ich bin ein website - the impact of culture and language on internationalization

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Ich Bin Ein Website!The impact of culture and language on

internationalization

Evan GerberPrincipal Consultant, Experience Design


Ich Bin Ein Jelly Donut!• On June 26, 1963, John F. Kennedy famously declared

“Ich bin ein Berliner.”

• Everyone perceives information through filters of culture and language.

• These filters are at the root of user experience.

• To succeed, these filters need to be taken into account.

• It’s the same tools applied differently.


Terminology– Culture is a shared set of beliefs, behaviors, and traits.


Terminology– Culture is a shared set of beliefs, behaviors, and traits.

• It can transcend national boundaries; e.g., a corporate culture.


Terminology– Language is a systematic means of communication.

• Signs, sounds, gestures, and marks with understood meanings.


Culture and Language are closely related

• Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis – Linguistic Determinism– Our vocabularies shape the structure of our cultures, and the

structure of a language is shaped by the culture.

• Not everyone agrees with this!

• The same language does not indicate the same culture, for example.


The Short Version of the Story

• Culture shapes interpretation, and this act is framed by one’s vocabulary.– It’s fundamental to the process– It is nuanced – It changes over time


Who We Are, What We’ve Done

• Molecular– Web consultancy specializing in user experience design,

technology implementation, and strategy consulting.

– We have done a bunch of internationalization and localization.

• Some of this work includes:


Featured Clients

• ACME Personal Care, Inc.– Large Manufacturing Company

• WeSaidSo Insurance Co..• Large Insurance Company


Assessment – Build your team• Get SMEs from

as many regions as possible to reduce political impact.

• Create a diverse base of usability testers, for both intra and internet sites.

• Educate your business users so they can educate their bosses.


Assessment – Political and business environment

• Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?• Make sure that no group has undertaken a similar initiative already


Assessment – Technological Infrastructure

• Make sure that the tech infrastructure is powerful enough to do the job, but flexible enough to meet design requirements.


Assessment – Legacy Systems and Language• Can the system handle different character sets?

• Old systems, new problems:• Data output

• Content input


Analyze – Mine the Data

• Survey the most important sites

• Capture the information in a site matrix



• Relationships become apparent

• Prevalence = Importance



• No Language?

• No Problem! (kinda)


Analyze – Map the Data

High Level Architecture:

Global Value Chain

Homepage

GVC News

Global Value Chain

Asia Pacific

GVC ScorecardKnowledge

Sharing

Global Warehousing and

Transportation

Demand Planning

Order & Revenue Management

Supply Planning

Transformational Initiatives

Regions

AMEE

Europe

Asia Pacific

Finance

About GVC

Ed Shirley GMA IS/LD Conference

Presentation: March 2004

Latin America

GVC Culture and Operating Principles

Org. Charts

GCI Scorecard

Finished Goods Obsolescence

Process

North America

2004 KPI Reporting Calendar

GVC Finance 2004 Calendar

KPI Primary Processes

KPI Goals (2003 and 2004)

June 2004 KPIs

Previous Months’ KPIs

KPI Definitions

About GSCM KPIs Overview

GVC Financial Letter

Operational Metrics

NA & EUR IDP&R Shakedown

NA & EU IDP&R Results

Global Facilites Map

Value Chain OpCom Meetings

Accessing the OpCom Meeting

Information

Presentations from May 2003 GVC Op

Com

Industry Forums

Global Product Catalog - Training

Materials

North American Value Chain Town Hall Meeting: Q&A

Customer Websites

Bug Fix for Launching

Presentations

Industry Websites

GPCat / ERP Cost Alignment Files

GVC Finance

North America

• Build sitemaps from the matrix• Flag for origin, relevancy, and location


Analyze – Sort it and sift itEd Shirley GMA IS/LD Conference


Unbestimmt / Undetermined

Feedback

Global Footer Navigation

Legal, Disclaimer Copyright

Global Header Navigation

Tax

Treasury & Payable

Finance Team

Recent Updates HR

Reimbursements

Finance & Controlling

IT

Diversity CouncilAcme Vision

Statement

Core Values

Regional/Functional

Mission

Corporate Strategies

Corporate Governing Statement

Business Resources

Business Dictionary

Company Cars

Concur Expense Reporting

Conference Rooms

Global Travel

Industry News

InternetJobs and Careers

WebSites

Phone/Fax

Recent Announcements -

Org Changes

Open Positions

Site Map OrganizationNews and

AnnouncementsSearchEmergency


(news archive)

Performance

Regional/FunctionalGoverning Statement

Key Events Calendar

(Oral Care) Related Group/

Function/Location Intranet Sites

World Time

Weather My Communities My Bookmarks Campus Contacts Public Website

Company News

Public News

Graphic Standards Manual

Stellent CMS login

Corporate Mission and

Values

Mission at a Glance

Credit Union

Fidelity netBenefits

= Norway

= Kronberg

= Poland

= MOO

= Russia

= Acmenet

Industry News

OpCom Org. Chart

Who’s Who

My Employment

Conference Calls

Forms & Requests

Chairman’s PageFunction/Region/

Brand News & Info

=Molecular Added

= France

= AMEE

= Human Resources

= IT

Message From Resident VP

Function/Region/Brand

Announcements

New Appointment

High Level Architecture: Norway

GVC Scorecard

Knowledge Sharing Global

Warehousing and

Transportation

Demand Planning

Order & Revenue

Management

Supply Planning

Transformational

Initiatives

About GVC

GVC Culture and

Operating Principles

GCI Scorecard

Finished Goods

Obsolescence Process


GVC Finance

2004 Calendar


KPI Goals (2003 and

2004)

June 2004 KPIs


KPI Definitions

About GSCM KPIs

Overview

GVC Financial

Letter

Operational Metrics

NA & EUR IDP&R

Shakedown



Value Chain OpCom

Meetings

Accessing the OpCom

Meeting Information

Ed Shirley and Hans

Peter Schaefer

Presentations from May 2003 GVC Op Com

Industry Forums

Global Product

Catalog - Training Materials

North American

Value Chain Town Hall Meeting:

Q&A

Customer Websites


Presentations

Industry Websites

GPCat / ERP Cost

Alignment Files

GVC Finance

Abfall / TrashHomepageGVC News

Global Value Chain News

Asia Pacific News

Regions

AMEE

Europe

Asia Pacific

Finance

Latin America

Org. Charts

North America

News

North America

Dupes

Contact Telephone List

Org. ChartsDiary (actually a calendaring tool)

Navigation Help on Site

After Hours

IntranetValue Chain

Calendar

India

Russia

Middle East

South Africa

Turkey

CEE

News

AMEE President’s Award Winners

Newsflash


Acme CE West(news archive)

• Top Left = Existing Site• Top Right = Nascent Site

• Color codes ensure buy-in• Trash and Dupes on lower left


Analyze – Sort it and sift itEd ShirleyGMA IS/LDConference

Presentation:March 2004


Feedback




Tax

Treasury &Payable

Finance Team

Recent Updates HR

Reimbursements

Finance &Controlling

IT


Statement

Core Values

Regional/Functional

Mission

CorporateStrategies

CorporateGoverningStatement

BusinessResources

BusinessDictionary

Company Cars

Concur ExpenseReporting

ConferenceRooms

Global Travel

Industry News


WebSites

Phone/Fax

RecentAnnouncements -

Org Changes

Open Positions




(news archive)

Performance

Regional/FunctionalGoverningStatement

Key EventsCalendar

(Oral Care)Related Group/

Function/LocationIntranet Sites

World Time


Company News

Public News

GraphicStandards Manual

Stellent CMS login

CorporateMission and

Values

Mission at aGlance

Credit Union

FidelitynetBenefits

= Norway

= Kronberg

= Poland

= MOO

= Russia

= Acmenet

Industry News

OpCom Org. Chart

Who’s Who

My Employment

Conference Calls

Forms & Requests


BrandNews & Info

=Molecular Added

= France

= AMEE

= Human Resources

= IT

Message FromResident VP


Announcements

New Appointment


GVCScorecard

KnowledgeSharing Global

Warehousingand

Transportation

DemandPlanning

Order &Revenue

Management

SupplyPlanning

Transformational

Initiatives

About GVC

GVC Cultureand

OperatingPrinciples

GCIScorecard

FinishedGoods


2004 KPIReportingCalendar

GVCFinance

2004Calendar

KPI PrimaryProcesses

KPI Goals(2003 and

2004)

June 2004KPIs

PreviousMonths’ KPIs

KPIDefinitions

About GSCMKPIs

Overview

GVCFinancial

Letter

OperationalMetrics

NA & EURIDP&R

Shakedown

NA & EUIDP&RResults

GlobalFacilites Map

Value ChainOpCom

Meetings

Accessingthe OpCom

MeetingInformation

Ed Shirleyand Hans

PeterSchaefer

Presentations from May2003 GVCOp Com

IndustryForums

GlobalProduct

Catalog -TrainingMaterials

NorthAmerican

Value ChainTown HallMeeting:

Q&A

CustomerWebsites

Bug Fix forLaunching

Presentations

IndustryWebsites

GPCat / ERPCost

AlignmentFiles

GVCFinance


Global ValueChain News

Asia PacificNews

Regions

AMEE

Europe

AsiaPacific

Finance

LatinAmerica

Org. Charts

NorthAmerica

News

NorthAmerica

Dupes

Contact TelephoneList

Org. ChartsDiary (actually acalendaring tool)

Navigation Help onSite

After Hours

IntranetValue Chain

Calendar

India

Russia

Middle East

South Africa

Turkey

CEE

News

AMEE President’sAward Winners

Newsflash



• If it’s location specific, abstract the information.

• What purpose does it serve?• Do other locales need that

purpose, if not that info?


Analyze – Sort it and sift itEd ShirleyGMA IS/LDConference

Presentation:March 2004


Feedback




Tax

Treasury &Payable

Finance Team

Recent Updates HR

Reimbursements

Finance &Controlling

IT


Statement

Core Values

Regional/Functional

Mission

CorporateStrategies

CorporateGoverningStatement

BusinessResources

BusinessDictionary

Company Cars

Concur ExpenseReporting

ConferenceRooms

Global Travel

Industry News


WebSites

Phone/Fax


Org Changes

Open Positions




(news archive)

Performance

Regional/FunctionalGoverningStatement

Key EventsCalendar

(Oral Care)Related Group/

Function/LocationIntranet Sites

World Time


Company News

Public News

GraphicStandards Manual

Stellent CMS login

CorporateMission and

Values

Mission at aGlance

Credit Union

FidelitynetBenefits

= Norway

= Kronberg

= Poland

= MOO

= Russia

= Acmenet

Industry News

OpCom Org. Chart

Who’s Who

My Employment

Conference Calls

Forms & Requests


BrandNews & Info

=Molecular Added

= France

= AMEE

= Human Resources

= IT

Message FromResident VP


Announcements

New Appointment


GVCScorecard

KnowledgeSharing Global

Warehousingand

Transportation

DemandPlanning

Order &Revenue

Management

SupplyPlanning

Transformational

Initiatives

About GVC

GVC Cultureand

OperatingPrinciples

GCIScorecard

FinishedGoods


2004 KPIReportingCalendar

GVCFinance

2004Calendar

KPI PrimaryProcesses

KPI Goals(2003 and

2004)

June 2004KPIs

PreviousMonths’ KPIs

KPIDefinitions

About GSCMKPIs

Overview

GVCFinancial

Letter

OperationalMetrics

NA & EURIDP&R

Shakedown

NA & EUIDP&RResults

GlobalFacilites Map

Value ChainOpCom

Meetings

Accessingthe OpCom

MeetingInformation

Ed Shirleyand Hans

PeterSchaefer

Presentations from May2003 GVCOp Com

IndustryForums

GlobalProduct

Catalog -TrainingMaterials

NorthAmerican

Value ChainTown HallMeeting:

Q&A

CustomerWebsites

Bug Fix forLaunching

Presentations

IndustryWebsites

GPCat / ERPCost

AlignmentFiles

GVCFinance


Global ValueChain News

Asia PacificNews

Regions

AMEE

Europe

AsiaPacific

Finance

LatinAmerica

Org. Charts

NorthAmerica

News

NorthAmerica

Dupes

Contact TelephoneList

Org. ChartsDiary (actually acalendaring tool)

Navigation Help onSite

After Hours

IntranetValue Chain

Calendar

India

Russia

Middle East

South Africa

Turkey

CEE

News

AMEE President’sAward Winners

Newsflash



• Use colors to demonstrate that everyone is represented.


Analyze – Sort it and sift itEd Shirley GMA IS/LD Conference



Feedback




Tax

Treasury & Payable

Finance Team

Recent Updates HR

Reimbursements

Finance & Controlling

IT


Statement

Core Values

Regional/Functional

Mission

Corporate Strategies

Corporate Governing Statement

Business Resources

Business Dictionary

Company Cars

Concur Expense Reporting

Conference Rooms

Global Travel

Industry News


WebSites

Phone/Fax


Org Changes

Open Positions




(news archive)

Performance

Regional/FunctionalGoverning Statement

Key Events Calendar

(Oral Care) Related Group/

Function/Location Intranet Sites

World Time


Company News

Public News

Graphic Standards Manual

Stellent CMS login

Corporate Mission and

Values

Mission at a Glance

Credit Union

Fidelity netBenefits

= Norway

= Kronberg

= Poland

= MOO

= Russia

= Acmenet

Industry News

OpCom Org. Chart

Who’s Who

My Employment

Conference Calls

Forms & Requests


Brand News & Info

=Molecular Added

= France

= AMEE

= Human Resources

= IT

Message From Resident VP


Announcements

New Appointment


GVC Scorecard

Knowledge Sharing Global

Warehousing and

Transportation

Demand Planning

Order & Revenue

Management

Supply Planning

Transformational

Initiatives

About GVC

GVC Culture and

Operating Principles

GCI Scorecard

Finished Goods



GVC Finance

2004 Calendar


KPI Goals (2003 and

2004)

June 2004 KPIs


KPI Definitions

About GSCM KPIs

Overview

GVC Financial

Letter

Operational Metrics

NA & EUR IDP&R

Shakedown



Value Chain OpCom

Meetings

Accessing the OpCom

Meeting Information

Ed Shirley and Hans

Peter Schaefer

Presentations from May 2003 GVC Op Com

Industry Forums

Global Product

Catalog - Training Materials

North American

Value Chain Town Hall Meeting:

Q&A

Customer Websites


Presentations

Industry Websites

GPCat / ERP Cost

Alignment Files

GVC Finance


Global Value Chain News

Asia Pacific News

Regions

AMEE

Europe

Asia Pacific

Finance

Latin America

Org. Charts

North America

News

North America

Dupes

Contact Telephone List

Org. ChartsDiary (actually a calendaring tool)

Navigation Help on Site

After Hours

IntranetValue Chain

Calendar

India

Russia

Middle East

South Africa

Turkey

CEE

News

AMEE President’s Award Winners

Newsflash




Analyze – Determining User Needs• We validated our concepts against the users through remote and local

card sorting.


Analyze – Determining User Needs

• Different areas have different user and business requirements

• Survey users, use the 5 Ws


Analyze – Determining User Needs

• Search logs provide unbiased insight into weaknesses and strengths of the current IA.


Analyze – Add new categories, where applicable

• Summarize findings, and solicit client input before final presentation.

• Recombine the buckets and test with different locals.

Finance

Home Page

Global Technical& Manufacturing

Global ValueChain

Global BusinessManagement

CommercialOperations

IT@GHuman

ResourcesCorporate

Commercial Operations HLA

Store LevelExecution

Promotional ItemsPlanograms Displays ASM Online Retail Availability

Sales

Customer SupportCategory

ManagementAccount

ManagementTrade

Development

Forms Policy & Procedures

BusinessInformation

Business Library

Online Ordering

Marketing

Brand GuidelinesDigital Library/

Creative ServicesPackaging

Store LevelPrograms

Marketing Services Advertising/ Media GMRC E-Marketing Research

Store Level ExecutionSalesBusiness

Information Marketing


Design – Information Presentation

Haupt IT@GKommerzielle

BetriebeGlobales technisches

u. HerstellungGlobale

Wert-KetteKorporativ

Globale Unternehmensführung

Menschliche Betriebsmittel

Finanzierung

Logo

ACME Gipfel-Weltnachrichten Meine SeiteWillkommen Zusammenarbeit Werkzeuge

Meine Seite | Zusammenarbeit Mitte | Seite des Vorsitzenden | Aktualisieren Sie meine Informationen Maschinenbordbuch heraus | Hilfe

Mein Liebling verbindet… Vorgerückte Suche

Gesamter Aufstellungsort Telefon-Buch

Suche zu Leuten oder Information Gehen Sie

Home IT@GCommercial Operations

Global Technical & Manufacturing

Global Value Chain

CorporateGlobal Business

ManagementHuman

ResourcesFinance

Logo

ACME world news My PageWelcome Collaboration Tools

My Page | Collaboration Center | Chairman’s Page | Update My Information | Log out | Help

My Favorite Links... Advanced Search

Entire Site Phone Book

Search for people or information Go

• Develop Wireframes for the different character sets

• This does not have to be a formal deliverable

• Do the same for visual comps


Design – Language and Information Presentation

• More production and maintenance work.

• Images

• Widgets

• Content

• Make sure that images read both ways.

• Store each locale’s images in a different directory.


Design – Taxonomy

• Taxonomies must compensate for different cultures– Make controlled vocabularies for each culture


Design – Brand

• Brand Communication changes from place to place

– Create a ‘Culture Guide’


Development – Content

• The meaning of symbols may vary greatly between locales


Development – Associations differ across language and culture

Words might sound the same, but don’t mean the same thing


Development – Content

Words might look the same, but they aren’t the same thing.


Deploy – Admin Data Structure

• Create a clean data structure– Critical for adoption and maintenance


Deploy – Admin Data Structure• This is the ‘before’ picture of WeSaidSo Corp’s file

hierarchy.– Unwieldy

– Frustrating

• Our Objective:• More languages

• Localization

• Flexibility


Deploy – TemplatesShared metadata

Language/Region 1

• Our Solution:• Flexible content records


Deploy – TemplatesShared metadata

Language/Region 1


Summary• Everyone perceives information through filters of culture and

language.

– Cultural interpretation is an autonomous function.

• These filters are at the root of user experience.

– The impact to a project is pervasive.

– Successful projects will predict, plan, and test around the impacts of culture and language.


Questions and Answers


More Information:

• Agar, Michael (1996). Language Shock: Understanding the culture of conversation. USA: Harper Paperbacks.

• http://www.geert-hofstede.com/

• http://www.cyborlink.com/

• http://www.systransoft.com/

ich bin ein website - the impact of culture and language on internationalization

Business

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filters of culture

terminology culture

impact of culture

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terminology language

corporate culture

culture guide