33. PROCESS BOOK // Week 6

1. Favorite Quotes

"For some, a workshop is one way to change the dynamic from passively listening to actively creating a new culture... One of the wonderful things about making the report immersive and interactive is that you are creating an experience that allows everyone to be part of the report. " (W. Quesenbery, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 8)

I like this quote because it speaks to the value of immersive experience, during which the team feels included in the decision-making (insight-generating) process.

"[Taking photographs,] it's easy to focus on the people doing the thing you are researching, but in that local context, we need to ask why people aren't doing the thing. That can highlight the differences in perspective. Choosing not to do something is just as big a choice as choosing to do something." (W. Quesenbery, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 8)

This quote was an interesting revelation to me as I never thought about things that are not happening (people not doing the things you are researching) as important before. I think that can be captured not only by means of photographs, but also by simple observation and interviews. 

 "That conversation starts with the informal debriefings and is continued through the work of analyzing and sharing the results. During that process, what Bas and Geke call the moment of synthesis occurs, when something triggers an understanding and becomes a new idea."(W. Quesenbery, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 8)

Insight and idea generation seem to be such simple and at the same time complicated processes that nobody can precisely pinpoint when they occur. What are those "triggers" and is there a theory or framework for getting to important insights? It would be interesting to learn more about that. 


2. Explorations

When immersing yourself into a new culture, it's helpful to leave your biases and preconceptions aside (including what you know about technology and communication). Not everybody in the world is as privileged as we are in the US to have daily access to technology and the Internet, as one of the articles pointed out, so it's important to distance yourself from that preconception. This reminded me of the technique of Defamiliarization, when a researcher or designer tries to disconnect himself from what's common for them, so their mind turns into a blank slate. This technique is often used by cultural anthropologists, and the article provides some interesting insights about how homes are designed differently in different cultures (based on how people live and use their physical space), pointing out how the values are different, and you can't force some of these values. For example, the article states, "Efficiency is overrated.  In Western, and especially American, culture, technology is 

designed to make us more efficient, both outside and inside the home...Rituals in the home may be inefficient, but they should not be optimized away." And that is very much dependent on the culture you are designing for.

3. Sketches

Choosing the right prototyping method (summary of article)

• Bandwidth, community, and location - three things to consider before creating a prototype:

• Location: Where are you testing your prototype?
• Bandwidth: Is internet access readily available? 
• Community: How do people in this setting relate to technology? 

• Start with paper prototypes that are less detailed and more conceptual or -
• Scrolls - a series of paper prototypes for various screen interfaces (one page per every step in a user journey; glue the pages end-to-end and roll up the pages, showing one step at a time and asking the user to narrate what he thinks is happening)
• Use digital prototypes to test discoverability and navigation
• Swipe-through is a good way to test a digital prototype in a low-connectivity environment because the screens and images can be saved on the device prior to testing and do not require Internet connection
• Dynamic, high-fidelity prototypes show full functionality of a product and are thus more clear how to use, but are usually expensive to build

Connectivity, Culture, and Credit (summary of article)

These 9 points are recommended for designers when creating apps, services, and devices tailored to the lives and local infrastructure in emerging markets. 

• Internet availability and connectivity (is it always available and the same speed in all locations? How long users need to walk/travel to get connected to the Internet?)
• Outside the US, smaller simpler devices are the norm (Is your product designed to work with older, low-end devices and software?)
• Data limitations (Are local mobile phones prepaid? What do people do to save data? Can your product provide value while respecting the data budget of users?)
• Not everybody uses credit cards (38 % of the world’s population doesn’t use a bank, cash-on-delivery and mobile money are other popular options. How do financial transactions work with your app?)
• Bridge cultural divide (what do your users fear? Is security an issue?)
• Support multiple languages
• Leverage human relationships (does your solution improve local social infrastructure?)
• Balance meaningfulness and hierarchy with the local aesthetic
• Design for delight

Attacking the Phishing Epidemic (from article)

"The ultimate goal is to condition the user to a standardized interface that can both authenticate the validity of the resource as well as authenticate itself to the user before the user is willing to accept its legitimacy and input a password." - this is important to provide the user with peace of mind and let them feel secure. 

How Fintech Apps Use UX to Build Trust (tips from article)

1. Create a feeling of security - "alerts create a positive, safe experience" E.g., 

• the bank’s app requires users to sign in every time they open it, and it automatically signs users out if they leave the app open without using it for a period of time
• as an additional safety measure, the app automatically sends notifications every time a purchase is made

2. Explain what you ask for -

"To encourage users to submit accurate info, fintech apps explain why they need this information"

3. Require as little work as possible

"Rather than forcing log-ins or in-app processes, Digit allows users to easily set savings goals, transfer savings, and receive account updates through texts"

4. Add an element of fun

"Looking at their feed, Venmo users can see the goofy messages their friends have sent to each other in payments. The feed doesn’t share transaction amounts, so users’ privacy is protected and a lighthearted, enjoyable spirit is maintained."

4. Inspirations

I liked reading the companies' tips and case studies with their approaches to culturally-appropriate UX design. That has put the theory into practice for, at least in their examples. Of course, companies and products do differ, but most of the same principles can be applied. It's good to be culturally aware and realize that living in the US (where access to technology is the norm) is very different, and you have to un-see it to be able to relate to the local population, their everyday lifestyles, and user-technology interactions. To put it in one sentence, one important takeaway for me from this week was that being a researcher, it's important to distance yourself from your own culture (defamiliarize) and immerse yourself into the culture in question, by taking smalls steps at a time with a child's perspective (asking such simple questions as - what kind of technologies do people have? Are they expensive? Does everybody have access to the Internet? How do you send pictures/videos/download content? Etc.)

32. PROCESS BOOK // Week 5

Favorite Quotes

To UX people, the need is very clear: "You can't understand the user without understanding the eco-system around them," as Anjali Kelkar put it. That means getting out of the office and going to where the users are. (W. Quesenbery, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 7)

This quote speaks to the importance of in-person interviews and observations within the local environment. You can have the best resources in the world about the culture in question, but sitting at your desk is not going to help you much answering your research questions. Theory differs from practice on a lot of levels, and working with people and families, the ways in which their interact with others and physical objects has to be researched from scratch, locally. I believe secondary research (as in books and culture guides) is great at its initial stage, but researching in the field and testing with users in their environment (or local lab) yield much more quality results than remote research and testing. 

"After all, the whole point of global UX research is to understand people from cultures different than your own. You need to do more than fire questions at people. Your facilitation techniques need to create a space where you can meet them on their terms. That's a very different attitude from feeling you always have to be in control." (W. Quesenbery, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 7)

I agree that to be a good researcher you have to have good people skills. The way you sit, or ask questions, or even listen can be encouraging or disturbing, in which case your participant will not have the motivation to share his or her true feelings and/or will feel stressed and it lead to failure in quantitative tests. In my practice, I find it helpful to be prepared for sessions, when you come in with a certain plan in mind and a few ice-braking or interesting activities for participants - that helps get them relaxed. I hear that bringing snacks helps create an easy-going, friendly atmosphere too. 

"This is the essence of ethnography. Instead of collecting "data" about people, the ethnographer seeks to learn from people, to be taught by them… In order to discover the hidden principles of another way of life, the researchers must become a student." (W. Quesenbery, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 7) As a huge proponent of qualitative research (and ethnographies), I love this quote because it points out one important thing - talk less, listen more. You just have to be genuinely interested in what your participant is telling you, and your conversation will flow naturally, sometimes into areas you do not expect. But that's the whole point - learn about something completely new that can be outside the borders of your existing knowledge or assumptions.

Explorations

I found a blog post by a UX researcher who conducted research in the Philippines in English, since it is spoken there as a second language, although he notes that "the majority still prefer to speak in Filipino or Taglish (Tagalog + English)". So even though a language barrier did not seem to exist at first, through his research he uncovered it was still an issue, so he had to adapt his materials and approach overall, which he shares in his post. The main tip he provides is that you have to learn the local language at least on the conversational level, and it's always helpful to have at least another member of the team who knows the language and who can moderate, if necessary. He also mentions the importance of creating a calm atmosphere for the participants and speaking in their terms - his strategy was "mirroring" how they spoke (which version of the language they spoke), which made his participants trust him more and open up more. 

Sketches

Exercises

1. Culturally neutral icons

This is my attempt to design three icons that would not require translation and would be understood in any country.

Security

Privacy

Trash 

2. Ethnography on the edge (tools and methods)

When in Rome or Africa (tips for conducting research in a foreign country)

• Get out to explore the context
• Get out of your comfort zone to learn

Top 15 tips:

1. Stay in a locally-owned or run hotel (or even better, guest house).

2. Spend as much time as possible on foot. Draw a map.

3. Get out of the city.

4. Check out the best places to watch Premiership football.

5. Ignore health warnings (within reason) and eat in local cafes/markets.

6. Buy local papers, listen to local radio, watch local TV, visit local cinemas.

7. Use public transport. Avoid being ‘chauffeured’ around.

8. Take a camera. Take your time taking pictures.

9. Go for at least a month.

10. Visit villages on market days.

11. Spend time in local bookshops, libraries and antique/art shops.

12. Read up on the history and background of where you’re going. Buy a locally-written history and geography book.

13. Be sure to experience the city on foot, at night.

14. Wherever you are, get up for a sunrise stroll. It’s a different, fascinating (and cooler) time of day.

15. Don’t over-plan. Be open to unexpected opportunities

Challenges of Urban Fieldwork: A Scavenger Hunt Approach

List of recommended questions for ethnographers who are trying to figure out what to do, where to go, and what to ask in urban settings. 

1) Who are the figures of fame and celebrity, prestige and notoriety in this society? 

2) Aesthetics and beauty – what are the bodily ideals as expressed in popular culture? In music lyrics, in local advertising, in dress practices?

3) Daily and weekly routines 

4) Purchasing and markets 

5) Sense of global position People of what nationalities are present in this urban space? Where are they visible and involved in what kinds of work? What foreign media are consumed? 

6) Place names – how are they arrived at? Are places referred to by official names or by the convention of practice? Are they given personal names or descriptive names? What can you find out about the people that places are named after? How do people give directions? How do they navigate to places they haven’t been to before? Are maps available, are maps used much?

7) Music and the sonic landscape – what are the different styles of music you hear in this place? Where are these different styles heard? How do people describe when/where different music styles are appropriate? What are the sounds heard in the streets? During the day vs. at night? At what volume? How do people feel about ambient noise levels?

8) Leisure activities – where do people go and what do they do for fun?

9) Architecture and the built environment – what are buildings made out of? What is the approximate ratio of formal to informal dwellings? How is the architecture of shops different from homes or government buildings, schools, temples or churches, etc? What are the features of dwellings of affluent vs. middle-class vs. poor people?

10) What insults do drivers shout at each other in traffic?

Inspirations

This week's reading has provided me with a new lens on the process of research with a global perspective. It made me think of the challenges that come into play - the knowledge of the language, trip and logistics planning, and forming teams for participating in research. Even though I conducted research in a foreign country, I was a native speaker there, and that made it so much easier. I imagine it's a lot more complex and stressful for second-language speakers, since they have to also pay attention to the language, idioms, and jokes, which do not always translate well across cultures. It would be great to talk to somebody who had that experience and see what suggestions they have. Maybe having a native-language speaker on the team is a must? Or maybe a better option is to hire a local research agency to conduct all local research and just provide you with the data at the end? And if it is a better option, why do companies still send their own teams to foreign countries? This is the questions I'd like to explore further to find out what the common rules and determining factors are.

31. PROCESS BOOK // Week 4

Favorite Quotes

"Global work adds to the criteria for success. It's not just "can people complete the tasks or use the product effectively." Now you want to know whether it fits comfortably into all of their local contexts, whether it gives them a sense of trust, or matches the way they think about the product, across languages and cultures." (W. Quesenbery, Global UX Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 9)

I agree with this statement because design is much more than usability. Depending on the product, other things can be equally important: eliciting trust, respect, comfort, motivation, etc. That can be very different for different cultures, so the work of design globalization is hard in the sense that it requires a researcher/designer to find universal truths that will work across cultures. 

"Although many graphics do work for more than one culture and can sometimes communicate across bound­aries of language, graphics are subject to cultural interpretation (Forslund, 1996). Without careful choices and appropriate rendering, expressing ideas graphically is no guarantee against misinterpretation when viewed by someone from a different culture." (Horton, "Graphics: The Not Quite Universal Language")

Even designed within the same culture, graphics can be misinterpreted if proper visualizations are not created (too detailed, not clear what they depicts, or other).This means design choices should be considered even more carefully when designing for a foreign culture, since graphics and their elements are subject to local interpretation - the prism of the language, traditions, signs (good and bad), gestures, colors, etc. 


"The strategy is simple. First, globalize to make the graphics work for as many people as possible. Then, localize the graphics that are not truly universal to specific cultures." (Horton, "Graphics: The Not Quite Universal Language")

I agree that you don't have to localize every time. Some icons/design elements work equally well across languages and cultures when they are simple, neutral, and represent general concepts. I would start with a global design and then test it with foreign users (see how they interpret it) to determine if it needs to be localized, or the global design works just fine. 

Explorations

The readings made me curious if there are any online tools or databases for international graphics, because such a shared resource would be really helpful for designers and would lessen the amount of research they need to do. I found the Noun Project, which is an online curation of icons, created by a "global community." Their mission statement is, "Creating, sharing, and celebrating the world's visual language". At first, it seemed like a really cool tool, but I decided to test it out. Typing in the word "OK" in the search bar revealed a collection of graphics - from checkmarks to hand gestures, some of which can be considered inappropriate for some cultures or misinterpreted. It's nice that it offers graphics from designers all over the world, but I haven't found a way to search by a designer's country. I think this feature would have been very helpful because it would mean you could filter graphics collections by country and thus find out how locals depict certain concepts that you are searching for. 

Sketches

Exercise

Analysis of "Best Global Site" (microsoft.com) using bytelevel's criteria.

Why was microsoft.com ranked in the Top 10 Best Global Sites for 2018? Here's what I think:

✓GLOBAL REACH 

It supports a great number of languages as can be found when clicking on the globe icon at the bottom of the global (English) version of the website. The global web template is so simple (rectangular images, minimal text) that it gets easily adapted (localized) to any language, even to Arabic with its right to left reading. The languages offered by the global website are easy to understand for native speakers because they include local spellings.

✓GLOBAL NAVIGATION

Microsoft.com uses country and language codes in the browser fields for local websites (e.g., the Russian website gets the "/ru-ru" code at the end, as in "https://www.microsoft.com/ru-ru". Ru-ru in this case stands for (Russia - Russian). But even when you type in "microsoft.ru", the website recognizes you are looking for the Russian version of the site, so it redirects you to this very /ru-ru/ page. Some countries' codes are different, even when the language is the same. For example, Microsoft offers French adaptations for both, Tunisia and France, but except for the common language, the websites look slightly differently (content-wise), and due to that specific localization, the two websites use different country and language codes - /fr-fr/ vs. /fr-tn/. 

The global gateway looks like an icon of a globe (a universal sign) and is located at the very bottom of the website, no matter what language you have selected, so you can easily navigate back to the global version. 

Also, when a foreign site is selected, a pop-up window appears that offers a translation of the website to the language of your geolocation, since your IP is taken into account. For example, when I select the Turkish website, it offers to translate the site's content to English (since I'm located in the USA) and actually does a pretty good job at translating it!

✓GLOBAL/MOBILE ARCHITECTURE

The global architecture is simple and stays pretty much unchanged across various local versions. There is a simple top navigation menu with 4-6 options and scrollable images with call-to-action buttons. Towards the bottom of the page you have different rectangular images with various products and short bits of text and descriptions. This very geometric and simple model can be easily adapted for local websites. 

✓LOCALIZATION & SOCIAL

The global website and local sites do not have any icons of graphics, except for Microsoft's own applications icons and social media icons at the bottom of localized pages. There is a lack of localization in the imagery - most photos of people and products are re-used across different local sites. This means images of white people and families appear on the Chinese (Hong Kong site) and Arabic sites. The text orientation is adapted to right-to-left for the latter. The sites overall look generic and do not seem to be localized, at least from a visual perspective.

Currencies and numbers are locally adapted. For example, for the local site in the Netherlands, the currency is shown in euros, and the spelling of the number is also modified from what it would look like in America (1.277,99 vs. 1,277.99). The phone numbers for support also look to be locally adapted. 

Social media icons on the local sites direct you to local channels (Twitter, Facebook, Indeed, etc) of information and they seem to be localized very well - in the kind of images they include (showing people of local nationality) and the curation of local user-generated content, thus making them great local channels for user communication. 

As a result of being a great global platform that allows for easy localization, but not providing enough cultural localization at its current state, microsoft.com gets a B  grade from me. 

Inspirations

The practical in-class exercises (especially the second one) were very helpful because they made me put my knowledge and theory to practice. As a researcher, I should be asking questions like these all the time, when a foreign audience is involved, so coming up with a variety of research topics for cultural dimensions is a great tool of thinking outside the [cultural] box. Next time I'm preparing my research questions, I'll try to think of the cultural dimensions and incorporate such questions into my plan, if they prove to be valuable to explore for any given project.

As far as globalization/localization of graphics goes, the readings made me realize the importance of the smallest details - such as hand gestures, elements of attire, and even colors. It's hard to miss such things when you are not aware that somebody might think differently than you do, so just like with any UX (local or international), testing is super important. I will keep that thought in my mind at all times, and hopefully, it will push me to test (and to encourage my colleagues to test) more often. 

30. PROCESS BOOK // Week 3

Favorite Quotes

"It helps to be able to quantify cultures. Importantly, this is not a way to make blanket statements about people from certain countries, but a way to clarify how groups interact with each other and the internet." - Senongo Akpem, "Cultural Factors in Web Design"

This is very true because cultural variables are not just interesting facts about the difference between high context/low context cultures. They say something important about the ways in which people of these cultures transmit and receive information, which is highly important for website design (information hierarchy, visuals, content, formal vs. informal language, etc.)

"In  times  when  interactive  systems  need  to  provide  support  for  an  ever  increasing  amount  of  material  and  make  it  available  for  local-language  populations  across  the  world,  or  even  the  emerging  multi-cultureless  of  many  countries,  the   "on-size-fits-all"   approach   is   no   longer   applicable." - Isabela Gasparini, "Vive la différence! : a survey of cultural-aware issues in HCI"

Even when the content is translated into the local language but everything else stays "one-size-fits-all", it can result in poor performance, where the user is not able to find the information he's looking for (or can, but very slowly), because his expectations are different. To increase user efficiency and effectiveness (usability), cultural differences need to be considered and incorporated into the design of HCI. The following quote about the need for localization elaborates on this idea:

"Localized  interfaces  are  supported  by  the  idea  that  the  existence    of    different    cultural    meanings    impedes    a    successful  standardization,  the  communication  between  a  sender  and  a  receiver  will  not  work  smoothly,  or  will  be  affected  negatively  when  they  belong  to  different  cultures,  as  they  rely  on  different  sets  of  values  and  meanings;  and  by  the  perception  of  products,  UI,  websites  forms  part  of  and  is  influenced  by  a  network  of  socio-cultural  variables." 

- Isabela Gasparini, "Vive la différence! : a survey of cultural-aware issues in HCI"

"The   design   of   the   user   interface   can   be   a   matter   of   preference  that  varies  from  person  to  person,  however,  we  can  find  common  preferences  that  are  deeply  rooted  in  culture,  and  research  in  this  direction  shows  that  people  considered  to  belong  the  same  cultural  group  also  perceive  and  process  information  in  similar  ways."- Isabela Gasparini, "Vive la différence! : a survey of cultural-aware issues in HCI"

It's easy to downplay the need for UI adaptation with reference to personal preference, but it becomes critical when designing for a particular culture/market, especially an unfamiliar one.  

"Although each culture has its own symbols and patterns of action, not all differences are significant [for UI design]." – Emilie Gould, “Synthesizing the Literature on Cultural Values”

It's true that not everything is important for UI design, and authenticity shouldn't be prioritized over usability. Only certain cultural values may be relevant and worth of UI adaptation. 

"We contribute to the digital divide when we have unrealistic and uncritical expectations that everyone who uses a computer must be much like us. Unfortunately, when they’re not, their reactions can become overly negative. In general, bad experiences diminish willingness to try new software." – Emilie Gould, “Synthesizing the Literature on Cultural Values”

I like this quote because it summarizes the worst assumption a UX specialist can make - believe that a product will work for any audience, based on personal belief or local testing. 

"'Meeting' new software (or a new website) invokes the same process of prediction, attribution, and uncertainty reduction that people use when meeting a stranger." – Emilie Gould, “Synthesizing the Literature on Cultural Values”

This is very true: when you start using a new product, you want it to be "friendly" and "speak your language", so you are motivated to continue your relationship with it.

Explorations

After reading “Synthesizing the Literature on Cultural Values”, which provided some culture application examples, I felt motivated to check out the Internet to find other examples of adaptation and stumbled upon this blog. The author describes different applications of cultural characteristics for different markets, highlighting her own UI design experience, covering the Dutch pragmatism, the German precision, and other cultural differences. She also provides some helpful tips that come out directly from her work.

Another blog I found has an opposing point of view. The author claims that culture does not matter much for industrial and mass-production design. His main example are cell phones that operate on the same platforms (iOS and Android) all across the globe, which look the same and provide the same options (just in different language). The same holds true for the design of appliances - kettles, toasters, rice cookers, etc. - which look and operate the same way in different countries. He claims that this standardization is very important for bringing the world together but at the same time it may diminish the richness of cultural diversity. 

I agree that appliances and other physical objects should look and work similarly because of the design affordances that allow any user and any traveler from a foreign country to be able to use them, but I don't think UI in website design should be homogenized across countries. They ways in which people read, perceive, and accept information are very different, as we have already learnt, and that can affect usability and trust (as in the “Synthesizing the Literature on Cultural Values” reading, people using new technologies is comparable to them meeting new people - if trust and ease of communication is not established during the first "meeting", the user will not feel motivated to continue the relationship with the product). 

Sketches

Exercises

1. 

The cultural comparison is based on two websites - Peking University and the University of Washington. The analysis has revealed that some characteristics match up with what is expected for these two cultural dimensions (power distance and individualism/collectivism), with minor inconsistencies. For example, information density is supposed to be high for low Power Distance and low for high Power Distance (per Gasparini, 2011), but the websites show the opposite trend.

2. Dimensions for a health-care website for immigrant communities (a set of questions for research with proposed users)

1) Power-Distance 

• Do patients want to be provided with different prescription options or should only one be picked by the doctor?
• Can patients choose their doctor? Or should they be assigned to one?
• Can patients can contact their doctors outside of work hours/distantly or can that be done only in-person?
• Do patients need to have a two-way communication with their doctor?

2) Long-Term Orientation

• How important is innovation to patients?
• How much do patients value traditional medicine?
• How important is a doctor's experience (number of years practicing) to patients?
• What do patients value more when selecting a doctor? Word of mouth or statements of achievement?

3) Individualism vs. Collectivism

• Will patients be coming to appointments alone or with their families?
• Do doctors work alone or in collaboration with other doctors/nurses?
• Do patients want to know about their doctors' outside interests, not related to work?
• How important for patients is their doctor's involvement into the life of the community?
• If an online account needs to be created, should it be created as one for the whole family, or separately for every individual in the household?
• At what age does a child become legally treated as an individual?
• What does a family and family plan/treatment mean to the patient? How big is the concept of "family" (immediate, distant, how many generations, etc.)

4) Uncertainty Avoidance

• Do patients need to know how long their appointments are going to last?
• Do patients need to have their doctor's contact information?
• Do patients need to know what the doctor's/clinic's hours are?
• Do patients want to know about all the side-effects of a prescription drug?
• Should patients be educated/helped with web navigation? 
• Should patients have an easy access to their account information and be able to change it if necessary?
• Should patients be presented with appointment/treatment costs prior to their visits?

Personal/Professional Inspirations

The readings have made me realize that besides the language and cultural dimension differences described by Hofstede and other researchers, there are more differences between nations - spatial, temporal, and contextual. The differences can't be gathered from the surface, and one really needs to dig deep, immerse oneself into the culture (or its research) to be able to put oneself into a foreigner's shoes. I love studying languages, and that's true that some aspects of a culture can be understood through the language lens (people's way of giving and getting directions, understanding and measuring time, etc.), so I'd like to start reading more about various languages. 

I also really liked reading that blog post with the international UI examples, so I figured that the best way to learn how to design for different cultures may be to learn from other researchers and designers' successful experiences - how they handled their failures, conducted additional testing, or took opportunities to redesign for better understanding. In my career, I will seek out opportunities to chat with my co-workers about their multicultural experiences in research and design. I'm sure they will be able to give helpful tips and tell insightful stories. 

29. PROCESS BOOK // Week 2

1. Favorite Quotes

"[Culture] It's something that's being created and re-created by people all the time—not just by certain people, but by everyone as they shape their own daily life." - W. Quesenbery and D. Szuc, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 3

This quote says that culture is fluid, it's constantly changing, which I have personally experienced when I moved from my home country and came back just a few years later - things were different. 

"Cultural differences that are particularly relevant in many UX projects may also be based on differences in the adoption of technology." - W. Quesenbery and D. Szuc, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 3

We often think about culture as it is manifested in national traditions and customs, but cultural differences do also reside between generations within the same nation. It is particularly important when designing technology and thinking about its intended demographic (and their technical background). 

"One of the things I learned early in my career is be sensitive to the differences that make a difference."  - W. Quesenbery and D. Szuc, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 3

There could be many cultural differences between two countries/markets, but it's important to focus on those that would be important for your particular product or service. Other details may be interesting, but completely irrelevant. I have learnt this by working on international product adaptation. 

"Our  ability  to  succeed  at  what  we  do  is  powerfully  bound  up  with  where  we re from,  and  being  a good  pilot  and  coming from  a high-power  distance  culture  is  a  dif­ficult  mix." - Gladwell, "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes".

As we already learnt, collaboration and cooperation are key to survival and success. And the power distance measurement becomes really important here, because it defines how collaboration and cooperation happens. This is crucial in critical situations like aircraft emergencies.

2. Explorations

The previous quote made me wonder if there are any other fields where a high-power distance culture could play a deadly role, so I found this article. It provides an example from the medical field in the US, where the relationship between the physician and the nurses, as well as the patient, still represents some degree of high-power distance, which can let errors slip through and lead to undesired consequences. There has been some progress made, as the author claims, "Luckily, medicine has begun transitioning from a high to low power distance environment, but we still have a long way to go. We have begun to shed titles between co-workers. We are encouraging all members of the healthcare team to share ideas and strategies with their colleagues. Nurses and allied healthcare workers are encouraged and empowered to challenge physicians if they notice errors or have concerns about the prescribed treatment plan. Physicians have begun to not only accept but to appreciate suggestions from their co-workers."

I was very interested in digging deeper into what power distance meant and all its manifestations. I checked for videos on YouTube and found this one that has Geert Hofstede explaining the nuances himself. He claims that while there is a shift of the younger generations toward low-power distance, "the position of the countries relative to each other has remained the same...so the scores don't change." While I agree that culture changes very slowly, I wonder what happens in case of major migrations. Europe lately has become the cradle of the refugee movement, which has definitely impacted the politics and religious composition. This National Geographic article describes the high (although rewarding) stakes of the refugee experiment in Germany that has led to the national "cultural panic."

3. Sketches

 

Our team's version of a cultural model

4. Personal Professional Inspirations

These week's readings have been very insightful, especially the one that put everything in real terms in the ethnic theory of plane crashes. Coming from a high-power distance country I notice patterns in my behavior (talking to higher management and professors) that were shaped by my home country. Living here in the US and knowing the importance of cooperation for success, I will try to adjust my thinking and actions, especially in situations where error-avoidance is crucial. I'm not sure how hard or easy it is going to be, but it will definitely require effort to change my learned patterns. 

I also like the idea of being immersed in a foreign culture by observation and following local customs. Luckily, you don't have to travel far to do so. I have quite a few international friends that I would like to get together with more often, to learn their culture by being a part of it - going out with them, trying their cuisines, observing their religious and national customs.