Putting Theory into Practice: How to Apply Cross-Cultural Differences to User Interface Design?

Developing a technical product for a foreign market or a target group with a different cultural background always brings with it the challenge and the need of adaptation. One has to deal in this case with four different levels: a technical level including issues of technical standards (e.g. electricity systems, video norms, cell phone standards), a linguistic level including the translation of words situated in the user interface, a cultural level including issues of meaning as well as the context of use and a cognitive level covering the presentation of the device’s functions (Sturm, 2002). From the practitioners’ point of view uncertainty consists in the question of how far these issues have an impact on the efficiency, effectiveness and usability of a technical product and have to be considered within the development process. Especially the numerous cross-cultural differences found on the cognitive and some on the linguistic level seem to remain an unsolved issue. Therefore the workshop aims to address the following main questions: • Which scope of differences is provided by upto-date cross-cultural research in Anthropology, Linguistics and Psychology? • Which of these differences might have an impact on human-computer-interaction? • To which extend cultural differences have to be taken into account when interfaces for different cultural areas are to be designed? • Up to which point the consideration of these differences is still cost effective? • How can these differences be transferred into variable product components? • How can cultural sensitive and cultural insensitive aspects be separated and considered in the product design? • To which extend are people of a given culture able or willing to adapt to a not adapted technical product? • When are guidelines enough? When to conduct additional research? Which type of research? • How can Anthropology help us in the design of technical products and systems including cultural concerns?