Usability Specialist
Greater Pittsburgh Area
- Past
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- Research Collaborator / Project Manager at NASA
- Masters Student at Carnegie Mellon University
- Salesperson at Sheetz
- Physical Science Aide at National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Education
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- Carnegie Mellon University
- University of Maryland Baltimore County
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Recommended
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- Industry
- Information Technology and Services
- Websites
Jack Beaton’s Summary
Usable design specialist with design management experience specializing in Human-Computer Interaction, trained and employed at the Carnegie Mellon HCI Institute. Mixed background in user research and computer science.
My goal is to work for international companies on cutting-edge products that make innovation suddenly and dramatically easier in ways that currently require expensive training and experience, and to increase the reliability of people by decreasing the confusing nature of their tools.
Jack Beaton’s Specialties:
Specialty:
Usability studies of Service-Oriented Architecture APIs. HCI project team management for difficult design domains within engineering environments.
HCI Training:
Contextual inquiry, interface design, heuristic evaluation, think-aloud usability testing, networking with users for research and testing recruitment, GOMS, cognitive walkthrough, and rapid prototyping through the use of Visual Studio .NET, Flash, and Visio.
Jack Beaton’s Experience
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Research Collaborator / Project Manager
NASA
(Information Technology and Services industry)
January 2007 — August 2007 (8 months)
Served as project manager for the research, design, implementation, testing, and presentation of functional prototypes of the PROPHET mobile interface for problem reporting by NASA engineers and technicians.
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Masters Student
Carnegie Mellon University
(Information Technology and Services industry)
August 2006 — August 2007 (1 year 1 month)
Achieved a 3.89 GPA; was at all times serving as either a project manager or client liaison of a project team, in addition to duties as Graduate Student Assembly Representative and Toastmasters Secretary. Studied interface design and usability techniques, including applied ethnography, mobile design, management in virtual environments, and human-robotic interaction.
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Salesperson
Sheetz
(Privately Held; Consumer Services industry)
January 2006 — June 2006 (6 months)
As a salesperson, dealt directly with a constant influx of customers demanding immediate customer service across multiple points of sale simultaneously.
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Physical Science Aide
National Institute of Standards and Technology
(Government Agency; 1001-5000 employees; Research industry)
June 1997 — August 2000 (3 years 3 months)
Located, reviewed, and abstracted scholarly papers containing needed scientific data for the NIST/EPA/NIH Mass Spectral Database.
Jack Beaton’s Education
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Carnegie Mellon University
MS, Human-Computer Interaction, 2006 — 2007
Graduated with 3.89 cumulative GPA after taking classes under Bonnie John, Anind Dey, Illah Nourbakhsh, Brad Myers, Susan Fussell, and Sara Kiesler.
- Activities and Societies:
- Project Manager of NASA PROPHET 2007 team for HCI Project during Spring & Summer 2007, Client Liaison of Fall 2006 RADAR User-Constructed Workflows project team, Project Manager in Fall 2006 Management in a Virtual Environment, Founding Secretary of Carnegie Mellon Toastmasters Symposium public speaking club, Graduate Student Assembly MCHI representative for Spring 2006 & Fall 2007 semesters.
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University of Maryland Baltimore County
BA, Cultural Anthropology, 2000 — 2004
Matriculated directly from 3rd year of high school with full, four-year University Scholarship.
- Activities and Societies:
- Member of Honors College, 2004 Outstanding Student in Anthropology, International Student Exchange Program participant for 2002-2003 academic year (see CUHK entry).
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong
IASP, International Asian Studies Program, 2002 — 2003
Member of New Asia College, in Chih Hsing Hall, with roommates Lai Mike Sau Yee and Wong Yeung, and next-door neighbor Yam Brian Yuk Tat. Attended classes for the full academic year, ending with the cancellation of final exams during the Hong Kong SARS crisis of 2003.
- Activities and Societies:
- Member of the CUHK Chinese Martial Arts Society.
