On June 9th at the Brussels Kart Expo, WebScene ﹘ the annual CMS Channel conference - was held. The complete Belgian web scene was present to take part in workshops and to meet industry experts. Human Interface Group gave a very popular presentation entitled "International Usability Testing" and handed out interesting white papers about the topic. And visitors could even win real usability experts at the Human Interface Group booth!

Is it really necessary to test your website with end users abroad?

Whether the site is an international corporate Intranet, an e-commerce site or a collaborative site that needs to be used beyond your national borders, testing your web solution with real end users and taking account of cultural differences is crucial to the success of your project. "It all begins with preparing a detailed test plan," advises Human Interface expert Sofie Vanophem, "only in this way can you avoid pitfalls and ensure that you obtain high-quality, usable test results." During her presentation, she gave the audience a host of practical tips and tricks for setting up and successfully completing international usability tests.

User-friendliness is an important aspect of any IT project, as was evident from the many questions from visitors to the exhibition stand. Human Interface Group's integrated approach was persuasive: evaluating existing systems, making a user overview, designing information architecture, developing usable scale models, coordinating graphic design and usability testing. A unique approach that really works, with many strong case studies and references to prove it.

The competition to "Win a usability expert for one day!" attracted many visitors to the stand. We received many well-reasoned requests to draw on the knowledge and expertise of a Human Interface specialist for a day. The winner will be announced soon on our website. Stay tuned!

You can read about more best practice relating to international usability testing in our white paper: International Usability Testing (registration needed).