Jamye M. Hickman, Ph.D.

research, teaching, & industry

My UX journey

A little about Me

1I believe in lifelong learning

2I love my dog

3Stats & Research make

me happy

I believe in lifelong learning

To graduate school and beyond

1

Education & Teaching

• Introduced to the concept of human factors as an undergraduate– B.A. Psychology, minor in Computer Studies –

Meredith College in Raleigh, NC• The GA Tech Years…

– Human Factors and Aging Lab– 2 NIH grants from the National Institute of Aging– Research focused on developing training for complex technological systems for

older adults– Qualitative and Quantitative data analysis: SPSS, MaxQDA, & Excel

• Southern Polytechnic State University– Tenure-track Assistant Professor, faculty lead over Engineering Psych– Developed & taught 8 courses, including Experimental Psychology, Statistics,

Engineering Psych

• Post-graduate learning– Refreshing my programming skills

• HTML/CSS & Javascript via Codecademy• C# via Coursera

2 I love my dog

What does this have to do with UX?

• Role: Company Owner, Creative Director, and Lead UX Researcher

• Goals: Design functional and stylish pet products

• Background Story: As a new “pet parent” in 2005, I found myself needing stylish but usable pet products for my new puppy. I needed a stylish tote to carry all my dog’s belongings. There was not a solution on the market, so I created one on the sewing machine in my kitchen.

Necessity is the mother of invention

PupCentric webpage

PupCentric

Brief Methodology:• Performed observational research in

doggy daycares to determine what solutions would best fit the pet parent on-the-go

• Conducted a task analysis to determine what tasks could be supported by a multifunctional travel bag

Solution:• A stylish, yet functional award-winning

E.B.D. Carry-all…when you want to carry Every But the Dog. The bag included food and water bowls, integrated poop bag pocket, a blanket, and lots of pockets. The product was an “Everyday Fave” of Rachael Ray and we were on the Oprah Show

3 Stats & Research make me happy

Let the data be your guide

NCR: Eye Tracking Study in Real world Environment

• Project Role: UX Researcher• Goals: Assess UI,

functionality, and attention of new marketing video piloted by a Gum Company

• Problem: A Gum Company created a new marketing video for Self Check-Out (SCO) and wanted to test its effectiveness of increasing gum sales. NCR’s HF consulting team was hired to develop the testing protocol and conduct the research. Self Check-out Areas of Interest

NCR: Eye Tracking Study in Real world Environment

Brief Methodology:• Developed on-site study with Tobii Eye

Tracking Glasses and recruited 120 participants to wear the eye tracking glasses during their normal check-out process. Participants were compensated a $10 gift card for participation.

• Collected eye movements, fixations, video, and ms timings for each check-out process

• Used Tobii Studio to hand code every video and Excel to analyze the data, co-wrote the final report

Solution:• Provided average eye fixation time,

frequency, and heat maps for each SCO area of interest

NCR: On-site Testing of Large Scale Technology

• Project Role: UX Researcher• Goals: Assess UI,

functionality, and ADA standards of FedEx Ship&Get solution and provide of list of prioritized improvements

• Problem: The FedEx Ship&Get needed a quick and thorough usability analysis prior to the initial pilot launch. The human factors consulting team was hired to develop the testing protocol and conduct the research.

FedEx Ship&Get self-service shipping solution

NCR: On-site Testing of Large Scale Technology

Brief Methodology:• Developed on-site research study with a

portable lab set up and performed an task walkthrough and screen review using another UX researcher as the “participant”.

• Collected qualitative and quantitative data pertaining to user comments, errors, and task time.

• Used Excel to analyze the data, co-wrote the final report, and co-presented the results to the client via WebEx

Solution:• A prioritized list of changes from high to

low examining the UI, screen flow, hardware design, and ADA standards

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NCR: Observational & Survey Research

• Project Role: UX Researcher• Goals: Assess UI and

functionality of a self-service kiosks in 3 Chicago area stores and provide of list of prioritized improvements

• Problem: A new interface and hardware layout was launched for the self-service kiosk. The already deployed kiosk was experiencing user frustration, long lines. The human factors consulting team was hired to develop the testing protocol and conduct the research.

Self-service shipping kiosk

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NCR: Observational & Survey Research

Brief Methodology:

Developed on-site research study to observe actual users in the retail environment then ask questions on an exit interview survey.

Collected qualitative and quantitative data pertaining to user comments, errors, and task time.

Used Excel to analyze the data, co-wrote the final report, and co-presented the results to the client via WebEx

Solution:

A prioritized list of changes from high to low examining the UI, screen flow, and hardware design.

NCR: “True Intent” Remote Unmoderated Study

• Project Role: Lead UX Researcher

• Goals: Assess UI, functionality, and ease of use for an eCommerce site

• Problem: The high traffic eCommerce site is experiencing a steady flow of customers entering the site (validated through metrics using Omniture SiteCatalyst), but experiencing higher than usual site exits and cart abandonment after a recent site redesign.

NCR: “True Intent” Remote Unmoderated Study

Brief Methodology:• Conduct a series of studies with UserZoom• Assess the overall effectiveness of the aforementioned

website for different stakeholder groups (i.e., user groups) using the following techniques:– Informational Deep Dive of the desktop website

using a Remote taxonomy tool. This is a technique that shows how users organize content in their own mind. The results are presented in a dendrogram with a summary analysis of ways to improve the website navigation, menu structure, and taxonomy.

– A “True Intent” Remote Unmoderated Usability Study of:• The desktop website• The mobile website

• This was a response to a RFP and awaiting approval

CDC NCIPC (Injury Center) Web Portal Redesign

• Project Role: UX manager over team of UX designer and graphic designer

• Goals: Assess UI and functionality of Story Builder portal and recommend a cost effective solution

• Problem: The Story Builder portal was created as a way for funded community partners to submit project updates and create professional looking story summaries to share with stakeholders. The original portal had a poorly designed user task flow, confusing buttons, and a lengthy submission process that involved emailing submissions out of the portal then manually entering them back into the portal.

Original Story Builder landing page

Brief Methodology:• Performed a heuristic evaluation of the

existing portal, making note of process flow and UI issues

• Conducted a task analysis and function flow, resulting in a streamlined submission process that was turned into an infographic for better comprehension

Solution:• Simplified the UI and reduced the

submission process by removing the login, highlighting the steps for an offline submission, and implementing a quick review process completed by the program officer which focused on community sharing not stakeholder interests

CDC NCIPC (Injury Center) Web Portal Redesign

Before Redesign After Redesign

CDC NCIPC (Injury Center) Web Portal Redesign

CDC NCHHSTP (HIV/AIDS) – CDC.Gov/HIV

• Project Role: Lead UX Researcher over multiphase usability study. Worked with large team of graphic designers, information architects, SMEs, and project managers

• Tasks: Assess usability of current website, recommend changes, develop and perform usability test of prototype site, and develop usability plan for post-launch

• Problem: The existing CDC HIV website was difficult to navigate, hard to maintain, and community resources for HIV facts/testing were hard to locate on the website

Original HIV/AIDS landing page

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CDC NCHHSTP (HIV/AIDS) – CDC.Gov/HIV

Brief Methodology: Solution:

Planned and conducted a remote usability study of current website using UserZoom and targeting 4 user groups identified in a previous market research analysis. From this baseline study, formed a list of executable recommendations to the site.

A redesigned website with improved navigation and visibility of HIV/AIDS resources

Worked with graphic/web designers, information architects, and SMEs to develop prototype.

Conducted in-person usability study of clickable prototype using Morae and analyzed quantitative data (task completion time, errors, path) and qualitative data.

Developed experimental protocol for post-launch study to be conducted using UserZoom on the redesigned website

Current HIV/AIDS landing page

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Deere & Co.: Understanding Dealer needs

• Project Role: Lead Graduate Research Assistant

• Goals: Assess UI and functionality of Story Builder portal and recommend a cost effective solution

• Problem: Traditionally, Deere & Co. tractor dealers trained and worked directly with farmers. For a growing company, the demands of keeping up with this tradition while centralizing training efforts proved ineffective and costly, in the long run. Although corporately trained, dealers were saddled with the difficult task of individualizing training for specific farmer needs, capabilities, and limitations.

GreenStar2 tractor system

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Deere & Co.: Understanding Dealer needs

3-part Methodology: Solution:Part 1: Performed a thorough literature review of the existing GS2 materials (i.e., manual, reference guides, marketing materials)

Part 1: Concluded that the current product literature has good system details, but lacks procedural knowledge

Part 2: Conducted a systematic evaluation of GS system structure and system tasks (i.e., function flow and task analysis)

Part 2: Identified system components, as well as major and minor tasks

Part 3: Developed and conducted on-site observational study and semi-structured interviews with dealers. This included a customer walkthrough beginning with the initial buying interest, tractor rides, final purchase and ending with training. The qualitative data analysis began with transcribing, segmenting and coding the recordings, then analyzing them using MaxQDA.

Part 3: The data from the dealer interviews identified dealers were the source of the procedural knowledge, but needed standardized training modules to guide farmers through tasks that focused on learning the system structure and individual differences

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Deere & Co.: MaxQDA (data analysis tool)

Email jamye@gatech.edu with any questions or consulting inquiries

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