User Research in Italy

User Research in Italy

Remote or lab-based user research in Italy, with real customers and local, Senior UX Researchers

Italy is an important European market and is frequently in our clients plans when thinking about UX research or user research with their clients.  The market maturity for user research is quite low so finding dedicated, senior and experienced researchers can be a challenge. There are far more UX Designers that “do” research on the side and so clients can have issues with teams marking their own homework.

That is where UX24/7 comes in. We are a global design research agency that operates with our own team of Senior UX Researchers. All our Senior UX Researchers have been evaluated as part of their joining process to ensure they have the skills, capabilities and experience to deliver user research and UX Research to the high standards we expect.

Italy is no exception and we have a small team of senior UX researchers that has been established for more than 3 years. We are fortunate to have Italian researchers based both in Italy and the UK so running face-to-face or remote research is relatively straightforward.

Remote and lab-based user research in Italy

We run user research and UX Research in Italy using remote and lab-based facilities. Remote methodologies use online screen sharing technologies such as Zoom, which is our tool of choice for user research in Italy. Italians are familiar with the Zoom app and we have few problems bringing participants into sessions.

For lab based testing we often run research in Rome, Milan and Turin but can use facilities in other major cities as required. We use facilities where our clients want the research to take place and have various advanced testing kits that work in the various different facility set ups we utilize.

In all case we provide a viewing experience that includes picture-in-picture video and where required, simultaneous translation into whatever your native language is. Recordings of the sessions are also provided with your local language as well as with the Italian original.

Finally, our Senior UX Researchers provide a detailed analysis from the session. Our deliverables include observations and issues together with analysis and actionable recommendations. Our team also speak English so we are able to deliver a playback session with you either in Italian or English.

So, what are you waiting for? If you want to conduct user research in Italy, we can help.

Pictures from the Turin lab when user research in Italy

usability testing in Italy - Turin lab
usability testing in Italy - Turin lab
usability testing in Italy - Turin lab

Quick facts about Italy:

  • Main language/s spoken: Italian
  • Population: 60,378,595
  • Capital City: Rome
  • Secondary Cities: Milan; Naples; Turin; Palermo; Beramo 
  • Currency / monetary units used: Euro
  • Literacy: 99.16% (2018 est.)

Where in the world is: Italy

map showing where Italy is in the world
Flag of Italy

UX Research and User Research in Italy

Italy has a tendency to over-recruit participants by as much as 20 to 30%. This is to allow for no-shows and ensure the specified sample size is achieved.

Italians are generally confident, with few reservations when it comes to providing criticism. It is important for the moderator to be able to distinguish between genuine grievances with a design and over-enthusiastic negativity.

A predominantly Roman Catholic country, festivals and celebrations are observed such as Christmas (December 24th through to January 6th) and Easter. Religion is a key part of Italian life and care should be taken to respect this.

Italians tend to be expressive, with facial and hand gestures as much a part of communication as words. Video evidence of sessions might be advantageous in providing a richer level of feedback.

It is not uncommon for participants to interrupt or speak over others. While this is not generally caused by anger, it can be non-conducive to gaining a clear understanding of user reactions. The moderator should stress the importance of speaking one at a time.

National holidays

1st January New Year’s Day
6th January Epiphany
Sunday after the full moon following the equinox Easter Sunday
Monday after Easter Easter Monday
25th April Liberation Day
1st May Labour Day
2nd June Republic Day
15th August Assumption Day
1st November All Saints Day
8th December Immaculate Conception
25th December Christmas Day
26th December Saint Stephen’s Day

International case study: Multi-Market eCommerce website evaluation

Italy is just one of the markets where we organize and deliver international ux research and user research. If you have a requirement in Italy or any other market please get in touch using the form below and we will be happy to provide a no obligation quotation.