The Invisible Forces behind the Quest for Reaching Global Audiences

2. The Invisible Forces behind the Quest for Reaching Global Audiences Jose Coronado & Carrie Livermore Development Services Hyperion Solutions Corporation 4th Annual International Workshop on Internationalisation of Products and Systems 2002. 11-13 July, Austin, Texas, USA

3. Topics • Glossary • The Problem • Forces behind the Quest • Business • Legal • Ethical • Conclusions

4. Glossary • Digital Divide Digitally connected Computers and internet connections at home • Globalization Internationalization + Localization • Universal Usability Products should be affordable, useful and usable • Accessibility Use products (hard and soft) even under limiting conditions

5. The Problem • Globalization and rapid adoption of technology contribute to social and economic divides • Companies need to consider global user requirements • “Do we translate?” • What are the forces that motivate organizations?

6. Business Forces • Huge business and marketing advantages • Market and community leadership • Reach more users and accommodate more diverse situations • Sites at a minimum - need to go beyond translation and address interface design

7. How strong is the business benefit? From the CUU in November of 2000 • Global e-commerce could reach $7 trillion by 2004 • IT in education and health industry • Cost-effective options to do business

8. We have Internationalization, What about You? Myths • Globalization can be “added” later • Internationalization adds time to the development process • In-house team is too expensive (relative) Reality • Infrastructure must be put in place at the beginning to guarantee success

9. Business Options in HCI Education • Major programs: Carnegie Mellon and Stanford • HCI education does not address globalization or internationalization • Needs to develop or expand curriculums • Infrastructure exists Leading programs could incorporate and complement course offerings

10. Legal Forces • e-business readiness leaders: US, Australia, UK, Canada, Norway and Sweden • Legal framework governing IT is a vital factor • Regulations and laws could yield more usable and accessible products • Accessibility laws in over 20 countries

11. Liability and Regulations • National Federation for the Blind (NFB) vs. American Online (AOL) - USA • Individual vs. Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) used DDA • France: The Toubon Law

12. ISO Standards and Cultural Accessibility? • Guidance for usability (ISO 9241-11) • Human-centred design processes for interactive design systems (ISO 13407) • No standard addresses cultural accessibility today • ISO’s role and power to mandate access • Would a standard be enough?

13. Ethical Forces • Professional responsibility - avoid decisions to put user groups in disadvantage • Design or build IT that excludes certain Users (i.e. On-line communities) • Products exclude users when requirements are not considered • World without boundaries like the internet makes requirements more critical

14. Corporate Responsibility • Usability Problems: to fix or not to fix? How are issues weighted? • Is it just the right thing to do? The right thing vs. revenue opportunities

15. Issues with Current Research Classic research studies by Geert Hofstede • Developed with only one company (IBM) • Socio-economical purposes • Intended to make it easier for IBM to sell its products overseas • Most of the data was collected in the 80’s • Applied in a way Hofstede never intended

16. Future Research Required Globalization seems to make business sense… • Need to validate with practical research • Collect data from organizations Methodology: • Structured data collection process • Include concrete measures ROI, usability, etc.

17. Questions…