Michael Sharp has extensive experience in user experience research, usability testing, and information design. He has conducted usability testing on 3D rendering applications and studied readers' preferences for technical documentation graphics. More recently, he has led UX efforts for several companies, including usability testing for websites, mobile apps, and software products. He currently works as an information designer and usability specialist.

1. Michael Sharp, PhD
User Experience Research

2. Previously:
Usability and Tech Comm
• University of Colorado Aerospace Department
Two-phase usability protocol on in-house 3D
rendering application
– Phase 1 (individual sessions) identified problems
with user interface
– Phase 2 (a group session) determined which
problems identified in Phase 1 would be fixed first

3. Previously:
Usability and Tech Comm
• University of Colorado at Denver,
MSc Technical Communication
Master’s Thesis
– Readers’ preference for process graphics and
outcome graphics accompanying equipment
assembly instructions
– Sharp, D. M. (2003). “Reader’ Preference for
Process Graphics” Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE
International Professional Communication
Conference. Orlando, Florida, pp. 301 – 306.

4. Previously:
UX research at Rensselaer
Social Behavioral Research Lab
– Designed and managed usability/gaming labs
– Managed:
• 3D image design for new mediation research
• UX research projects (gaming and new mediation)
• Research recruitment and data collection
• Communication of research findings:
conferences/journals/seminars
– Directed development of interactive 3D environment
– CV available

5. Previously:
UX research at Rensselaer
Social Behavioral Research Lab
– Eye tracking studies and hand-held devices
– Krull, R., Sundararajan, B., Sharp, D. M., Potts, L.
(2004). User Eye Motion with a Handheld Personal
Digital Assistant, Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE
Professional Communication Society. Minneapolis,
Minnesota, pp. 279-288.
– Two firsts for eye tracking (on next slide):
• Writing into “thin air”
• Spell checking

6. Eye tracking firsts

7. Previously:
UX research at Rensselaer
Embodied interaction and user experience: a study of interactive, 3D
graphics in procedural information (PhD dissertation)
• Applied:
– Wicked problem solving
(R. Buchanan and H. Rittel)
– Embodied interaction (Paul Dourish)
– Effective interface design for direct
manipulation (B. Schneiderman)
• Visualization earned United States
provisional patent: #60/754,143
• http://search.proquest.com/docview/304835210/abstract
• Presented at IEEE IPCC 2006
• Published in Information Design Journal

8. Previously:
UX research at Rensselaer
Dissertation data samples:
User familiar with task User unfamiliar
with task

9. More recently:
Professional UX work
2006 – signing founder of Denver UX chapter
2007 – Qwest.com (which later became Century
Link) Human Factors department
• User experience/usability:
– Built usability lab
– Recruited test subjects
– Utilized Morae for data markers
– Ran subjects through online tasks, to observe:
• Online chat acceptance
• Ability to “bundle”
• http://www.centurylink.com/ (residential)

10. More recently:
Professional UX work
2007 – present: Androgames, LLC
• User experience/usability:
– Maintain usability for Bubbleburst across new hand-held
devices:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andro
games.BubbleBurst
– Pushed the concept and designed the logo for Kaleidocam:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andro
dev.kaleidocam
– Drove concept to merge Kaleidocam with Sphero robotics,
to take 3rd place at the Sphero 2012 Hack Tour:
http://www.gosphero.com/sphero-hack-tour-2012-
boulder/

11. More recently:
Professional UX work
2008 – Electronic Ink
• Lead Human Factors Analyst
– Eye tracking
– Affinity lists
– Activity theory / rhetorical theory
• Led Human Factors effort on rework of web
site for Center City Philadelphia (still in use
today) http://www.centercityphila.org

12. More recently:
Professional UX work
2011 – Trapdoor Books
• User experience and usability
– Software testing / Regression testing / QA
– Tested enhanced e-books to work on
• Android
• iOS
• Kindle
• Nook
– Check out the features of enhanced e-books

13. More recently:
Professional UX work
2012 – Present: Radiometrics
• Information design and usability
– Webmaster: http://radiometrics.com/
– Usability testing on software products
– Troubleshooting wiki (using DokuWiki)
– YouTube: Liquid Nitrogen usage communication
– Repair videos (NASA Glenn project)
– Teach use of wiki media and document
collaboration