface
- Menu functionality
- Degree of logical and intuitive use
- Performance issues
- Feature set
I evaluated the software from three perspectives:
- Practicality in classroom situations
- Practicality in teacher preparation and review situations
- Practicality in student study situations
I provided Pearson with a report detailing my findings and specific recommendations for improvement.