Jake's user research and design work

Here you'll find case studies, share-out samples, and a rundown of how many studies I've done.

Case studies

User research and design for caregivers

3 example mobile application wireframes in high fidelity. The wireframe on the left depicts the application's main hub where users can clock in or out, access information about their clients, or access their activity logs or notes. The wireframe in the center contains example information about a caregivers' client that would be in an individual service plan (ISP). And the wireframe on the right contains information about clocking out.

Research, design, testing, and iteration that solved real-world problems for caregivers of folks with severe intellectual or developmental disabilities.

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User research and design for classic car insurance seekers

High fidelity wireframes for a classic car insurance landing page, that (for instance) a user would get to by clicking on a google ad. On the left is an old version, or version A. It has poor styling, and irrelevant, subjective content that doesn't really entice new customers, and provides no support for existing customers. On the left is the new version, or version B. It has updated styling, updated content that resonated with more users, and provides more support for existing clients like a pay bill link and a login link.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis, design, testing, and iteration that eased the pain of applying online for a classic car insurance policy.

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User research and design for staff needing to train

Research and design that improved information architecture of training course organization and made it easier for staff to access required trainings.

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User research for call center sales agents

The at-home workstation of a Hagerty Insurance sales agent, including a small wooden desk with various pieces of equipment on it including a monitor stand with 2 side-by-side monitors, a laptop, keyboard and mouse, a tablet, various personal framed photos and personal knickknacks. Next to the desk is a printer and a filing cabinet, and behind the workstation is a window, blocked by the monitors.

Contextual inquiry that helped product teams and call center management prioritize critical experiential improvements to staff tools and processes.

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Sample research documents

Detailed user interview report for project team

An affinity map featuring groups of groups of groups of observations on sticky notes about users.

I interviewed Service and Support Administrators to help my team better understand their motivations and attitudes while seeking health providers or residential services for their clients with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Go to report

Usability test report for a company-wide audience

High fidelity laptop and mobile views of a website that takes caregiver job applications.

I usability tested a custom job application flow for caregivers of folks with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Go to report

Comparative analysis top-line report

A chart depicting similarities and differences between Rhizr and other content publishing systems.

My research team and I co-conducted a comparative analysis and co-wrote a research report for Columbia University's Rhizr product team.

Download report

User research plan for design discovery

A visualization of a research plan, in a color coded table. The plan outlines broad research activities that will occur over 3 quarters of a work year.

I created a research plan centered around creating understanding and empathy for users involved with providing care to folks with IDDs, and then to help design solutions to their salient real-world problems.

Download plan

Discovery research report for a company-wide audience.

An illustration of a caregiver (right) and the person they serve (left). The two are smiling and enjoying cups of coffee at a table together.

A broad overview of the most salient findings from a diary study (and follow-up interviews), and training with caregivers.

Go to report

Presentation about wonkiness of Net Ease

An image of a presentation slide. It shows that Net Ease considers some scores to be equal even if they are quantitatively unequal with typical math considerations like averages.

Net Ease is a common, yet problematic way to track success of usability or UX. I presented my rationale to product and design leaders at Hagerty.

Download slides

Microcopy guide

An image of a good and bad example of being consistent with web copy on a button. On the left, the good example, where 2 buttons that do the same thing are labeled 'Join the Club'. On the right is the bad example. 1 button says 'Join the Club' and the other says 'Become a member'. They both do the same thing and so could confuse users.

User interface writing is design work, and should be treated as such. I wrote a guide for the design team at Hagerty to help our designers hone their writing craft.

Download guide

AB test report for a product team audience.

High fidelity wireframes for a classic car insurance landing page, that (for instance) a user would get to by clicking on a google ad. On the left is an old version, or version A. It has poor styling, and irrelevant, subjective content that doesn't really entice new customers, and provides no support for existing customers. On the left is the new version, or version B. It has updated styling, updated content that resonated with more users, and provides more support for existing clients like a pay bill link and a login link.

I conducted an AB test to help steer the direction of the paid landing page of an insurance application process.

Download report

UX analysis of sales opportunities, for executive audience

A classic Porsche driving down a paved, single-lane, winding, mountainside road.

I assessed areas of opportunity to better meet the needs of users interested in classic car valuations who would need insurance for their car.

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Personas of caregivers of folks with severe intellectual or developmental disabilities

A persona for a caregiver. Sections include a short bio, a description of their background, a description of their on-the-job context, a list of tasks they perform throughout the day, and their most critical needs and pain points.

After conducting discovery research for caregivers, I created a series of personas that were used for the development of marketing content and a custom application dedicated to making their work easier.

Download persona

Journey maps of call center sales agents

A journey map for a call representative at an insurance company. The journey map lays out the activities a call rep typically does during a call with a client, outlines moments of delight and frustration for the call rep, and identifies specific opportunities to solve the call reps' experiential problems.

After conducting a contextual inquiry and diary study to learn more about call center sales agent experiences, I created a few journey maps to help pinpoint areas of improvement opportunities.

Download journey map

Study totals

  • Usability tests
    141
  • User interviews
    81
  • Split or AB tests
    52
  • 1st-click tests
    32
  • Heuristic evaluations
    20
  • Card sorts
    18
  • 5-second tests
    18
  • Surveys
    14
  • Tree tests
    13
  • Contextual inquiries
    7
  • Comparative analyses
    7
  • Desirability tests
    4
  • Diary studies
    4
  • Field studies
    4