In response to the rise of aggressive email marketing and high volumes of spam, email clients have introduced partitioned inboxes and bolstered spam filters and now users expect a high level of control and low clutter in their inbox. Why don’t we think about our phone calls the same way? Phones currently provide the ability to blacklist specific numbers individually after the user sits through a solicitation call. This method ultimately proves futile, as your phone remains a direct line to your person - accessible by anyone at any time. Unfiltered. Built from a whitelisting concept, our project attempts to solve this issue and provides a non-invasive call and voicemail management service to finally put control in hands of the user. Only the calls that you want to receive will come through, and a minimal user interface allows you to handle precisely how unknown calls are treated. Welcome to Whitelist bliss.

YouTube Cooking Shows (YTCS) want to interact with their users and know who is using their instructions to cook in real life. YTCS cannot get this information through YouTube’s default user engagement methods such as total views, comments, liking, and subscribing. We designed a YouTube app called YouCook that gives users recipe suggestions, a cookbook, a meal plan, and a grocery list. YouCook records and analyzes user data and provides YTCS with metrics to measure what their viewers are cooking. YouCook bridges an information gap: user’s will be able to have cooking resources in one convenient location, and YTCS will have more data and analysis that will allow them to cater to their user’s needs by providing user-centered content based on user’s interests.

CenturyLink Arena is responsible for maintaining over a hundred refrigerators to keep products fresh for their customers. Every broken fridge costs CenturyLink more than $1000 in replacement parts and products. Existing Device Monitoring Systems (DMSs) can be used to track fridge failures, but are difficult to navigate and require data analysis training to use. Web 10.0 has teamed with Seattle startup Ombitron Inc. to create a new platform-as-service DMS to solve these issues. Ombitron hardware detects a variety of critical metrics about a device, then Web 10.0’s Dashboard interface delivers this information to users in a streamlined and visually appealing style for at-a-glance notification. Detailed metrics and time graphs are also available for each device to track history and changes in performance. This Dashboard will be adapted to suit a wide range of devices, and is currently being considered for use by multiple companies.

Public libraries are always looking for ways to ensure that they cater to each demographic group in their communities, in particular marginalized and underrepresented groups. My project helped Wilsonville Public Library in Oregon cater to a group that previously flew under its radar. I have developed and implemented a book club at a controversial, recently-constructed women’s prison within the Wilsonville community. As the ultimate goal of the Oregon Department of Corrections is to reduce the rate of recidivism, our uncensored book material will provide for constructive discussions aimed at promoting literacy and pro-social behavior in the inmates. This book club provides an effective liaison between the Department of Corrections and Wilsonville Public Library in a way that benefits all stakeholders. Even auxiliary benefits of such a connection are apparent, as community awareness has led to several donations of books to the prison library.

Local courts noticed an increase in ‘pro se’ or self-represented litigation. In order to help better prepare these litigants, King County Superior Court judges and administration have commissioned a study to design the delivery of web-based information to better suit these users. Detailed analysis was conducted on the current website through the review of content inventories and sitemaps. Surveys of user behavior and observation were used to streamline assistance for domestic violence and consolidate Spanish language resources to facilitate ESL needs. In person testing was conducted with potential jurors to determine public perception and usability when facing tasks involving eviction, divorce, and juvenile justice. All data was compiled into a proposal for redesign, and presented to King County Superior Court as a set of recommendations for website improvement to better serve the needs of the pro se population.

Have you ever held a musket ball or a three-foot long walrus tusk? Ever wondered what a sad iron is, and how it was used? Artifacts like these are just a few of the more than 600 items the Museum of History and Industry uses in support of its programming for children and families. With curriculum covering everything from the Coast Salish Tribes of Puget Sound to Century 21, the Seattle World's Fair, MOHAI's programming brings local history to schools throughout Puget Sound. With the museum's move to their new location this collection is now at a storage facility in Georgetown, across town from South Lake Union where Education staff have their offices. Using CollectiveAccess, a customizable open-source collections management database, we have described and organized this collection so the Education Department staff can continue to access and share this valuable collection.

Weather delays. Mechanical failures. Network outages. Each day, airlines are confronted with incidents that affect the efficiency of their operation. Effective management of a deluge of information is the key to a successful response. Poor communication can lead to stranded aircraft, passengers, and cargo; and in the event of an accident, information may be a lifeline. Our project designs the framework for a web-based incident management system for Alaska Airlines, meeting the company’s requirements for an intuitive interface that requires minimal training, and the ability to sort, search through, and share large amounts of data. This communication system enables resolution of complicated incidents and helps Alaska remain the #1 carrier in on-time performance.

Alaska Airlines is a major commercial airline based in Seattle, Washington. They employ approximately 3,000 flight attendants who provide direction and assistance on flights within North America. A daily focus on flight attendant scheduling and productivity metrics is necessary to effectively manage airline costs, minimize operational delays, and forecast future productivity to generate revenue and maintain market share. The interactive Flight Attendant Productivity Tool prototype we developed packages scheduling and productivity metrics in a clean and in-depth decision-making format. The tool provides Alaska Airlines management with continuous access to relevant and accurate staffing data and productivity metrics to monitor flight attendant productivity and forecast staffing needs. It enables Alaska Airlines to maintain efficient airline operation and to remain competitive in the airline business.

Our project consists of the development of a system that aims at helping the non-profit organization Seattle Tilth to keep in touch with students that have graduated from one of their programs. Until today, our sponsor did not have any formal way of contacting their alumni, and any communication that happened was merely informal. Our research with current and former students showed that the best mix of media was e-mail, SMS and Facebook. We then built a communication system managed via Salesforce. Our sponsor will provide useful information through these channels on a regular basis for engaging alumni; structured surveys to gather information about the current status of the alumni will also be sent.