Every year, I partner with organizations that are looking to improve the usability of their website, product, or process. I look for real-world projects to include in my TWRT 355: Usability Testing and Research class at UW Tacoma.
What to expect
- A team of 3-4 undergraduate students will spend 10 weeks designing and conducting a usability study on your project,
- Student teams will:
- Understand your audience
- Design a usability study plan and test kit
- Recruit and screen representative users
- Conduct a usability study
- Write a report and present the results
What makes a good project?
Many projects can work well for this class. Here are some criteria:
- You plan to redesign your site or product in the near future and need data or input
- The project has never been evaluated with your users
- Are fully functional and stable
- Are not subject to non-disclosure agreements
- Have target/representative users that are relatively easy to recruit
Expected commitment
- A project liaison – A contact for your organization who can
- Visit the class twice (in person or via zoom) in April and May.
- Answer questions via email
- Help find/recruit study participants
- There is no cost for this service. However, if you have the budget to provide a small honorarium for study participants that can help make the recruiting process easier for us.
How to apply
- Your idea: Submit a proposal by March 25, 2024
- Project timeline: April – June 2024
- Complete this form
- Questions: Reach out to me at ejrose <at> uw.edu
How projects are selected
All projects will be considered. I select projects based on feasibility and how well they meet the criteria defined above. I prioritize non-profit, government, and/or small local businesses connected to Tacoma or South Puget Sound.
Previous clients
In the past, we have worked with the following clients
- Pierce County Auditor’s Office
- All Recipes.com, Seattle, WA
- CARE project, Catherine Place
- COCO: Caring for Caregivers Online Chat Bot
- Center for Data Science, UW Tacoma
- City of Tacoma
- Electronic Arts, Seattle, WA
- Encyclopedia of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
- Office of Financial Aid, UW Tacoma
- Livable City Year, UW Seattle
- Pure One, Bellevue, WA
- Social Development Research Group, UW Seattle
- Tacoma Historical Society
- The Ducere Group, Olympia, WA
- Travel Tacoma
- UW Tacoma Library
- VFW Pedals, Tacoma, WA
- Women Against Violence Everywhere (WAVE), Seattle, WA