Universal Usability

Serving older adults AARP siteAARP AARP slide show (2 shows on older users and the internet; older users a usability)AARP slide show

Issues Assessment of people’s needs, preferences Determining potential users Design of sites, software Evaluation of usability of sites, software Data collecting and testing methods Interpretation of results Recommendations

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (much quoted, tho probably not very valid) Long-term vs. short-term orientation Femininity vs. masculinity Power-distance Collectivism vs. individualism Uncertainty avoidance

Internationalization issues Some relevant differences –Language Including variations, e.g. –American English, British English – Spanish as it’s spoken in various parts of the world, including among different groups within the U.S. Straight translation often insufficient –Culture – broad placeholder representing many differences, including: What’s rude, offensive Experience, expectations Technology Taste, aesthetics Preferred functionality Applies not just across countries but within countries –E.g., serving US residents whose primary language is Spanish

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions I Long-term vs. short-term orientation. Long-term emphasizes practice and practical value. Short-term focus their content on truth and the certainty of beliefs. Femininity vs. masculinity. gender roles, not physical characteristics. High-femininity countries blur the lines between gender roles, while high-masculinity countries display traditional role expectations. –High-masculinity countries respond to Web sites that speak directly to traditional gender roles. Hhigh-masculinity: Japan, Low-masculinity: Sweden. Power-distance. differences in people accept or expect access to power. –A a high power-distance country, like Malaysia, displays customers and average citizens less prominently. Authority roles are enforced by such images as official certification logos. –A low power-distance country would emphasize equality among social and age groupings.

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions II Collectivism vs. individualism. –Collectivism: people integrated into strong groups that protect them in exchange for unbridled loyalty. –Individualism: a person’s strong sense of self and that of his or her immediate blood relations. –A collectivist country would show groups of people in images, –Individualistic countries would most likely find site content and images with a single person accomplishing a challenge more appealing. The United States is an example of an individualistic country. Uncertainty avoidance. Tolerance for ambiguity. –High uncertainty-avoidance countries would respond better to a simple manner of navigation. –A low uncertainty-avoidance country would prefere a site with complex navigation with a multitude of link choices. –An example of a high uncertainty-avoidance country would be Belgium; a low uncertainty-avoidance country would be Singapore »Source: Multilingual.com

Critiquing a summary of East/West differences: 'The Geography of Thought': East Brain, West Brain By Sherry Ortner 'The Geography of Thought': East Brain, West Brain Methodology: The idea that by taking individuals and putting them in rooms to do strange tasks one will learn something significant about their cultures seems to me quite dubious. –The vast majority of subjects in psychology experiments are college students; yet college students are a very specific subset of any population. Interpreting the numbers –How much difference does there have to be between Asians and Westerners to demonstrate a cultural divide? –when broken down by specific nationalities, the differences between Asians and Westerners became very fuzzy. French, Italians and Germans gave answers similar to Japanese, different from US and Canadians. Framing the argument as a contrast between Asians and Westerners in the first place. –The question of differences within the categories is occasionally acknowledged, but generally set aside.

Some Major Problems I Relations between subjects and observers –Power –Language –Comfort with strangers Topics people are willing to address –E.g., actions vs feelings, opinions vs. knowledge; criticism

Major problems II: Data collection methods Surveys –Acceptability of questions (topics) –Applicability of questions –Wording of questions –Alternatives offered –Comparable data x countries, cultures Observation –Sensitivity to testing, being tested Thinking aloud –Sensitivity to expressing individual opinion on the fly –Preferences for group work –Humor Interviews –Inconsistency between what’s said and done – competition, getting it “right” –Honesty, candidness

Collecting Data x Countries Scheduling issues (time of year, holidays…)