Zillow is an online real-estate service that offers renters and homeowners a variety of information surrounding property availability and pricing. Boasting data on over 100 million homes, Zillow is currently one of the largest online real-estate companies in the world. Predicting future home purchasing trends across different geographic regions is critical for Zillow’s success in meeting the shifting needs and interests of its consumers. Using insight derived from user search behavior on the Zillow platform, we created a clustering algorithm that provides Zillow’s data analytics team with a continuous snapshot of relevant, accurate trends in how users’ property preferences change or remain similar across zip code regions and time. Our insight into renter and homeowner search behavior enables Zillow to better predict the interests of its consumers; make smarter market suggestions to existing Zillow real estate partners; and gain a competitive edge in the real-estate information business.

A joint venture of Microsoft and Accenture, Avanade is a global company that delivers technical solutions to enterprise businesses. This technology driven company resolved to revitalize their recruitment methods and create a more tech savvy presence at career fairs by creating a digital application to collect candidate information. Our team’s project was to design and develop a Windows 8 application for Avanade that electronically collects candidate information and aggregates applicant information into a format that can be easily shared between Avanade employees and systems. Our goal for the application was not only to produce a convenient information management tool for Avanade recruiters, but also to contribute to creating a high quality first impression for Avanade candidates. With this project, we have successfully provided Avanade a proof of concept on which they can expand and make more accommodating for use in their international locations.

Our research aimed to improve student experience in large university lectures. Specifically, we examined the use of backchannels (a moderated chat alongside lecture) and the effectiveness thereof with respect to students’ grades, level of participation, and overall satisfaction. We began with a survey of 149 responding students, and focused further with interviews. The survey reached two academic quarters of students from an introductory informatics course. Respondents self-categorized into three groups based upon their interaction with the backchannel: contributors, observers, and non-users. This split developed into our personas to interview. Our findings revealed significant supporting evidence of greater interest in lecture and higher participation with backchannel involvement. Further qualitative analysis suggests, also, that backchannel contributors achieved higher grades. Thus, backchannels can enhance student experience in large lectures--especially with our feedback-inspired redesign. Though we prioritized student experience, we believe that instructors, likewise, benefit from a more engaged student base.

My project makes investing in Exchange-Traded Funds, or ETFs, easier by guiding the investor through an easy-to-follow three step process. Investors, especially ones new to the trading industry, are often overwhelmed at the sheer amount of information that is available to them. I addressed this issue by creating an application that uses simple, questionnaire-style input from the investor to determine their individual needs to create an investment strategy based on current market data. The end result is a straightforward list of ETFs that can be taken to any brokerage firm and immediately traded. By limiting the amount of technical details the investor has to understand, and focusing on a simple, easy-to-follow guide, I give the investor an intuitive and powerful tool for increasing their financial stability.

Costco is facing multiple behavioral problems at their IT division including lack of knowledge sharing, motivation to share, lack of transparency in employees skillset and lack of recognition on sharing/improvement efforts by engineers. We are creating BMS, The Badge Management System, to solve these behavioral problems of Costco IT. BMS not only is a software application but it also brings set of business processes in the place. Main purpose of this system is to motivate people to share knowledge among the Costco Family and award recognition on their effort. BMS, with simple concept of awarding badges, will increase knowledge sharing between Costco IT employees drastically, help find right people to ask questions or to consult on their projects, motivate individuals to learn more or learn something new to gain badges to increase their recognition and ultimately their status quo. 

According to the University of Washington Undergraduate Advising Office, “Many students are undecided about their majors when they enter college — and many who think they have decided will change their minds more than once before they graduate.” However, changing majors is costly. Students that change majors often end up taking longer than expected to graduate. This means that students must absorb additional tuition and living costs. During the 2013-2014 academic year, the average full-time student paid up to $31,971 in tuition alone. CourseConnect is a proof-of-concept web tool built to help students easily learn about majors they might be interested in, based on their course history and/or academic plan. By using data about courses previous students have taken and the degree they obtained, CourseConnect aims to reduce the risk and costs associated with changing majors by helping students make informed choices when they declare or change majors.

Online streaming services such as Twitch.tv allow anyone with a computer to share their gaming experiences with other people who share their passion for video gaming, while making a profit sharing what they do with others. Inspired by popular streaming platforms like Twitch and StageIt (another streaming service for the performing arts), as well as cooking communities like the Food Network, Crumble plans to develop a unique experience for users with an environment specifically tailored for live streaming cooking shows. As a multi-functional, live streaming platform, streamers will have the ability to broadcast at a low budget with a service that offers tools to schedule broadcasts, discover commercial opportunities, and effectively share information with viewers in a cooking context. Viewers will have easy access to cooking education and real-time interaction with streamers. Crumble revolutionizes how users invite the world into their kitchen.

Our project addresses outdated and clunky software being used in pathology departments across the U.S. and Canada. Our team is working with Peak Medical Technologies, a consulting firm aiming to develop a new suite to solve many problems prevalent in this field such as high error-rates in filling out medical forms. We are addressing this problem by creating a data-driven approach that reduces confusion and helps push users towards correct decisions. Our solution will be considered successful if an inexperienced user (not just a doctor or pathologist) can complete a request for sample testing through our computerized form with a low error rate.