Global Services

Global research made easy

As many companies' products and services are extending across borders, User Centric is equipped offer quality solutions worldwide. User Centric conducts international projects by leading the preparation, fieldwork, analysis and reporting, and overall project management. We conduct user research, usability testing, and evaluation methodologies to clearly understand the complex needs of diverse marketplaces.

Global Usability Testing: An Important Business Strategy from User Centric on Vimeo.

One point of contact: User Experience Alliance (UXalliance)

User Centric is a founding member of the User Experience Alliance (UXalliance) - an international network of 24 leading user experience firms in Europe, Asia, America, and Australia covering 46 countries. Created in early 2005, the network reaches major markets all over the world and offers international user experience research for global companies from one source.

Download Paper: Cultural Differences in Usability Testing around the World

UX Nuggets Blog: 8 Emerging Trends and Best Practices in Global E-commerce

The UXalliance advantage

Over 300 user experience experts worldwide
Standardized test methods across countries to ensure consistent high quality of service and results
Professional simultaneous interpretation during sessions
Local cultural knowledge
With our established relationships, clients reap cost- and time-saving benefits with our ability to conduct research globally within a very short timeframe

UXalliance's comprehensive experience

Together, the UXalliance has interviewed more than 15,000 participants in global usability projects conducted in Europe, Asia, America, and Australia.
The network has a global reach of more than 40 countries.
Over 150 Fortune 500 clients have worked with the UXalliance, including General Electric, Yahoo!, DaimlerChrysler, Expedia, Microsoft, and ING Direct.

Yu Centrik (Canada)

The UXalliance provides cutting edge user experience research from around the world - visit the UXalliance blog.

User Experience (Beijing, China)

An increasing percentage of our consulting work is dedicated to global user experience, both from US companies who recognize the need to test outside the US and from companies wanting to enter foreign markets. One key market is China because of its growing economy, population, and developing technologies. User Centric identified China's growing demand for a quality user experience and, with our German usability partner, SirValUse, founded User Experience in Beijing, China. With the support of 80+ consultants from User Centric and SirValUse, User Experience is the largest usability firm in China. Providing state-of-the-art user research labs in the Central Business District of Beijing, User Experience has conducted many research studies on software, Web, GPS, and mobile devices for major international firms.

Contact us to find out how your product stacks up with language barriers, cultural differences, and fierce competition with the country's national brands.

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Related news & publications:

Our research has been published in books and professional journals, and is presented regularly at conferences. Many of our articles and publications can be read online, downloaded in PDF format, or requested by e-mail.

Names in italics indicate User Centric employees at the time of publication.

User Centric (2011). World Usability Day: Testing around the World with the UXalliance.
User Centric (2011). Global User Experience Network brings UX Conference to South Africa.
User Centric (2011). UX Masterclass set Stage for Attendees to Learn from 40 Global UX Experts.
User Centric (2011). UX Masterclass Chicago: A ‘Must Attend’ Event for User Experience Designers.
User Centric (2011). User Experience Conference to Showcase Latest UX Methods and Technology.
User Centric (2011). UX Masterclass Draws User Experience, Market Research, Design Professionals to Chicago.
(2011). Web Presence of US Companies in China. A Localization Report Provided by User Centric, Inc. and User Experience, LLC.
User Centric (2011). User Centric to Host User Experience Conference in Chicago.
User Centric (2011). User Centric a Leader in Large-Scale Usability Research.
User Centric (2010). Top Companies Struggle with Twitter Accounts Worldwide.
User Centric (2010). Global UX network adds partners in Ireland and South Africa.
User Centric (2010). Gavin Lew and Robert Schumacher to Speak at Business across Borders.
User Centric (2010). UX Marathon 2010 to Showcase User Experience Webinars from Around the World.
User Centric (2010). UX Masterclass Draws International User Experience and Design Talent to Montreal.
User Centric (2010). Masterclass Unveils Global Trends in User Research and Design.
User Centric (2010). UPA Panel Answers Questions about Global Collaboration in the User Experience Community.
User Centric (2010). UXalliance speakers to headline User Experience Masterclass in Auckland.
User Centric (2010). To usability labs, and beyond! New book explores online user experience studies.
User Centric (2009). Corporate and Academic Affiliates Join the UXalliance, Expand Capabilities.
User Centric (2009). Twitter Contest!.
User Centric (2009). Borders to Host Book Signing for Robert Schumacher.
User Centric (2009). User Centric Consultants Share Secrets to Successful Global User Research.
User Centric (2009). Robert Schumacher presenting in 2009 Usability Marathon – Webinars by Leading International Experts in User Experience.
User Centric (2009). UXalliance Expands Global User Experience Network to 20 Countries.
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Continuing to provide clients with unsurpassed research coverage, the UXalliance welcomed three new user experience companies into their international network, expanding to 20 partners since its origination in 2005.
User Centric (2009). Experience Expansion – The UXalliance Welcomes New Partners from New Zealand and Denmark.
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The UXalliance expands their reach into Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Lew, G., Bojko, A. (2007). Conducting Global User Research. Workshop presented at User Friendly 2007 Beijing, China
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Many products and services are extending across borders and user experience practitioners need to be able to effectively cross borders as well. The range of international user research projects is wide; however, after conducting numerous complex multinational studies across five continents, we identified a number of common processes.

This workshop will provide insights into the preparation, recruiting, fieldwork (testing), analysis and reporting, and overall project management for international user tests. We will also cover emerging trends in research, such as remote user testing and eye tracking. We will provide best-practice advice in each of these topics as well as anecdotes and case studies from mobile and medical device testing to demonstrate real-world application of strategies.
Bojko, A., Lew., G., & Schumacher, R. (2005). Overcoming the Challenges of Multinational Testing. Interactions, Vol. 12, No 6
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With the Internet tucking into every corner of the globe, products and services that were once local have become global. This ubiquity begets a need for new tactics and refinement of old methods. Issues of language and culture are obvious, but many of the challenges are more subtle. This article exposes both types of issues as well as shares lessons learned.

More publications

The Handbook of Global User Research collects insight from user experience professionals in over 20 countries. This book is a must-read for professionals working on global research projects. More Info

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