Usability challenges in emerging markets

Understanding emerging cultures and adapting new services accordingly is one of the biggest challenges faced by modern businesses today. Several user-centred approaches are employed during the life-cycle of service adoption. These approaches mainly involve design and evaluation of a service based on specific requirements of the target market. This paper describes an on-going multi-method case study which involves the evaluation of a self-service ATM system with a fingerprint sensor used for identification purposes as based in the financial sector of Pakistan. The paper is positioned to assess the validity of traditional usability evaluation methods in the context of emerging markets. These methods include one-on-one observations, in-depth interviews and sensor performance data analysis. The methods ensure both objective and subjective assessment of sensor use throughout. However, several difficulties faced with sensor evaluation such as participant recruitment, lack of participants’ r esponse and the impact on the local culture’s user attitude towards sensor use are discussed. The paper also presents the preliminary findings and draws implications for both researchers and practitioners based on our experience.