Hello Gurmit,
For multi-location usability testing across different countries, you
must work closely with the local usability consulting (LUC) company.
Here are some do's and don'ts (Daniel Szuc and Renée have written
about some of these earlier):
1. Discuss with LUC about the goals of the study before they start
recruiting. They will be able to help find appropriate approaches.
2. Discuss and explain reasons for the participants profile. Ask LUC
to guide you with appropriate user profiles (which may be very
different from what you thought was appropriate).
3. Ask LUC about the language of the study according to user profiles.
Do not assume about language of usage.
3. Ask about appropriate location of the study. Do not force your
limited understanding or limitations. We have seen that many usability
companies/or clients who work with us are extremely rigid about the
city of the study because it either easier for them to reach a
particular city or their client's office is in that city. Many times
this is detrimental to the study results.
4. Ask LUC to localize the protocol. Listen to what LUC says about how
users may behave or why some tasks may be relevant or not.
5. Even if you know the language of moderation, do not moderate the
study yourself, let LUC moderate the study. In countries like India,
with a foreign looking and sounding person in the room, it becomes
very difficult to get results.
6. Be present during the study -- some results may be startling! Ask
LUC about the possible reasons for such results.
7. Have a quick de-brief session with LUC after each study -- make
detailed notes. It will help you understand local culture well.
8. Ask LUC to provide cultural insights as a part of the deliverables.
9. Ask LUC to suggest solutions to the problems found. You may find
solutions that are contrary to your thinking. Ask reasons for such
solutions.
Let me also provide some India-centric insights about what Renée wrote
earlier:
a. Renée talked about individualism vs. collectivism -- this is
clearly seen in each test we conduct in India. Participants always
talk about how things would be used by someone else -- a family member
or an imaginary group of people other than them. It becomes very
difficult even for seasoned researchers to distinguish when
participants talk about themselves and when they talk about a group.
b. Renée also talked about high-context vs. low-context (power
distance). In India you can also feel this very clearly in many tests
where the perceived social class of the moderator is very different
from the participants. When the perceived social class of the
moderator is higher than that of the participant, the participants
hesitate to verbalize or may give up even before start of the task.
- Ripul
--
Ripul Kumar
Director, Usability Consulting & User Research
Kern Communications Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.kern-comm.com
* Usability in India *
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