The following are the cons of using focus group or visioning activity:

• It is logistically complex to organize--the need to gather participants who share common attributes that match the needs of the research.
• It requires sufficient lead time in the project to plan the event, find an appropriate venue, and recruit participants.
• Geographical and space limitations pose a restriction on the number of total sessions that can be conducted and their location, and as a result, limits the overall pool of participants to those who are in close proximity.
• It often requires the services of a recruiting firm.
• It requires significant investment of time to create activities that will enable participants to provide feedback both as a group and an individual.
• It requires an experienced facilitator who can guide the discussions in an engaging way, and also control participants and ensure an equal voice to as many viewpoints.
• Focus groups are notorious for being easily impacted by group dynamics:
  • They are diverted to a specific direction by vocal and opinionated participants, and there is no contribution from shy participants
  • Group Think, where individuals in the group are adopting the majority view and are not voicing their own opinion
• Monetary incentives are often required to recruit participants. As with any research activity that is not voluntary, there is a risk that a participant's contribution is seen as a means to getting paid, as opposed to making a product better.
• Documenting the session is challenging--it is difficult to take notes when multiple discussions or activities are taking place, difficult to get a good video or audio recording in a room full of participants, and expensive - often impossible, to transcribe the recordings.

Many UX practitioners find the focus group's cons--which are listed here--to be so overwhelming that they reject this method altogether as a valid UX research method. Still, there are circumstances for which the benefits might justify this activity.