5 tips for testing in Finland
If you want to test in a foreign country, you have to take many things into account. Together with the other partners of the UXalliance and many others we even wrote a book about this. So if you want to conduct research in Finland, please keep the following tips from our Finnish team members in mind:
1. We love technology
Finland is a relatively easy country to conduct usability tests of high-technology products due to the high Internet and mobile penetrations. In addition, we participate in market research and related activities openly. However, as our population is small in size it might be difficult to find suitable target users if you have a specific target audience.
2. We are not conversationalists
Finns are introverts compared to, for example, Swedes or Norwegians. We do not speak about feelings towards something without a bit of encouragement. However, when discussion opens up, participants will give their very honest and pure opinions.
3. Icebreaking skills needed
An easy way to lower the barrier for open discussion is to use less formal pre-session introduction with light conversation and coffee. As a general guideline, you should prepare fifteen extra minutes of ‘ice breaking’ light conversation time before the actual testing begins.
4. Beware the hot summer
The summer is short in Finland and we tend to make the most of it, so it may be hard to get usability tests done from June to August, because we all move from city to our summer cottages scattered around the lakeshores. July is the official summer vacation month, so almost everything is closed at that time.
5. English, anyone?
Depending on the demographics of the users selected, not all Finns are used to speaking English. However, English is definitely the first foreign language in Finland. It’s even more popular than Swedish, especially amongst young people.
We hope these tips are helpful for you! If you have any questions about conducting usability tests in Finland, please feel free to contact us.