My curiosity about how people think and perceive the world around them led me to pursue a Psychology major in undergrad. As a student, I was excited to learn about psychology research and would enthusiastically read out loud about research findings from my textbooks to my roommates. They mostly didn’t share my enthusiasm, but the potential to improve people’s lives through research led me to design an independent research study and become a Research Assistant in a psychology lab. I loved it, and then came graduation and several years of the real world and now a return to pursuing my interest in using insights gained from research to help individuals and communities.
I recently completed a M.S. degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) that gave me the opportunity to build my research skills and incorporate user insights into the design process of interfaces in order to make the experience more efficient and satisfying for the people who use them.
If you're interested in chatting more about UX research and design, feel free to shoot me a note at mollygudmundson@gmail.com. I would love to connect with you.
And don't worry - I promise I won't read any research studies aloud to you.
About Me
Experience
Ideation & Prototyping
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UX Research - interviewing, surveys, persona definition, affinity diagramming
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Usability Evaluation - heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthrough, usability testing
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Interaction Design - prototyping, use case development
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Information Architecture - card tests, tree tests
Education
DePaul University
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M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction, June 2017
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B.A. in Psychology, June 2012
Tools
User-Centered Methods
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Axure, Sketch, InVision, InDesign, Photoshop, Wordpress
Tools
Additional Project Work
Learner-Centered Design
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Developed a tutorial using Versal.com that incorporated learner-centered design principles. Tested the tutorial with participants and conducted statistical analysis of participant data, which revealed a significant positive effect of the tutorial on learner knowledge.
Child-Centered Design
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Hosted three design workshops with child design partners focused on ideating, prototyping and testing a tablet-based educational game for teaching children about the butterfly lifecycle.
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Served as the main point of contact and liaison between the client and 7-member UX team throughout a full life-cycle design of the Health + Social desktop site.
Client Management
UX Research/Usability Evaluation
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Conducted individual interviews with Accenture employees in Europe to explore preferences, desires, and expectations for internal and external learning systems.
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Created user research materials, including a survey and interview script.
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Analyzed research results with thematic coding.
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Conducted testing sessions with a redesigned prototype of myLearning, Accenture's internal learning portal. Employed a “think aloud” method to gather participants’ first impressions of the redesign and expectations regarding the purpose and functionality of UI elements.
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Developed a product concept statement and a mood board for a mobile application that allows users to order an autonomous vehicle. Designed lo-, mid-, and hi-fi prototypes using Axure.
Information Architecture
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Conducted a tree test to explore potential areas of improvement in the information architecture of www.theknot.com. Created a new sitemap based on tree test outcomes.
