Thaidoweb 2008

User-centered design (UCD) is a project approach that puts the intended users of a site at the centre of its design and development. It does this by talking directly to the user at key points in the project to make sure the site will deliver upon their requirements.
The stages are carried out in an iterative fashion, with the cycle being repeated until the project’s usability objectives have been attained. This makes it critical that the participants in these methods accurately [...]

A focus group involves encouraging an invited group of participants to share their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and ideas on certain subject. Organising focus groups within an organisation can also be very useful in getting buy-in to a project from within that company.
When and why to use focus groups
Focus groups are most often used as an input to design.
Advantages of focus groups include:
- Quick, cheap and relatively easy to assemble
- Good for getting rich data in participants’ own [...]