First bi-weekly review

For this first bi-weekly review, we have covered four research methods that can be use in our Graduation Project. These methods are formative research, summative research, market research: competitor analysis and target audience profiling / personas. To summarise them, formative research happens in the beginning (the planning stage). It offers a key to success with structured analysis and it can identify problem at an early stage so that you can refine them later. Summative research happens at the end of a project so that you can determine how successful is your work. You can keep refining them based on the feedback you have revives to improve your work further. Competitor analysis happens when you are looking to surpass your target market. Keeping track of their movement so that you can use it to further improve your work. Profile audience profiling / personas is to create an identity for a type of person of a same characteristic like for example same hobbies and using demographic to sort them to different groups. This help to understand the target audience and knowing how to effectively reach them.

After understanding these four methods, I have found out which method is the most useful to me. It’s hard to choose one because all of the methods are useful but I have finally chosen formative research. The reason why is because it’s the first thing you do for every project. Without it, the flow of your project won’t be consistence and it will be all over the place without any link to them.

I can use qualitative research to find my focus group for my Graduation project because I’m doing a phone game application. By using this method, I can find out my focus group’s opinion and how much they play games in their phone and what is the common genre of games they like to play. But how important this method is? It can help me to gather information from my target audience by understanding them and for me to plan for each individual’s specific needs. Knowing this information, I will be able to know what type of genre most people prefer. For example, incremental game. More and more young adults are on board to this indie game. To explain what type of game this is, most people commonly know this game by its popular name; clicker games. Clicker games have been around over the years in the form of a phone game application or in the website flash games. People has been somewhat addicted to the game because of the multiple number keep flashing at the screen with thousand or million figures in numbers to show how strong your “power” is. By using this information, I will be able to tell that young people like clicker games.

The method of gathering the information I think I will be using survey to gather my information because using survey I can get an accurate info from my target audience. I will list down the top 10 games playable on the phone and ask them to explain why they choose this game. The information will tell me whether what type of games they like to play. For example, if a lot of people choose Pokémon Go, I will ask them why that game? If most of the people has the same or similar answer, this will provide me a clear picture and I will be able to plan ahead for the task. But I think the most important question for the target audience to answer will be do they play games on their phone. From what I know of, most do. Using the survey would benefit me in my project. Interview the creator of that genre of the game would also help. This might help me to further my ideas for my project.