Selecting Cities for Usability Research

Abstract

Human factors practitioners are often asked to conduct usability research in multiple cities to obtain a larger, geographically dispersed sample. Instead of selecting cities first and participants second (as is often done in market research), we suggest an approach whereby usability professionals can select cities based on the type of research and attributes that influence product usage. Starting with these factors, we can develop a table of users and subgroups and then identify the regions in which these groups are prominent. The number of users in each subgroup and the final city selection involves other factors such as time constraints, budget limitations, and organizational credibility. By following this approach, we can make user-centered recommendations to the product team when planning usability research.