Skills: Usability Testing, Playtesting, Recruiting, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Survey Design, Interviewing, A/B Testing, Data Analysis, Insight Synthesis, Heuristic Evaluation, Cross-functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Management, Project Management, Clear Reporting & Communication, Workshop/Meeting Facilitation, Human-Centered Design, Accessibility Principles, Wireframes, UX Writing
As a Lead Associate UX Researcher, I had an array of daily responsibilities, such as Playtest Moderation, UX Research, and Survey Creation and Analysis for over two and a half years. The company used a unique methodology developed by the CEO, Heather Desurvire. We used PLAY and GAP heuristics that outlined the best practices in both general game play and First Time User Experience. These heuristics were used to analyze playtests as we are contracted by Game Development studios like 2K Games, Wargaming, and many others. Game companies would provide us with a demo, and in return, we would schedule multiple playtests, sort through the footage, and prepare a professional report filled with actionable insights on how to improve the game and avoid churn.
Throughout the two years, I gained experience and rose to the position of Lead Associate UX Researcher, Survey Lead, and Project Manager. It was my responsibility to handle the onboarding, teach the basics of UX to two generations of interns, and oversee 4 training assignments. The assignments progressively increase in complexity, culminating in a full-scale mock study imitating commercial quality standards and timelines. This final project involves recruitment, playtest moderation, survey design, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and finally, a collaborative professional usability report. Throughout the 2 waves of onboarding, I mentored 10 young professionals, greatly improving their usability research and writing skills.
One of the projects I worked on at UBR was a 2K NFL Playmakers usability evaluation and A/B study. We were provided with 2 tutorial prototypes and recruited 5 players to test each variant. An in-depth study plan and a survey designed to suit the client's goals were developed. After monitoring over 50 percent of live playtests, I circled back with the team, and we conducted a thorough analysis of both qualitative data, such as playtest observations, and quantitative data, such as survey responses. A comprehensive report was prepared outlining both the strong and weak sides of each variant and the most pressing issues present throughout the playtests. I was one of the two lead writers of the survey section of the report, contributing to over 25% of the overall report. Two of the discovered issues would likely result in Churn if not addressed. The stakeholders were provided with actionable steps on how to address the problems. If implemented, those steps would be likely to result in a significant reduction in churn.
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UBR Team