Helps to identify issues which may need to be tackled and provides a multi-faceted perspective on them. Benefits Allows the analyst to rapidly obtain a wide variety of views from a range of people with widely differing but relevant perspectives. Limitations Social factors such as peer pressure may lead to inaccurate reports. Techniques such as Delphi groups can be used to compensate for this. Costs of Acquisition Not a proprietary method.
Facilitators require training in order to keep meetings focused.
However, the role of the facilitator is relatively constrained in this kind of technique and more interactive techniques are available. How to get it Widely practised. The facilitator is selected from technical personnel who have a stake in the successful development of the product. A range of issues to be addressed is drawn up. A group of between 6 - 8 representative users is invited to attend.