With the increasing focus on globalization of products and services, the need to understand user experience in distant markets is more urgent. However, conducting global user research can be confusing and is a significant risk of time and resources. In this webinar, we talk through several methods for global research. We’ll present these various methods and the tradeoffs and considerations for choosing one method over another. We’ll also step through the elements of success in conducting a global study – from planning to results. This webinar is not about localization or globalization of user interfaces, it will instead focus on methods and practices for how one conducts successful global user research.

1. Robert Schumacher, PhD.
Managing Director
User Centric, Inc

2. RobertM.
Robert M.
Schumacher
Schumacher
Managing
Managing
Director
Director

4. User experience research in many places…

6. What is this talk not about
• Globalization or localization of
test artifacts

7. Increasing demand
for global user
research
“The World is Flat” – Thomas Friedman
 Pace of technology introduction is increasing
 Global companies introducing products in
unfamiliar markets and market segments
 Products / services are getting more complex
 Internet and mobility change what we work on
and the way we work

8. Compression of
Time Irrelevance of
Place
 Must find ways to do user
research better, faster, and Connection of
(often) cheaper than we do today Cultures

9. • The Internet culture
creates expectations
– Partners / clients /
collaborators / Compression of
developers around the Time
globe create work
schedules that are on
“world time”
• Speed is a feature of
user research
– Agile development
meets user research 
must adapt methods
– Example: Six country
web site review done in
24 hours

10. • Outsourcing of core
and supporting
activities
– Some kinds of user Compression of
research can be Time
outsourced to different time
zones to achieve rapid turn
around
More research, more data…
– Example: Overnight
transcription of usability
tests more faster
• New tools enable faster
production of artifacts
– Automated data collection /
summarization tools
– Example: Digital video
editing

11. Remote
Methods
Face to face

12. New technologies and
techniques allow for
Remote:
– Moderated testing
– Unmoderated testing
– Observation
Irrelevance of
Place

13. Remote Moderated Testing
Products like GotoMeeting allow
connections to the test (or observation)
computer to the Internet. VoIP can carry
voice cheaply.
Translator
Observers
Participant
Moderator
LiveMeeting
WebEx
GoToMeeting
For screen VoIP Audio
Skype
GoogleTalk

14. Remote Unmoderated Testing
Find the umbrella.
• Hundreds of users agree to participate in a study
• In their natural context
• From geographically spread locations
• Users try to complete tasks + answer questions
• No human moderation needed
• Browser bar connects users with secure servers

15. Remote Unmoderated Testing
‘Task-based’ Surveys Online Card Sorting
> Open or closed
> Online/remote Usability Studies
(unmoderated) > Stand alone or
> Benchmarking (competitive /comparison) > Integrated with task-based
studies & surveys
> UX Dash`boards (measure ROI)
Robust Set of Services
Online Surveys User Recruiting Tool
> Ad hoc research > Intercept real visitors (tab or layer)
> Voice of Customer studies > Create your own private panel
> Integrated with Web Analytics data > Use a panel provider*

16. Remote
Methods
Face to face

17. • Sometimes ‘place’ matters
and it seems like you must
test with users F2F
• Some guidelines…

18. When to do…
Remote Testing In Person
• Web/software UI • Physical artifact
• More quantitative based • Need rich qualitative
feedback
• Large, distributed sample
• Need to have the
or low incidence human connection
• Low(er) budget • Ensure high-level of
• High penetration of consistency
Internet access • Uncertain of quality or
environment

19. Recent Research Questions
that suggested face to face research was needed
• Why are conversions are lower in Brazil than in the rest
of the world?
• What is the customer journey for our product suite in
Japan?
• Is our site perceived to be ‘Chinese’ (enough)?
• Do my translations into Spanish affect performance?
• We have a new navigation system for our HDTV – how
usable is it for American consumers?
• Development wants to be certain that the site ‘works’ for
our global users before it is launched…in 18 countries

20. You cannot and should not…
conduct user research unless you
know what the purpose of the
study is.
DUH!
However…

21. A lot of the time we spend is NOT on the technical.
It’s on planning and logistics.
Planning the conditions to collect good data.

22.  Increasing demand for
user testing across
borders
– Usability practices can vary
widely country to country
– Many issues to consider for
fieldwork…
• Moderators
• Interpreters and translations
• Recruiting and incentives over-prepare
Impossible to
• Facilities
Connection of
Cultures

23. On-site  travel
Two Models of F2F Global
User Research
“Over the transom”
Work remote with local
partners

24. Images person in easy chair, or airline
seat
Travel to destinations? Stay put…work remote?
- Cost: Time & money! - Cost:
- Benefit: - Worry
- Richer data - Possible quality issues
- Higher consistency - Benefit:
- Lower risk of failure - Lower cost
- Faster turn around

25. Four Elements of
User Research Projects
Preparation
Fieldwork
Analysis & Reporting
Project Management

26. Preparation: Recruiting
• Recruiting practices differ widely
– Privacy: Lists…sigh

27. So you need to test in…
Be prepared for (very) high
recruitment costs

28. Recruiting
• Recruiting practices differ widely
– Privacy: Sometimes a list is bad, really bad
– Selecting participants…or not
• Incidence and participation differs
– How many “extras” or “floaters” do you
need? What is the “show” rate?
– What did you pay your participants?

29. Vive La France!

30. So you need to test in…
Find creative ways to incent participants

31. Interpreters
• “Think aloud” data is simply more difficult to collect
through interpreters…
• Professional simultaneous interpreters
– Translate everything; maybe hire 2 interpreters?
– Do not save money by hiring “cheap” interpreters
• Language Expansion
– Interpreters have to keep up…
32

32. So you need to test in…
Make sure moderator speaks at an
appropriate rate for interpreters

33. Interpreters & Translations
• Observation Room:
• Interpreters should see participant’s face
• What’s the ambient language in obs room?
• Observers listening live in different languages?
• Translating test documents
– Consider double translation to check accuracy
(i.e., translate it back to native tongue)

34. Planning Fieldwork
• Who should moderate?
– Native speakers only? Fluent non-native OK?
• What time of day can sessions be scheduled?
• How many sessions can the moderator do per
day?
• National, cultural, religious issues…bugger

35.  Finding vendors can be
hard and can be
easy, some strategies…
– Ask colleagues and clients
– Resource networks
• UPA
• HCIRN
• STC
– Search engines
(google, yahoo, ask)
 Vendor quality (over
long-distance) is
hard, but necessary;
some ideas…
– Check References Connection of
– Ask for CVs of consultants Cultures
– Ask about experience with
foreign clients
– Recent clients

36.  Business practices
– Confidentiality and
propriety not viewed
similarly
– Project timelines and
urgencies may be more
“elastic”
– Budget, currency and
payment terms can be
Connection of
challenging – always
Cultures
hidden costs (e.g.,
visas)

37. So you need to test in…
Plan for a lot of time between sessions

38. Observers are Here
Remote Observation
 Project team wants to watch Testing is Here
testing, but can’t travel?
 Stream sessions…requires
knowledge of network
infrastructure and special tools
– Encoded video pushed to
streaming server and viewed
anywhere

39. Technical Requirements
• Ship or Carry Equipment?
– Customs = Gotcha!

40. So you need to test in…
Careful what you pack for the lab

41. Technical Requirements
• Ship or Carry Equipment?
– Customs = Gotcha!
• Even keyboards! AZERTY v QWERTY
• Powering equipment 220v or 110v or Both?
– E.g., Sao Paulo has either 220 v or 110 v
plugs
• Local power…hopefully

42. So you need to test in…
Have a back up plan in case
of power loss…or Internet…or monsoons

43. Facilities
• Often unfamiliar and out of our control
– Facility quality is hard to judge

44. So you need to test in…
Some respondents won’t go to
test facilities; test in hotels

45. Budgeting
• Budgets are always up in the air with global
user research
– Typically more expensive
• Then there are the extraordinary expenses…

46. So you need to test in…
Budget for security guards

47. Test Planning
• A Test Plan identifies all of the points of the
testing:
– Objectives
– Research design
– Participant screening criteria
– blah… blah… blah…
• And Intercultural UX Research elements

48. Robert Schumacher, PhD.
Managing Director
User Centric, Inc
bob@usercentric.com
+1.630.320.3900
For a Better User Experience in call centers, Press 1
http://www.usercentric.com/webinars/for-a-better-user-experience-in-
call-centers-press-1

49. There are many ways to succeed
There are many more ways to fail