Eric Rogers

Role: UX researcher, UX designer, Project manager

Scope: Team project - 8 weeks - Oct to Dec 2022

Skills: User research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Testing

During the first quarter of my graduate experience at the UW MSIM program I played a pivotal role in the research, design, and development of my teams Atomic Habits prototype, an application designed to help postgraduate students budget their time and build new habits. Over the course of the 8 week project I completed the following tasks:

• Conducted competitive market research, user research, and build user personas
• Sketched out and iterated on project pages and features
• Constructed user flow diagram using LucidChart
• Designed components and wireframed high fidelity prototype using Figma
• Conducted usability testing and design iteration
• Co-managed the projects direction and deliverables
• Documented design process and finalized prototype

Research Phase

Much of the initial research was a team effort in which I contributed my share of research and user interviews. I wanted to look into projects similar to ours to get a better understanding of the space we were working in and also aimed to interview participants who aligned with our target demographic. For a competitive analysis research I looked into Streaks, an apple based habit tracker similar to ours which exceled due to its highly refined UI and heavy integration within Apple’s ecosystem. Likewise for my user interview I got to chat with a classmate who struggled with finding balance in a life dominated by schoolwork, internships, and job searching. I also assisted in interpreting the survey data collected by the rest of my team. The results I gathered from the research phase were pivotal when building my persona for our team and influencing the direction we took the project.

Design Phase

With a wealth of market and user research to draw from our team stepped confidently into the design phase. I drew on my research findings to produce several sketches which would later serve as inspiration for our final product. I was careful to incorporate key elements from our research, mainly the focus on a goal trifecta (academic, health, and exercise) which resonated with our user group. I also focused on sketching features that capitalized on the habit building theory discovered in our research, as we were building a habit tracking app.

Once the sketches were finalized our group selected the best ones to proceed with and I was happy to find that many of mine had been selected as they captured a vision for our product that other members saw as promising. While they worked on refining our personas into storyboards I used LucidChart to construct a user flow diagram so we could better visualize how users would interact with our product.

Prototyping Phase

Building on our finalized sketches and user flow diagram our team leapt headfirst into Figma to begin the prototyping phase of our project. While my colleague spearheaded much of the prototypes initial development and design I was quick to follow her lead and soon found myself thrust into the role as our teams second Figma UX designer. Working with Figma I built out many core elements of our final prototype specifically the task, progress, and reward pages. I also wireframed key components in the design including the navigation bar, overview calendar, and various dynamic elements on the progress and reward pages.

Final Product

Our team emerged from the prototyping phase exhausted, yet proud. We had just completed a major milestone and gained invaluable industry experience doing so. Our complete design journey is compiled on this website and can be accessed with the password: 123

Reflection

With my first proper team UX design project completed I felt accomplished, yet was eager for more. Over the course of the 8 week project I learned the following lessons and skills, all of which I intent to utilize to their fullest in any career I find myself in:

• Team work makes the dream work: This project really taught me how to delegate tasks and really on other members to shore up my weaknesses. Within the context of UX it was also a good taste of what it is like to work within the industry and have to respond to the demands of not only users, but also fellow colleagues.
• Figma is an invaluable UX tool: Before this project I had never used Figma, but after being thrown into the deep and having to learn it quickly I fell in love with the tool and all of its features. Now I can’t put it down, and am happy that it’s become an invaluable tool in my design arsenal.

The final iteration on one of my long running track design projects. Created using the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V in game creator engine the level is distinguished by its iconic chevron bridge and stunning mountain views. Building the track out from it's initial single decked bridge variation to it's current double decker version was the core of the design process, among other things. During the design process of this level I honed the following skills:

• Integrate built levels into existing environments
• Prototype level layouts
• Creatively use assets and resources
• Design memorable locations and points of interest

Level Environment Before and After

Level Showcase

My first comprehensive adventure into the field of UX design in which I practiced and learned many core UX skills using the Scratch program. Hair We Go is a UX design project which outlines a prototype mobile interface for barbershop a scheduling system. This formative experience taught me many essential UX skills such as the following:

• Understanding and processing user feedback
• Researching and identifying stakeholders
• Designing a cohesive and functional UI
• Prototyping UX elements

A level design project build using the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V in game creator engine. The project was started with a focus on layout design and level prototyping. My goal was to integrate the track with the surrounding islands as naturally as possible. While working through the design process for this level I learned the following skills:

• Level prototyping
• Integrate built levels into existing environments
• Prototype and test new level layouts
• Creatively use assets and resources
• Design memorable locations and points of interest

Level Environment Before and After

Level Showcase

Data analysis project of collecting, modeling, and analyzing data of US Traffic Fatalities per Year to extract insights that support decision-making to improve driving patterns. Over the course of the project I implemented the following skills:

• Data research and cleaning
• Used Tableau to visualize datasets

Role: Project manager, LVL designer

Scope: Team project - Many weeks – Mar 2021 to Feb 2022

Skills: Leadership, Collaboration, Project organization, Level design

The Collaborative Creator Challenge was a massive community event that I designed and hosted which spanned the course of 2 rounds, each of which spanned across multiple months. The goal of the challenge was to provide the creators and designers in my community with the chance to work on a collaborative project and build a something only possibly from a large team. My entire journey leading the challenge encompassed nearly a year, during which I took on the following tasks:

• Create a shared vision among project members
• Communicate with project stakeholders
• Onboard staff from across disciplines and departments
• Project management, organization, and leadership
• Problem solving and adapting to changing demands
• Co-managed the projects direction and deliverables
• Documented design process and finalized prototype

Round 1

Round 2