I write code and do UI design research for a number of projects in a number of departments in the School of Computer Science at CMU. My recent history is as follows:
- Jan 2009 - Present :: Querendipity :: With William Cohen, Ni Lao, Bhavana Dalvi, John Zimmerman, design team, and formerly with Anthony Tomasic and Andrew Arnold; helping biologists find what they're looking for.
- Jan 2009 - July 2009 :: APT Transit :: With Anthony Tomasic, Aaron Steinfeld, John Zimmerman, design team; helping bus riders report problems, increasing value for disabled users.
- March 2009 - Present :: Mixer :: With Anthony Tomasic, Steve Gardiner; an implementation in javaScript and Firefox plug-in.
- Aug 2008 - Feb 2009 :: VIO/Forms/WbE :: with Anthony Tomasic, Issac Simmons, Marty McGuire, Jay Springfield; wrote a column classifier for suggesting field entry, integrated past data, refactored paper, still seeking publication.
- March 2008 - Sept 2008 :: Mixer Mockup :: with Anthony Tomasic, John Zimmerman, Ian Hargraves, Ken Monkhern; WOZ mockup in Flex, usability study, data analysis. Resulted in User-created forms as an effective method of human-agent communication, CHI 09.
- Nov 2007 - March 2008 :: Workflow by Example UI redesign :: with Anthony Tomasic, Ken Monkhern, Ian Hargraves; a satellite of the RADAR project. Sketches, prototyping in Revolution, paper pilot testing.
- Sept 2006 - Aug 2007 :: Ballbot :: with Ralph Hollis, as a part of PhD studies in the Robotics Institute (discontinued August 2007; I don't think a PhD is what I want). Behavioral engine, system modeling, and controls tuning.
I tend to like clean software practices that minimize code duplication and other hacks. I'm diagram-driven, and generally produce UI sketches as well as domain, class, and sequence diagrams as a part of my normal development process, making my projects generally self-documenting. I have some basic background in user-oriented design, and my fondness for the subject continues to grow through my contact with John's teams, which ground our projects in real user habits, needs, and goals.
