Impact of cultural diversity on the menu structure design of Driver Information Systems: A cross-cultural study

A detailed study of cultural differences can facilitate the process of introducing a product into a particular market. Such an analysis can be used to decide to what extend a global design of a product needs to be considered and which subsequent measures related to localization or adaptation to a specific target culture need to be taken. In the particular case of a Driver Information System (DIS), cultural preferences in the interaction with the user interface could lead to a decrease of the ease of navigation through an insufficiently localized human machine interface depending on the culture. In this study we examine cultural differences on the interaction with the menu of a DIS through a cross cultural survey. The web based comparative multilingual questionnaire was analyzed to determine the impact of the user´s culture on preferences in the design of the menu structure of a system to be used in a vehicular environment. Results confirm the existence of cultural differences among users from Germany, USA and Japan. In particular we show heterogeneity that affects the menu structure design of the DIS´ user interface. The implications for the design and adaptation of entertainment related functions in the DIS´ menu structure are outlined.