The Effect of Culture on Usability: Comparing the Perceptions and Performance of Taiwanese and North American MP3 Player Users
Steve Wallace and Hsiao-Cheng Yu
Journal of Usability Studies, Volume 4, Issue 3, May 2009, pp. 136-146
Article Contents
Recommendations
This study provides strong evidence that culture affects usability as a whole. In so doing, it is hoped this study provides a methodology to be used in further research into the effect of culture on usability. It is recommended that future studies along similar lines consider the following:
- All aspects of usability must be assessed including subjective and objective measures of efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. It is not certain that a measurement of a single aspect of usability will accurately represent levels of usability as a whole.
- A standard measuring instrument to measure attitudes should be used when measuring usability. A tool such as the USE instrument allows results to be compared across different products including software, Web sites, and consumer electronics.
This study also raises the possibility of further research in the following areas:
- To evaluate the total level of usability of a product it is necessary to understand the weighting a culture gives to the components of usability-efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. For example, Evers and Day (1997) show Indonesians place more importance on efficiency while Chinese users place more importance on effectiveness. By rating the usability of a product based on the weighting given for each aspect of usability, a culturally specific value of total usability could be derived, which could then be compared across cultures.
- Single culture usability research has isolated a range of product design factors affecting usability such as size, look, and feel (Han et al., 2000). A similarly detailed comparison of the effect of product characteristics on usability across cultures may help to identify reasons why culture affects usability so strongly.
- Many companies design for overseas markets. What solutions have they already found to the problem of culturability?
Conclusion
This study shows good evidence of a link between culture and usability. To understand usability as a whole, both subjective and performance-based measures of usability were considered. To gather data, commonly accepted usability measurement tools, such as the USE survey, and standard measures of performance, such as tasks complete, time taken, and errors made, were used. By doing so, it is hoped similar studies can be made in the future to further develop understanding of the influence of culture on usability.
So, the overall message for business is clear (and has already been noted by such corporations as Nokia), product design in the consumer electronics industry or any industry with a multicultural market must acknowledge the need for usability across cultures.