CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN INTERFACEDESIGN CHRISTINE L. BORGMAN One of many factors contributing to the lack of application of human factors principles to interface design is that designers fail to appreciate the range of population diversity, too often constructing systems on the assumption that their users are much like themselves. Years of research on individual differences in human-computer interaction have shown that user populations are not homogenous in their ability to utilize a given interface, with performance ranges of as much as 30 to 1 in the time to accomplish a given task. We now have methods to study individual differences factors, identifying the tasks most heavily influenced by variations in human ability, and changing the interface design to make it less susceptible to these factors. Considering the importance of individual difference factors in interface design, it seems reasonable to ask how cultural diversity factors compare to individual differences factors, and how they might be incorporated into interface design as well. For the purposes of this discussion, "individual differences" are defined as the measurable variables of individual characteristics that correlate with computer-based task performance, such as age, sex, experience with the system or problem domain, or technical aptitudes, such as spatial memory or analytical skills. Cultural diversity is a more slippery concept. For this context, we define "cultural diversity" as the acknowledgement that we live in a multicultural society and that culture determines much of our behavior, whether we are conscious of it or not. Culture includes race and ethnicity, as well as other variables, and is manifested in customary behaviors, assumptions and values, patterns of thinking, and communicative style. A brief review of the psychology and education literature suggests that specific cultures vary on factors similar to those identified in individual differences studies of HCI, such as learning styles, spatial orientation, color preferences, and use of language. While individual differences and cultural diversity research are based on different assumptions, they show task performance varying on similar factors, which suggests the possibility of an interaction effect, i.e., that cultural variables may exacerbate extant individual differences relevant to HCI. This paper is a call for research on the question of how cultural diversity factors relate to other individual differences factors. In the absence of research results, we suggest that designers be aware of cultural factors that may be affecting use of their systems and that they assay their intended user populations with these factors in mind. In the longer term, we need to build interface design teams that are more culturally representative of the populations that will be using the resulting systems. If we can make interface performance less dependent on technical, psychological, and cultural factors, the result should be systems that are easier for everyone to use. SIGCHI Bulletin October 1992 ~lume 24, Number 4

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