Tutorials

User interfaces (UIs) in desktop, Web, mobile, and vehicle products/services reach diverse communities. UI developers are reconsidering usability, usefulness, and appeal by identifying globally different culture, trust, persuasion, and cognitive dimensions. This tutorial provides detailed information about culture models and practical, hands-on experience in designing UIs for specific target cultures.

PARTICIPANT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE EXPECTED

Participants may have background in UI design and analysis, but are presumably not familiar with culture models and may not have focused their attention on culture aspects in an articulate, systematic manner before.

Note: participants may expect to get detailed technical information about localization (translation) , associated tools, and globalization-ready content-management systems. This tutorial will not focus on these technical matters and issues (although they will be mentioned briefly).The tutorial will emphasize conceptual and perceptual content/issues that can be adapted to many different platforms, user communities, and technical contexts.

GOALS FOR THE SESSION:

Participants in this tutorial will:

• Learn new terms and concepts to understand culture, specifically, Geert Hofstede's dimensions of culture (power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation)
• Learn how these dimensions affect the design of user-interface components (metaphors, mental models, navigation, interaction, and appearance) of desktop, Web, mobile, and vehicle UIs.
• Learn additional dimensions that must be considered in relation to culture (persuasion, trust, intelligence, cognition).
• Learn how video ethnographic study can be done and why culture models assist inquiry
• Learn how culture impacts multi-national companies' Websites and applications

HOW THIS TUTORIAL WILL BE CONDUCTED

Well-illustrated lectures introduce the issues of globalization, localization, and culture, then define each of the dimensions of culture and show examples from the Web. A digital video excerpt re mobile devices will demonstrate the need for culture models in ethnographic contextual inquiry. A separate lecture shows the application of culture models to research in mobile-device-documentation learning patterns.

TUTORIAL SCHEDULE WITH TIME ALLOCATION

Minutes      Topic or Event (6:30pm-9:30pm)
15 minutes Intro
45 minutes Lecture 1: culture dimensions
15 minutes Lecture 2: use of culture models for mobile UI doc.
30 minutes Break
15 minutes Lecture 3: video ethnography
45 minutes Lecture 4: culture and corporate Website design
15 minutes Closing

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Introduction to Instructor and Tutorial (15 minutes)

This will be the time to introduce the presenter and to discuss how the techniques that will be discussed fit into the user-interface development process, including an introduction to globalization/localization issues. We'll show several examples of questionable cross-cultural communication and discuss several cultural anthropological theories briefly. We'll ask for participants' own experiences in difficulties of communicating across cultural boundaries.

Introduction to Cultural Models and Examples from the Web (45 minutes)

Illustrated lectures will introduce each of Hofstede's five dimensions of culture: (power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term time orientation. For each dimension, we shall explain the characteristics and their potential impact of work, education, and family life, and show examples of Websites from different countries, but with the same subject matter that demonstrate indigenous cultural characteristics.

Applying Cultural Models to Design of Mobile Phones (15 minutes)

Illustrated lecture will summarize the research of Dr. Pia Honold, Siemens Corporation, in using cultural models to predict how German and Chinese consumers gain information about mobile phone usage. This information impacts the design of documentation, online help, etc. Dr. Honold's presentation shows how the results of her study generally fit the predictions, but offer some surprises, also.

Examination of Video Ethnography of Mobile Devices (15 minutes)

We shall examine a video excerpt of a study of mobile device users in four countries and how culture models would have informed the analysis better.

Cross-Comparison of Global Corporate Websites (45 minutes)
We shall examine several major businesses and consumer Websites for multi-national corporations from several countries (USA: McDonald's, Coke; Korea: Samsung; Germany: Siemens) and discuss the apparent tradeoffs of “universal” vs. localized solution for user-interface components per culture dimensions.

Closing Discussion (15 minutes)

The presenter will solicit feedback and questions from the participants.

SPEAKER BIO

Aaron Marcus

President and Principal Designer/Analyst

Aaron Marcus and Associates, Inc. (AM+A)

Since 1982, Mr. Marcus has been President of AM+A. He has taught at five universities (Princeton, Yale, UC/Berkeley, Hebrew University/Jerusalem, and Toronto). In 1992, he received the National Computer Graphics Association's annual award for contributions to industry. He was the keynote speaker for ACM/SIGGRAPH-80, and the organizer and chair of the opening plenary panel for ACM/SIGCHI-99.

Mr. Marcus has written over 150 articles; written/co-written five books; and written chapters/case studies for seven handbooks of UI design, information appliances, and culture. Mr. Marcus has presented lectures/organized panels about culture and UI design since 1993, mobile UI design since 1999, and vehicle UI design since 1994. Mr. Marcus has published, lectured, tutored, and consulted internationally for more than 30 years at conferences internationally. He is a visionary thinker, designer, and writer, and serves on the editorial/advisory boards of five publications, including User Experience and Interactions .