11.1 Introduction

When clients come to us for help with international user studies, they have often already made the case within their company for the need to do such studies, despite the costs, but sometimes they ask for our help in formulating the arguments. In this chapter we outline the rationales that we share with them, and help you think about how to make these arguments within your company. We draw upon our experience in doing user centered design (UCD) projects throughout the world, and our involvement with the small community of professionals devoted to international design. Throughout this chapter we refer to international UCD instead of simply usability, because UCD is a broader term that can include a variety of activities that are important in creating designs that are usable worldwide. We focus on issues you must address to show a critical but receptive listener that UCD is essential to reduce the risks inherent in developing products for the international market.

In a sense, the general arguments for international UCD are the same as the arguments for UCD overall, except that the costs, risks, and benefits are often an order of magnitude greater. The costs of doing international UCD are usually higher than the costs of carrying out UCD activities in your home country, but the risks of failure if UCD is not included are also much greater. Therefore, the potential benefits of...