designing multilingual experiences

Designing Multilingual ExperiencesJonathan Steingiesser

1@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

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@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

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UX Tools

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uxuae.ae Sign-up and stay informed of upcoming UX UAE events.

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What is UX ?• a mindset

• focused on delivering value

• inspires the right kinds of ideas

• guides decisions

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“User experience is the overall effect created by the interactions and perceptions that someone has when using a product or service”.

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Why should we design a multilingual experience?

Why should we design a multilingual experience?

• Reach the target audience in their language

• Reach a wider audience

• Expand to new markets

• Improve usability

• Search engine optimization

• Government regulations

• Company policy15@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

Things to consider when building multilingual sites

• Who is the target audience?

• How many languages do you need to support?

• Does the user interface need to be fully translated?

• Do you have content in all the languages? Is all the content translated?

• What happens to content that has not been translated?

16@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

Without Research it’s not UX

• Research is a tool—a periscope offering you a better view of your surroundings.

• Once you start getting answers, you’ll keep asking more questions. And that skeptical mind-set is more valuable than any specific methodology.

• The better you know the current state of things and why they’re like that, the better you will be positioned to innovate

17@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

Without Research it’s not UX

• Your desire to find out needs should be stronger than your desire to predict. Otherwise you’ll be a mess of confirmation bias, looking for answers that confirm what you already assume.

• Unless this knowledge comes from recent inquiry specific to your current goals, a fresh look will be helpful. Familiarity breeds assumptions and blind spots.

• Research needs to be integrated into process and workflow or it will get shoved in a corner.

18@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

Reasons people give to forgo Research

• We don’t have the time

• We don’t have the money

• We don’t have the expertise

• We’re already doing A/B testing

• Everyone wants better products, faster

• No one wants to read a report

19@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

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Form Questions

Gather Data

Analyse Data

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Form Questions

Think

Analyse Data

Observe

Interview

Experiment

Read

Plan and prepare for the research

In the beginning, don’t worry about getting everything right. If you don’t know, go with your best guess. Since research is about seeking out new information, you’re going to encounter new situations and unpredictable circumstances. Make friends with the unexpected. And prepare to change the plan you’ve made to adapt once you have facts.

@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

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Good Questions• Specific • Actionable • Practical

25@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

A Bad Question• What do people think about pets?

26@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

A Better Question• How do single urban adults choose and acquire a pet?

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The Best Question• The unknown with the most risk

28@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

How to do bad user research: Ask people what they want

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How to do bad user research: Ask people what they like

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Never ask people what they want or like

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No matter how much research you do, there will still be things you wish you’d known, and there are some things you can only learn once your design is out

there in the world.

Design is an iterative process.

@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

This is not a solo adventure… everyone should be involved in research at a deep level

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Designing NYUAD in Arabic

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Business Needs

• Stakeholder interviews with internal departments - admissions, campus life, academic registrar, athletics etc.

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User Needs

• Research into existing Customer service!

• One-on-One Interviewing current students, current staff, prospective students, prospective parents, school counsellors, professors and experts in Arabic etc.

• Persona Development

• User Journeys / Experience Maps

• Card sorting in Arabic

• Usability Testing36@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

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DEMO

Card sorting in Arabic

• Sourcing a translation service

• Translating and testing the card sorting experience

• Conducting card sorting

• Analysis

• Proposed recommendation

39@stemaco @uxAbuDhabi @ux_UAE

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Sample of translated words for the IA

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Acknowledgements

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translationisux.com

beyondtranslation.com.au

Just Enough Research Design is a Job

The UX Team of One

Questions?