- If users of your product are located across the globe,
you may be conducting international usability testing.
If you're lucky,
you can recruit users in different locations
who speak the same language as you.
However, if the users you recruit
don't speak the same language as you comfortably,
you'll need to use a translator.
It's worth mentioning that it's always better
to have a researcher who speaks the language
you'd like to test in.
But in this video, I'm assuming this isn't possible.
As such, I want to share five tips
for running usability test sessions with translators.
Tip number one: schedule longer test sessions.
When using translators, you'll need to allow time for your
questions to be translated,
and for the participants responses to be translated.
This can make the session two to three times longer
than a regular session.
Scheduling extra time will help ensure you have enough time
to get through all of your tasks without rushing.
Tip number two, have your consent form and tasks translated.
Send the consent form in advance of a research session
so that the participant has time to read it
and understand what to expect.
This will save you time during the session,
but also means your participants can make an informed
decision about whether to take part.
You'll want to use a trusted translator for this work,
rather than relying on Google Translate,
to ensure the translation is accurate and understandable.
Translating your tasks ahead of the session is helpful, too.
This avoids a situation where a translator translates tasks
in such a way that the tasks become leading.
For example, by them accidentally using words
that appear in the interface.
You can then deliver written tasks,
one at a time during your session,
for example, on printed slips of paper,
if your session is in person,
or through a chat interface, if the session is remote.
Number three: brief your translators
to not help your participant during the test.
If you don't do this at the beginning of the session,
you may find your translator answering
participants' questions,
like, "should I click here?" or worse still,
telling the participant what to do on the interface.
Tell your translator that you are testing
how easy or difficult the interface is to use,
and so you just need help translating any of your questions
and the participants' responses.
They should remain quiet
while the participant is using the interface.
If the participant asks a question,
they should translate the question to you
so that you can provide the response.
Number four: consider avoiding the think aloud protocol.
Now in qualitative usability tests,
it's custom to ask participants to think aloud
as they use an interface
so we can easily understand their behavior
and hear their very initial thoughts as they use our design.
However, unless you have very specific technology for this,
it's not going to be possible for you to hear
a real-time translation.
To avoid the participant and the translator
speaking on top of each other and potentially distracting
or interrupting the participant,
allow the participant to complete the task in silence
and let you know when they're done.
Once they're done,
you can follow up with questions about what you observed.
Remember that we learn the most in usability tests
by watching behavior.
So think aloud is not essential.
Lastly, tip number five:
prepare short, simple followup questions.
Avoid using compound questions
or vocabulary that may not translate easily. Questions like,
"What do you think about using the website to do this?"
are easy to translate and understand.
Spend some time to prepare these questions in advance
so you can get the insight that you need.
Although running test sessions with a translator
may seem daunting,
following these five simple tips
can help your sessions to go smoother.