The WaterSim America is an interactive iPad game app included with the exhibition that takes users through several scenarios and asks them to make decisions about how their town’s water supply should be distributed among a variety of user groups, including townspeople, farming, industry, and energy. The purpose of this applied project was to design user personas which will be used by the developers at Arizona State University’s (ASU) Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC) to improve the Smithsonian’s WaterSim America app (SWSA) that they designed for the new Smithsonian Institute’s Water Ways Traveling Exhibition (SWWTE) and to recommend improvements to the app. To do this, I created a contextual inquiry with select SWWTE user groups in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to observe the app in the context of use. The primary goal of this research was to observe potential users engaging with the app and then interview them about their experiences with the app. Based on the research, I offer six recommendations to improve the educational value of the WSAA. This report includes the research methods of this study, participants’ feedback and seven user personas based on the research.

Operational materials--the procedural guidelines provided to front line employees of Banner Bank--act as a guide to completing complex banking transactions. Being able to successfully navigate these materials and complete the complex transactions are essential to meeting both the client's expectations and maintaining federal regulations. However, employees have noted a lack of usability with these materials, resulting in confusion and frustration while trying to navigate the operational materials to successfully complete client requests. Employees who try to use these guides commit errors that result in negative client impact, as well as putting the bank at risk for being out of compliance with federal regulations. To analyze and address this situation, I designed a usability test and deployed a survey given to division branch management.

The purpose of this project is to show how to develop research-based criteria and how to apply them to a specific product, Evernote's iOS mobile help tool. Initial research involved analyzing current usability research publications by performing the following steps: coding each sample for most frequent usability criteria, clarifying and simplifying each entry, reorganizing the content in each code for frequency, and combining each topic in the new organizational structure to create a single set of research-based usability guidelines. The new guidelines were used to evaluated Getting Started and Getting Started Guide from the perspective of a non-business, English-speaking, novice iOS user. The final step resulted in the following list of recommendations to improve the user experience: review and adjust the navigation design, reconsider the information design to ensure that it reflects the wide variety of users and platforms, adjust the visual design to meet cultural expectations and user needs, and edit content for clarity, word choice, and grammatical style.

This project compiled findings from both primary and secondary applied research on the design and content structure on the current knowledge bases (KB) of product related documentation for the accesso Siriusware product suite. The findings from the research and study improved understanding surrounding our end-user perceptions of knowledge base functionality and usability. In addition, the findings became the framework for building an implementation strategy to improve knowledge base design and development. The implementation strategy is included in the report, and these findings will be used to update documentation and develop the KB.

YourBrandPartner.com exists to provide content to those seeking specific advice and information on purchasing custom promotional items. For this investigation, I conducted a usability test with a select user group to identify user experience issues. The primary goal of this research was to conduct general usability testing through large group survey and a small in-person usability testing group. I designed surveys and tests to investigate if users experienced difficulties in finding the information they were looking for on the website. Based on the results of this study, I recommend reviewing the visual design of the website, increasing site speed, creating a better experience between the blog and e- commerce interactions, and creating an environment that is more accommodating of where the user is in the buying process. This full report includes expanded participant feedback, methodology behind the study, and full recommendations for improvement.

The purpose of this applied project was to research and recommend to Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH) improvements to their website in order to provide parents whose child has been newly diagnosed with cancer the most clear and appropriate health information. I conducted a study in order to analyze and evaluate the health information content currently provided to parents at PCH. This was done by through qualitative coding methods on both printed documents provided by The Emily Center Library, as well as interviews conducted with three Hematology/Oncology nurses at PCH. Additionally, I researched the current literature surrounding this topic in order to provide a background of information. Based on the results, I recommended that PCH offer parents a comprehensive cancer database in which all provided information would be searchable via their website. This database would also allow them to expand on their two topic focuses: home care and emotional support. Additionally, I recommended that parents are provided information on how to identify credible and non- credible sources on the Internet so that they can find information that is truly medically valuable when searching for information on their own. Lastly, I offered future recommendations that will require continued research so that PCH’s provided health information can continue to grow and improve.