[Sigia-l] Does geography effect usability and user testing

[Matthew Goddard]

Hi

As past polls of list members have shown this is a predominantly an American list which has got me thinking. Are the techniques etc. discussed on the list biased towards designing for an American user base?

I raised this point with an American friend of mine some months back and he confirmed that there are slight difference about how user test are conducted in the UK then in America. 

My experience and that of my friends is that in the UK we prefer a more inquisitorial approach (which I've heard called a cognitive interview) where the facilitator constantly probes for information over the think aloud method, where the users are primarily left think out loud with the facilitator only asking questions when they need to clarify a point.

Perhaps I'm looking at the wrong thing and location doesn't matter that much but I just though it would be an interesting Tuesday morning discussion. 

If location does effect how you work with users then what are the experiences of list members from other countries? I would be particularly interested in what members from China and India think, as I imagine that if there is a difference then it would be more pronounced between western and eastern countries (but I could be wrong).

Matt