What It Takes to Get It Right: Global Study Logistics in UX Research for Medical Devices

Global Study Logistics in UX Research: Why international logistics is essential today

UX research in medical technology today means much more than methods and analysis: it encompasses carefully planned, globally coordinated study logistics. With the increasing internationalisation of development and approval processes, the question of operational feasibility is becoming a strategic building block – both to meet regulatory requirements and to ensure genuine marketability.

• Growing international development flows: According to IQVIA and Clarivate, companies are increasingly investing in cross-border studies and prototypes to validate global user needs (Source: clarivate.com).

• Regulatory requirements in different regions: International trials must comply with local ethics, data protection or recruitment guidelines – especially for MDR, FDA or PMDA (Source: MDPI).

• Supply chain and logistics problems with medtech products: Global analyses show how technological and regulatory barriers influence functionality and recruitability in UX studies (Source: ResearchGate).

  
  

Business benefits at a glance:

• Study quality & comparability: Uniform design, but locally moderated, ensures reliable results instead of bias.

• Operational risk management: Delays in participant recruitment, translations, ethical approvals or material shipping are minimised.

• Faster market launch: With established processes, international UX studies reduce time-to-market in target markets.

  
  

Challenges and success factors

Recruitment and participant management

International studies require local recruiting and screening – e.g., finding similar target groups in several countries and balancing heterogeneous conditions. Logistics service providers such as ICON, which manage UX studies as part of clinical processes, offer insight into industry-specific setups (Source: ICON).

Multiregional moderation and translation

UX interviews and usability tests in different countries require more than just translation. Cultural sensitivity, regulatory contexts and semantically appropriate questions are also important. The challenge is that local teams must moderate consistently while taking contextual differences into account. This can only be achieved with a centrally coordinated study protocol and trained local staff.

Technical implementation and device handling

Medical devices for UX testing are often subject to transport and customs regulations. For example, when prototypes with CE or FDA requirements are shipped to other regions, logistical hurdles can arise – from battery transport guidelines to sterility requirements. In addition, there are data protection requirements (such as HIPAA vs. GDPR) that affect the transfer of test data.

Standardisation vs. localisation

A frequently underestimated aspect: global UX studies should be comparable, but still locally relevant. This means central hypotheses and coordinated protocols, but also enough flexibility for country-specific characteristics. Without clear logistical planning, this balance can lead to failure.

Which UX methods help?

• Synchronous global testing: Multiple countries simultaneously with local staff and centralised study design

• Localised moderation frameworks: Same questions, but culturally adapted – tailored to language and norms

• Multi-site planning & piloting: Pre-tests in key regions to minimise risk and optimise processes

  
  

These methods improve data quality, minimise operational friction and shorten development cycles.

Why uintent is the right partner

uintent has a global UX team with operational experience in North America, Europe and Asia. What sets us apart:

• Global UX processes with local roots

• In-house teams in six countries and consistent standards for methodology and documentation

• Proven infrastructure for prototype logistics, participant management and ethics approvals in regulated markets

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