Usability research leadership in studios, consultancies, and healthcare.
Dr. Schaffer led usability research teams and training programs, working with design and development teams to turn findings into product decisions.
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Elmhurst University & Bradley University
- Led 91 student team projects from concept through delivery
- Directed 25 independent-study research and development projects
- Runs a research group that tests design choices in controlled experiments, with results published at CHI and HCI International
- Built and taught courses in HCI, web design and development, data science, programming, and game design
Lead Usability Analyst
Human Factors International, Fairfield, IA & Shanghai, China
- Designed and taught advanced UX training courses on design for persuasion, emotion, and trust to practicing UX professionals
- Led international user research studies across the US, UK, India, Mexico, Spain, and South Africa for financial and telecom clients
- Mentored junior usability specialists on research methodology and study design
Playtest Project Manager
Ubisoft Entertainment, Montreal, QC
- Designed and ran 5 games usability studies across 3 AAA titles: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, and WATCH_DOGS (single-player and multiplayer modes)
- Managed a team of 4 trained observers who gathered and analyzed playtest data
- Produced usability and player experience reports combining qualitative and quantitative analysis
- Worked with the development team to address issues found in playtests
UX Researcher
Kaiser Permanente Internet Services Group, Pasadena, CA
- Ran regular usability testing sessions for the redesign of KP.org, Kaiser Permanente's website
- Performed heuristic evaluations that reduced a key task flow from 27 to 7 steps
Core UX methods
Research team leadership
UX training & mentorship
Card sorting
Psychometric instrument development
Factor analysis
Usability testing
Heuristic evaluation
Qualitative interviewing