HI, I'm Yee Chieh.

I'm a UX Researcher.

ABOUT ME

Hafa Adai! I'm Yee Chieh (it's pronounced "Yee-Chay"). I’m currently a User Experience Researcher working in the User Experience Research and Design Group in Kaiser Permanente. I received my PhD degree from Georgia Tech in Human-Centered Computing where I studied assistive technology. I'm excited about UX work and pride myself on my resourcefulness, enthusiasm, and ability to learn quickly.

 

Other activities I enjoy include: indoor rock climbing, letterpress, calligraphy, and playing euro-style boardgames.

 

Check out my resume as a PDF file.

TIMELINE

User-Experience Researcher

Kaiser Permanente

User-Experience Co-op

IBM Silicon Valley Labs

User-Experience Co-op

IBM Silicon Valley Labs

Usability Intern

Jackson Healthcare

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Human-Computer Interaction

Georgia Institute of Technology

Graduate Research Assistant

BrainLab

Georgia Institute of Technology

Research Project Coordinator

Emory University

Doctor of Philosophy

Human-Centered Computing

Georgia Institute of Technology

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Human-Computer Interaction

Georgia Institute of Technology

Bachelor of Arts

Cognitive Science

University of California, Berkeley

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2006

2015

RESEARCH

I believe the process of usability research should be flexible, not fixed. Thus, I allow the requirements and constraints of the project to drive my methods. You may notice that there aren't any arrows between each of the circles in my diagram below. Depending on project, product, or problem, I might spend more time in one area than another.  However, this is the path that I generally take when I approach a new study.

 

IDEA/ REQUIREMENTS

"Hey Yee Chieh! We have an idea/problem. We added this new [function/feature/object] to our [app/webpage/product] and want to know if users [love/hate/understand] it. Help!"

 

Okay. Take a deep breath. I'm here for you. When I come across an idea or problem, the first thing I'll do is explicitly define the problem and break it up into smaller components. I'll examine what is said between the lines and what you're really asking. Maybe instead of "Do users understand our new function?" what you really want to know is "Can users use our new function without any external help?" or "What are the major issues users come across when trying out the new function?"

 

By developing a deep understanding of the problem, I can begin to gather data on how to solve it.

RESEARCH

Now that I have an understanding of what's needed, the next step is to do some background research. In academia, this is otherwise known as a literature review, but for practical reasons, I'll do an abridged version when working on a time-sensitive project. I am looking for information on whether this particular issue has been investigated before (no use reinventing the wheel) and what conclusions others have made. This data will help inform my study design in a meaningful way.

DESIGN

"How do we test this?"

 

This is the question that I try to answer when coming up with a study design. I step back and look at the problem, requirements, resources available, and background research to inform my design. For example, if a product is close to release, conducting a month-long diary study is probably not ideal. However, if we're trying to understand behavior that can't be captured in a lab setting and we want to use results to inform future designs, then those diary studies may be appropriate.

 

My goal here is to make sure that my study will answer the defined research question(s) and provide useful insight.

TEST

I've conducted user testing for almost a decade. My experiences range from small one-on-one lab sessions to rowdy classrooms full of energetic students to months-long protocols with patients in a hospital. I love working with people! For many, this may be their first time participating in a study, so I will try to make sure that they understand what we are trying to learn, what they can expect during the study, and answer any questions they may have.

ANALYZE DATA

Analyzing data can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with large amounts of information. Luckily, I will already have a plan for analysis built into my study design. I do different types of analysis, depending on the type of data and what I'm looking for. Some tools I use are Dedoose and Excel (for interview coding) and SPSS (for survey data). Occasionally I will use good old post-its and whiteboard markers as well.

RESULTS/ITERATION

I don't always produce a 100+ page document write-up of my research efforts. If I did, every study would take two-years and a three-hour public presentation. Instead, I will take my results and convert them into an appropriate format depending on my audience. This can take on the form of a bulleted list of outstanding issues and recommendations for fixing them or a single presentation slide. Sometimes the results will suggest a need to conduct follow-up studies, in which case I go back into design and testing mode.

PROJECTS

I have a diverse background of work. Below are just a few examples of projects I worked on - from field work to enterprise tools and classwork. Due to NDA, I cannot show my current work.

SEE MORE PORTFOLIO

CURRICULUM VITAE

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tomlinson, BJ.., Batterman, J., Chew, Y.C., Henry, A., Walker, B., Exploring Auditory Graphing Software in the Classroom: The Effect of Auditory Graphs on the Classroom Environment. ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS) 9, 1 (2016).

 

Yarosh, S., Chew, Y.C., and Abowd, G.D. Supporting Parent–Child Communication in Divorced Families. International Journal of Human Computer Studies 67, 2 (2009), 192-203. [pdf]

 

 

Refereed Non-Archival Publications

Chew, Y.C. and Caspary, Eric. MusEEGk: A Brain Computer Musical Interface. Ext. Abst. of CHI, (2011). [pdf]

 

 

Posters and Workshops

Chew, Y.C. and Walker, B., What did you say? Visually impaired students using bonephones in math class. Proceedings of the 15th ACM SIGACCESS International Conference on Computers and Accessibility (2013). Bellevue, WA, USA. [poster]

 

Chew, Y.C. and Caspary, E., MusEEGk: Design of a BCMI. Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition (2011). New York, NY, USA [pdf] [poster]

 

Chew, Y.C., Mappus, R., Jackson, M., BCI and Creativity. Workshop on Brain Body and Bytes: Psychophysiological User Interaction, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2010. [pdf]

 

Kim, T., Jeong, H., Chew, Y.C., Bonner, M., Stasko, J. Social Visualization for Micro-Blogging Analysis. (2009). VisWeek 2009. Atlantic City, NJ, USA. [pdf] [video]

 

 

Conference Presentations without Proceedings

Chew, Y.C., Davison, B., and Walker, B, From Design to Deployment: An Auditory Graphing Software for Math Education. Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, Center on Disabilities at California State University, Northridge (2014). San Diego, CA, USA.

 

Chew, Y.C., Assessing the Use of Auditory Graphs for Middle School Students with Vision Impairment. Southeast Women in Computing Conference (2013). Guntersville, AL, USA.

 

Tomlinson, B., Chew, Y.C., and Bruce, C., Sonification Lab: Who, What, Why, and How. Southeast Women in Computing Conference (2013). Guntersville, AL, USA.

 

 

Technical Reports

Chew, Yee Chieh, Brianna J. Tomlinson, and Bruce N. Walker. "Graph and Number Line Input and Exploration (GNIE) Tool Technical Report." (2014). [pdf]

 

 

Work Experience

User Experience Researcher, Kaiser Permanente (July 2015 - present)

Researcher in the Usability Center of Excellence at Kaiser Permenente. Work on both enterprise and consumer-facing software products, including mobile and innovation work.

 

Studio associate, Twig & Fig Paperie and Letterpress Studio (January 2015 - April 2015)

Calculated, organized, planned, and assembled project materials for custom print jobs. Also served as main technical support for paperie.

 

User Experience Co-op, IBM (June – November 2011, May - August 2012)

Prototyped mobile applications, designed and conducted usability sessions, and performed heuristic reviews of a wide range of information management products including: IBM Data Studio, Optim Performance Manager, Optim Configuration Manager, and IMS Tools

 

Usability Intern, Jackson Healthcare (June – July 2010)

Designed and prototyped a mobile webpage for Portal, a physician timesheet management service

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology  (August - December 2009, August – December 2012)

Teaching assistant for CS 3750 and 6750 Human-Computer Interaction (undergraduate and graduate)

 

Research Project Coordinator, Emory University (August 2006 - May 2008)

Assisted patients, doctors, and technicians with running clinical research studies investigating the links between the immune system and depression as part of the Psychiatry Department’s Mind-Body Program

 

Student Assistant, University of California, Berkeley (January  - December 2005)

Helped conduct literature reviews and prepare presentations for UC Berkeley professors

 

 

Activities

Coordinator, Women@CC (January 2009 - December 2014)

Coordinator for Grad Women@CC, a campus organization that supports and develops the community of Masters and PhD women in the Computer Sciences.

 

Lifetime Member, Alpha Phi Omega (January 2004 - present)

Alphi Phi Omega is national co-ed community service fraternity.

 

 

Awards

• Georgia Tech College of Computing Grace Hopper Conference Travel Scholarship Recipient (2012, 2013)

• Georgia Tech College of Computing Southeast Women in Computing Travel Scholarship Recipient (2013)

• Computer Research Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W) Grad Cohort Scholarship Recipient (2009, 2010)

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