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
Results
The following results from the analyses conducted support the first two of the hypotheses made but found no statistically reliable evidence to support the third:
- The first test showed that there are many statistically significant differences in the mean values of the usability factors obtained from each culture group.
- The second test confirmed our hypothesis that correlations exist between cultural background and usability factors.
- The third test found no statistically reliable evidence to suggest that correlations between usability factors differ significantly between culture groups.
Comparing Averages for the Two Groups
Results from the t-test show that the average perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and user satisfaction differ significantly between Taiwanese and North American users. Culture clearly is associated with perceptions of usability. However, the average levels of performance do not differ so clearly between Taiwanese and North American users. There is no clear difference in the average number of tasks completed between groups, indicating that the culture of the user may not have an impact on the actual effectiveness of a product. The link between culture and product efficiency is also not clear. The average number of errors made differed significantly according to culture. While the other measure of product efficiency, the time required to complete a task, showed no clear difference in averages.
The following table summarizes the difference in distributions between the samples.
| Taiwan | North America | P-value (t-test) | Significance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| User Perceptions (mean score as a rounded percentage of total possible) |
||||
| Effectiveness | 70% | 41% | < 0.001 | Highly significant |
| Efficiency | 64% | 45% | < 0.01 | Very significant |
| User satisfaction | 63% | 42% | < 0.01 | Very significant |
| Total perceived usability | 62% | 44% | < 0.05 | Significant |
| User Performance (mean score) |
||||
| Tasks completed (max 16) | 13.46 | 13.60 | > 0.05 | Not significant |
| Time required (seconds) | 667.08 | 788.80 | > 0.05 | Not significant |
| Errors made | 93.92 | 155.70 | < 0.01 | Very significant |