User Centric opens new user research agency in Beijing

For many companies operating globally, China ranks among the most important markets worldwide. To be successful, new products have to be easy to use - but design rules hard-learned in the West may not apply in China. Now, a suburban Chicago-based firm will help organizations understand the user experience in the Chinese market. Starting in June, a new subsidiary of User Centric - a user research agency that focuses on examining the ease of use of products and services to enhance people's experiences with technology - will open in Beijing and offer similar services geared specifically towards the Chinese market.

"User Experience" Dedicates Itself to Bridging East and West
Companies wishing to introduce products to Chinese consumers face the challenge of developing for the global market, while at the same time creating designs that comply with local conventions and expectations.

To facilitate new product entry into the Chinese market, User Centric - in a joint venture with its Hamburg, Germany-based partner SirValUse, GmbH - will officially open their Beijing branch on June 1. The newly founded enterprise, "User Experience LLC", represents the first foreign-led usability consulting agency in Beijing - and one of the first in China altogether. According to Robert Schumacher, CEO, "one reason for our Eastward expansion is the growing demand for user research on the part of Western companies wishing to do business in China. Similarly, many Chinese companies need a portal for user research in the West - User Experience can support both of these demands."

Ms. Yiner Ya, a graduate of the University of Chicago, will head the Beijing branch, serving as Research Director. User Experience has an impressive "Board of Advisers" made up of leaders in the field of human factors from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University.

High Standard for Usability Tests in China
User Experience's office will be located in Beijing's Central Business District, "Jian Wai SOHO". The facility will have two world-class user testing labs to conduct studies of Web sites, mobile phones, and other electronic products. "User Experience will help us to offer customers the consistent standard of quality and service that they already know and expect from User Centric," explains Schumacher.

It Doesn't Stop in China
User Centric and SirValUse Consulting are founding members of the international usability network, The User eXperience Alliance (UXA), www.UXAlliance.com, committed to uniformly high standards of user research worldwide. The UXA provides the ability to serve clients globally - in key European markets, North and South America, Asia, and now in China.

For more information, contact Maura Vij : +1.952.830.9002.