Going global with user testing

In Sweden, the automatic teller machines have very large buttons. The author hadn't noticed this particular design element on previous visits, which have usually been in warmer months. One year he was in Stockholm in February and immediately realized why the ATM buttons are so big: you can press them wearing thick gloves. Clearly, the ATM vendor had manufactured a localized version of the product with cold-climate users in mind. Unfortunately, although products are commonly used in countries other than the one they were designed for, designers often forget to consider different usage circumstances. Various tools, techniques and concepts to optimize user interfaces are discussed.