Experimental Research Approaches for Mobile UX in Emerging Markets

Mobile devices and services have changed the way people interact around the world, especially in the resource-constrained parts of developing countries. A growing number of professionals, students, and organizations show interest in understanding the user population in these regions to create solutions that address their needs. In this chapter, the authors aim to share and discuss their experiences and experiments designed to understand these user needs by using a more locally relevant and playful approach. The primary objective is to sensitize the readers about various challenges that a researcher working in this domain might face while trying to gather and understand the user behavior and their responses; and to try to explore tailor-made methods to overcome those challenges while undertaking studies in these regions. The authors’ intent is to benefit the entire fraternity by sharing these experiences, and making them aware of the possible problems in incorporating traditional research methods in developing nations.