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Culture and the Web

Does Culture make a Difference in Web Usability? Presentation to MRIA-Ottawa – May 18, 2006

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Today’s Presentation

• Inspired by testing many government websites across Canada and around the world among different cultural groups

• An informal observation: perception, usability, and satisfaction on the same websites were strikingly different among different groups....does one’s culture explain this?

• Case Studies; then you be the judge!

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“Culture” is broader than Ethnic Group

....the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group - Webster’s Dictionary

....the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group - Webster’s Dictionary

Age groups and gender also form “cultures”

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The Most Insidious Characteristic of Culture…

SharedShared

PatternedPatterned

Learned Learned 

Mutually constructe

d

Mutually constructe

dSymbolicSymbolic

ArbitraryArbitrary

InternalizedInternalized

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Culture is internalized.Your culture surrounds you. You take it for granted.

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So, is that an issue when designing (or testing)

websites?

Let’s see.

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Canadian Government Web Presence Abroad

Some Context: • More than 250 Canadian Government websites

targeting foreign audiences, leading to:• an inconsistent GoC presence and message• a difficult user experience• multiple sources of similar content• major difficulties in content management

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Qualitative Research

Participation in Consultations

Location # of Sessions

# of Participants(all groups)

Headquarters (Ottawa) 3 17

Washington D.C. (WSHDC) 4 34

Buffalo (BFALO) 2 17

Los Angeles (LNGLS) 2 12

Mexico City (MXICO) 2 14

Guatemala City (GTMLA) 2 14

Brasilia (BRSLA) 1 9

New Delhi (DELHI) 4 29

Tokyo (TOKYO) 4 32

Beijing (BEJING) 4 28

Paris (PARIS) 2 12

Rome (ROME) 1 7

Berlin (BRLIN) 4 19

Cairo (CAIRO) 1 8

TOTAL 36 ***

Some cautions:

• Locally-engaged staff at missions cannot be considered ‘typical’, and exhibit traits of both Canadian and local cultures

• Canada-based staff prone to dominate mixed discussion groups (if allowed) • Groups moderated in English or French, so many locally engaged dealing in second language

• Large-post bias (except GTMLA)

• Standard limitations on qualitative research

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Some Usability Issues Consistent Across Groups

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Some Usability Issues Consistent Across Groups

Multiple buttons for similar tasks

Multiple buttons for similar tasks

Right bar/left bar navigation is confusing –

Users don’t (easily) read what’s on the right

Right bar/left bar navigation is confusing –

Users don’t (easily) read what’s on the right

Canada Wordmark and CLF provide security

Canada Wordmark and CLF provide security

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Multiple Experience and Interpretations of Same Sites (1)

Group #1 :•Easy to read. Easy to find info with left bar navigation. Complete most tasks in 3-4 clicks. Very easy to use site.•Also, liked Canadian imagery, red on white, felt ‘at home’• “Not too busy”

Group 1: English Canadian

Group #2:• More difficulty in finding information sought (same info).• Felt ‘restrained’ by all buttons on left side.• Viewed ‘red on white’ has “aggressive” and “difficult to read”•“Somewhat boring”

Group 2: Latin/Italian Origin

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Multiple Experience and Interpretations of Same Sites (2)

Group #1 :•Easy to navigate and find what you need. Clear choices. • Canada is inclusive. Diverse.• It’s clean. Clear.• Colorful – maybe too much so.

Group 1: Anglo – Saxons (Northern Europe, US, Canada)

Group #2:• Technologically backward (no flash, XML, etc.)• Too many useless buttons • Boring. White• Photos are tacky. Passé.

Group 2: Most groups

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Can we agree on Best Practice?

Group #1 :• Clean, clear. Uncluttered • Very easy to find what your looking for.• Soothing• Conservative. Credible.• Rotating pictures (flash) communicates innovativeness.

Group 1: US, Germany, France, Canada-based staff

Group #2:• BORING! • Austere, stern, unfriendly• Where do I go? Where would I start?

Group 2: Italy, Latin America

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Do different cultures perform tasks differently?

Example Journeys:• Find information on

Pierre Elliott Trudeau for my history class;

• Find available subsidies for artists;

• Find export financing for arts and culture.

Example Journeys:• Find information on

Pierre Elliott Trudeau for my history class;

• Find available subsidies for artists;

• Find export financing for arts and culture.

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Two Approaches

• Group 1:• Type in keywords into search bar• Seek match on first page• Click on closest match• Evaluate

• Group 2:• Look for closest match to keyword in left hand navigation

column• Click on closest match• Click on closest match again• Click back, forth and circle until found.

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Two Approaches

• Group 1: Youth Aged 14-18• Type in keywords into search bar• Seek match on first page• Click on closest match• Evaluate

• Group 2: Adults Aged 30+• Look for closest match to keyword in left hand navigation

column• Click on closest match• Click on closest match again• Click back and forth. • Evaluate

Explanations Please?

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Do different cultures look at a site differently?

We observed no major deviation from the “F” pattern across any cultures (for languages reading left-to-right)

Source: Nielsen, Jakobhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

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Bringing it all Together….

• Every individual interacts with a website through his/her own ‘cultural lenses’.

• Remember, ethnicity is only one dimension of culture. Age, gender, and social group are just examples of other cultural ‘groups’.

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Culture appears to have less influence.....

• in requiring ease of use, few clicks, and increasing demands for website performance

• in how a website is scanned (F-pattern, or mirror image)

• in aversion to too many options, choices, buttons or places to go – everyone appears to like simplicity

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Where Culture and Usability Intersect

Some aspects of web design and usability are more ‘culturally sensitive’ than others:

• use and mix of colour (or ‘color’ if I’m addressing a US audience)

• spatial orientation and use of white space (clean vs. busy)

• text per page and text vs. pictures• use of movement (e.g. flash images)

Overall, user friendliness starts by “feeling at home”.

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The Web Designers’ Dilemma - At Home or Just Visiting?

The “Home Away from Home”

• Understand which aspects of ‘your’ culture appeal to your audience, and which are different

• Communicate clearly that the visitor is visiting through CLF/brand

• Communicate your message using local cultural cues – make the user “feel at home”

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Practically speaking…some tips

• Above all, remember you internalize your culture!

• Don’t overreact to cultural differences. Your audience is also expecting a “different” cultural experience on your site.

• Untangle global and local content by creating a clear framework

and permitting design flexibility within it

• Maintain single authoritative sources for content, then adapt for targeted audience. Don’t let the cart lead the horse.

• Test cultural assumptions during the design phase. Remember the cultural variable during the usability testing phase. Ask about culture...it’s not taboo!

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Recommended reading and references

• Best Practices in Web Globalization – Lionbridge Technologies Inc.

• Barber and Badre, “Culturability: The Merging of Culture and Usability”

Available on www.antima.ca

Click on “Innovative Approaches”

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Questions & Discussion