Browse the sections to the left to read about specific research areas/projects and publications.
My user research work has included usability studies and prototyping, field research and qualitative data analysis, data mining and statistical analysis, data/concept visualization and report writing, persona and scenario creation. Each of these areas is summarized below.
Usability studies and prototyping/wireframing
Usability experience has included task development, session facilitator, managing recording equipment, result analysis and reporting, and editing video of sessions in Adobe After effects. I have also created low fidelity paper prototypes and higher fidelity prototypes using web-based tools and Adobe Flash. Some sample projects include:
Field research and qualitative analysis
I have conducted interviews, contextual inquiries, observational studies, led focus groups, and helped analyze data from design ethnography. I have also created and conducted both online and offline surveys. I have used both Excel and Atlas ti. for data analysis. Some sample projects include:
Data mining and statistical analysis
I believe strongly in a mixed method approach to user experience research whenever possible. In my experience with large datasets through PATH, Valid Concepts and CAICT (Central Asia Information Communication + Technology ) group, I have found statistical analysis to be very good at answering WHAT and discovering segmentation lenses by which user groups can be identified. (However, the WHY and HOW in user experience design research is more informed through qualitative methods, i.e. observation, interviews and design ethnography). I have used both Excel and SPSS for data analysis. Some sample projects include:
Data and concept visualizations
It is often difficult to report research findings to stakeholders and other members of a design team; however, data visualizations can help make communication easier. As a designer, I have always enjoyed experimenting with ways to visualize data. Typically, I use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create visualizations. Some projects include:
Persona and scenario creation
Personas and scenarios are common research summarizations in user research. As part of my dissertation I analyzed the usability, usefulness and effectiveness of persona and scenario documents when presented to designers. Some examples of persona/scenario projects include:
My user research work has included usability studies and prototyping, field research and qualitative data analysis, data mining and statistical analysis, data/concept visualization and report writing, persona and scenario creation. Each of these areas is summarized below.
Usability studies and prototyping/wireframing
Usability experience has included task development, session facilitator, managing recording equipment, result analysis and reporting, and editing video of sessions in Adobe After effects. I have also created low fidelity paper prototypes and higher fidelity prototypes using web-based tools and Adobe Flash. Some sample projects include:
Mobile social software directory and starbus usability testing
These usability studies were conducted in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in spring 2009. We conducted usability on two different projects that emerged from the Central Asia data: (1) a mobile social software directory; and (2) a system to help locate buses. Both projects utilized text-based interfaces intended for access on the mobile phone. I helped create the usability tasks and facilitated some of the sessions both in English and using a Russian interpreter. You can read more about the mobile social software directory in the Central Asia area in this website.
Alternative shopping interfaces
As part of my Master's degree, I investigated alternative shopping experiences that promoted serendipitous findings. The project began with paper prototypes. Later, I created the art and animation for higher fidelity prototypes using 3D Studio Max and Flash. For the usability studies I developed the tasks and conducted usability tests with five participants. You can read more about this project in the User Interface research area.
Field research and qualitative analysis
I have conducted interviews, contextual inquiries, observational studies, led focus groups, and helped analyze data from design ethnography. I have also created and conducted both online and offline surveys. I have used both Excel and Atlas ti. for data analysis. Some sample projects include:
College of Engineering
I worked as part of a team to create a new web presence for the College of Engineering and their departments (including Human Centered Design & Engineering). I led several focus groups and created multiple online surveys for the college’s diverse user groups to determine their website needs. Additionally, I created a web-based wireframe (grayscale) prototype for usability, designed and managed usability tests. You can see the prototype in the design section of this website.
Central Asia design ethnography
I worked as part of a team to analyze findings from a design ethnography conducted in Kyrgyzstan in 2006. In the design ethnography coding, we focused on understanding the role of mobile phones in people’s everyday lives; we were especially interested in how the phones supported existing face-to-face social networks. You can read more about the design ethnography in the Central Asia area in this website.
Data mining and statistical analysis
I believe strongly in a mixed method approach to user experience research whenever possible. In my experience with large datasets through PATH, Valid Concepts and CAICT (Central Asia Information Communication + Technology ) group, I have found statistical analysis to be very good at answering WHAT and discovering segmentation lenses by which user groups can be identified. (However, the WHY and HOW in user experience design research is more informed through qualitative methods, i.e. observation, interviews and design ethnography). I have used both Excel and SPSS for data analysis. Some sample projects include:
PATH Safe Water Project
I performed statistical analysis of survey data from 1000 respondents from the Andhra Pradesh region of India using both multivariate and univariate methods. In the survey, respondents were questioned about behaviors and attitudes regarding safe/clean water including collection, storage, and preferences. You can read more in the PATH section of this website.
Central Asia survey data
As part of my tasks as a research assistant I have worked with a dataset that included 12,000 respondents from four Central Asian countries spanning three years (2006-2008). I conducted extensive statistical analysis which resulted in multiple papers that you can read in the Central Asia section of this website.
Data and concept visualizations
It is often difficult to report research findings to stakeholders and other members of a design team; however, data visualizations can help make communication easier. As a designer, I have always enjoyed experimenting with ways to visualize data. Typically, I use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create visualizations. Some projects include:
PATH Safe Water Project
The statistical analysis of the PATH Safe Water Project data (see above) resulted in several visualizations and persona-like summarizations. You can see these samples in the PATH section of this website.
Visualizations for papers
I have created several visualizations for published papers. The first example describes findings from the design ethnography in Central Asia depicting the reciprocal nature of face to face social networks among our participants.
The second example describes differences among three types of design methodologies that encourage a human focus: participatory design(PD), value-sensitive design (VSD) and user-centered design (UCD).
The second example describes differences among three types of design methodologies that encourage a human focus: participatory design(PD), value-sensitive design (VSD) and user-centered design (UCD).
Persona and scenario creation
Personas and scenarios are common research summarizations in user research. As part of my dissertation I analyzed the usability, usefulness and effectiveness of persona and scenario documents when presented to designers. Some examples of persona/scenario projects include:
CELT (Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching
I summarized the results published in several papers from the CELT research group to help communicate some important findings about students to college professors. The persona-like documents acted as an index for the papers.
Mobile social software personas used for dissertation research
I created personas and high level scenarios representing mobile phone users in Kyrgyzstan as part of the ideation and user requirement phase of the mobile directory project. Below is a sample of one of the personas.
