CMU Human-Computer Interaction Institute

Fall 2022 - Spring 2023

How can we centralize and provide information about CMU research opportunities while making them discoverable?

Project Lead

Sherry Chen

Team Members

Sherry C, Jack Lenga, Emily Jiang, Keqing Cheng, Phyllis Feng, Stephanie Liu, Thien Le, Yuki Chen

Community Partner

CMU Human-Computer Interaction Institute

Context

Working with the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at CMU

The HCI Institute at CMU's vision is to connect thought leaders in computer science, design, behavioral and social sciences in order to develop human-centered software, services and systems that improve people's lives through technology. Learn more
After speaking to many members of the HCI Institute from undergrads, grad students, and professors, we came to the consensus that the current system of how students find research was confusing. We identified the weak spots and developed a more sustainable solution to connect students with research opportunities.

Problem Space

How might we make searching for research opportunities more consistent and clear?

Project Overview

We aimed to design and define a surface that encourages students to discover a project they are interested in. We wanted to remove the barrier-to-entrance that currently exists on through the spreadsheet.

Research

Understanding how CMU students currently navigate the spreadsheet

We first started with a heuristic evaluation of the current spreadsheet. Each member of the team found at least 2 pain points which helped us gain a better understanding and pin point what exactly needed to be improved.

Affinity Diagramming

We found that one of the biggest pain points was the insufficient information and inaccuracy of what's available.
Another big takeaway from the difficulty to search and filter for specific types of opportunities.

User Research with Students at CMU

What college(s) are you in?
Have you ever pursued or considered pursuing research? Why?
Have you ever seen or used the CS or HCI spreadsheets? Which one?
Tell us about a time you last saw or used the spreadsheets.
What is your ideal role in research?
Are there other sources of research opportunities you have used before?

Tasks

Find at least 2 positions that are Independent Study or paid that interest you.
- Are you interested in a paid research experience?
- When do you want to participate in this research project?
- When would you start looking for research?
Find a research position that meets your requirements.
- Is this research project currently open? (Could you find this information easily)
- Do you fit the skills needed to join this project? (What do you think looking at the skills?)
Now that you’ve found a research position, what are your next steps?
- How would you reach out to the person of contact?
- What would you say? What specific information would you provide?
- On a scale of 1-5, how certain would you feel about them responding back? Why?

Modeling

Synthesizing user needs based on our research

Key Insights

These were the main insights we gained from our research methods.

the names belong to the researchers not participants

Ideate Part 1

Rapid ideation sketches based on our findings

We started with a user journey map and prioritized features into A-level needs vs. B-level needs.

Reframe

Shifting our mindset

Reflecting on our research and collaboration

As we started designing the website, we realized there was more than website when it comes to designing a new solution. We realized a lot of the problems came from the way the answers are collected from the professors. There's no consistency when it comes to positions, descriptions, what kind of skills are needed for each project.

We used Airtable as a way to prototype our solution using refined and consistent responses from the professors as well as a way to search and filter for opportunities.