Once confined to closed rooms with one way mirrors, research via focusgroups used to be the accepted method for trying out new concepts and discovering new opportunities.
Uses could range from manufacturers engaging focusgroups in a much more hands-on way at an early stage of product development to mass customization or individual use of the machines.
Second, U.S. foreign policy cannot be either effectively conceived or successfully executed on the basis of polling data, focusgroups or less sophisticated means of determining in which way the political winds are blowing.