Anecdata is a citizen science platform that allows users to upload, download, and browse content pertaining to their surroundings and environment. We worked on improving the user experience and information architecture of the platform. We achieved this by working on requirement gathering (surveys),  conducting usability analysis, creating user personas, and creating a system map. We further recommended a few features to improve the taxonomy and user flow of the platform. We believe that our work has positively impacted the lives of people who take a deep interest in the environment and use a platform like Anecdata to connect with like-minded people.

Oftentimes, those with the most important messages to share have neither the time nor money to create the most effective media for communicating their messages to others. Research has been done on this topic; however, it is largely inaccessible in both cost and writing. GRID is a free, readable, research-based web guide on how to write more readable documents, aimed at those working for social good. It takes research-based guidelines and professional industry practices and makes them easy to digest and implement for any screen-based document.

Epic’s Unreal Engine is complex with a lot of documentation and courses. The content creators face difficulty finding the information they are looking for and thus, require dynamically recommended related documentation/courses based on the Unreal Online Learning (UOL) search. We built a predictive analytics tool to recommend similar documentation and courses based on the UOL journey map of the user, working with terms from the taxonomies and knowledge graph. Our project helps users from different backgrounds to identify documentation easily, enabling equitable access to the tool. It also provides a personalized search experience for the user.

Epic Games maintains documentation and learning courses for Unreal Engine, a 3D creation tool. Many users find it difficult to search and navigate between these materials. We developed a unified data model that identifies overlaps in the metadata and relationship classes between documentation and online courses. This model formed the foundation of a knowledge graph of 2,700 documentation pages and 130 courses built with Neo4j. Analyzing the knowledge graph reveals dynamic connections. As Epic continues to build on our framework, content creators will be able to identify tags and linkages, bringing relevant material together and delivering relevant content to users.

The Language Metadata Table (LMT) is a standard set of language codes used in the media and entertainment industries. The LMT Working Group received several sets of requests for new language code additions and updates. I compared these requests to the existing coverage, performed background research to prepare the languages for ingesting, and made recommendations for inclusion. As a result, 95 languages have been sent to the LMT Working Group for review and inclusion, for an increase in coverage of almost 40%, while an additional 83 were sent to subcommittees and partner organizations for further review and discussion.

Epic Games provides the Unreal Engine to diverse users who use its functionalities for varied purposes. However, users often struggle to locate documentation most relevant to their needs. A keyword taxonomy would allow Epic’s technical writers to more consistently tag over 3,000 documentation pages, which would in turn improve searchability. By working to develop this taxonomy, we helped Epic to better understand the nuances of their unique knowledge management challenge. Our work yielded a proof of concept as well as recommendations that will help guide the company as they continue to work toward more equitable access to the Unreal Engine.

Voices: Data from an Expansive Christian Community is a structured repository of people, published media, and affiliate organizations that expands beyond the hegemonic voices of white American Evangelicalism and represents a more diverse, ecumenical, and global vision of Christianity. It provides a metadata schema and selection criteria for a curated dataset intended to support further research and analysis. The structure aims to elevate diverse content creators across disciplines who engage in smart and significant conversation about Christianity and its intersections with other faiths, race, social justice, gender, sexuality, and environmentalism.

The Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) is a core agency of our state government, providing a variety of personal and professional licenses and other legal documents. It manages huge amounts of data about Washington’s people and economy, and its data analysis is crucial to our legislature. However, its data governance lags behind its goals. We conducted dozens of interviews with DOL employees on how and what data they work with to craft a taxonomy and recommendations for how DOL should organize/conceptualize its data, improving efficiency and making the agency more responsive and modern, resulting in better services for all Washingtonians!

When responding to emergencies, police and firefighting organizations often miss critical pieces of information which adversely affects their response. As part of a pilot program for entrepreneurial capstone projects, Adaptive Resilience, LLC involves equal parts business and product development in an attempt to create a product that meets information needs of emergency responders and a business model to support the product. Through user-centered design practices and rapid generation and iteration of business models, we have come up with a novel solution oriented around a data-aggregation pipeline and UI that could be rapidly realized and scaled beyond a single industry application.

Oftentimes, most information about an art display in a museum is contained on a small plaque next to the piece. Museum-goers usually do not have access to any further information about the art they are looking at. This Henry Art Gallery Guide App aims to supplement the modern museum experience and increase art awareness. Our platform directly addresses this issue by giving users an interactive guide to their museum of choice with detailed information about individual art pieces. We allow museum-goers to easily and immediately learn more about pieces that pique their interest during their visit.