Master's Project Introduction

Hi, my name is Janie!

I am an online student at Kent State University. I am in my final semester and created this site for the final graduation requirement to earn a Master of Science in User Experience Design (MS UXD). In order to complete this degree I was required to complete a Master's Project. The goal of the Master's Project is to complete research and learn professional skills for the transition into the workplace. Over the course of the fall 2016 semester I have worked with my faculty advisor, professor Paul Sherman, and my on site supervisor, Michael Yunkin, in order to complete this Master's Project.

I worked on the Master's Project at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas - University Libraries, were I was an intern in the Web and Application Development Services (WADS) department. Over the past several months, I have worked with staff at UNLV to design and complete usability testing of a newly designed LibGuides template. LibGuides are electronic guides imbedded in the library website, created by librarians, to help students find library resources. The team wanted to test this template to ensure students were easily able to navigate the resources located on the guides aimed at assisting students with library research in specific subjects.

Urban Affairs librarian Susie Skarl allowed us to take over her Communication Studies LibGuide (see below) to create the template and have a prototype to test with real users. In order to gain professional experience running usability test sessions and recruiting participants, I was put in charge of finding participants, coordinating scheduled usability sessions (creating appointments, sending follow up emails, securing space, technology and freebies), running the usability test sessions and finally uploading the final videos.

I learned a lot about recruiting participants, running the usability study and analyzing collected data from this project. There were a few hiccups along the way including technology glitches, problems finding graduate students and an extended timeline. Because the laptop and software was new and had not been used previously, there were issues with the sound recording. After two trips to IT and tinkering with the laptop sound recording I was able to get the recording portion of studies working. I learned to always run a 1,2,3 sound test prior to each usability session because the software would default to an external microphone setting, making me lose any sound recording once the recording was complete. Graduate students proved to be elusive as many are online and commuter students who do not hang around in the library or the union for any length of time. The timeline for the project was adjusted do to a hectic academic calendar and conflicting work schedules.

The project worked out in the end and showed the team there is always room for improvement in an iterative design.

I am excited to put the experience I have gained from this Master's Project to work at my first professional UX position. I recently relocated from Las Vegas, NV to Newtown, PA for a job as Coordinator, User Experience Designer and Content Strategy.

For more information about me and my UX work, visit my portfolio:

janieralston.com

or contact me at hello@janieralston.com