HCDE welcomes usability study proposals from industry, community, and academic partners. In HCDE's usability studies course, students engage in product and user research, formulate an appropriate usability study, conduct the study, and analyze and report on their findings.
How it works
- Deadline to submit projects: December 20 (priority); January 5 (firm deadline)
- Team size: 3 – 4 students
- Duration: 10 weeks (January – March)
- Student level: Master's
- Expected output: Report and presentation summarizing finding and recommendations
- Expected sponsor commitment: An introduction to the product, review of final report or presentation, and access to users or potential users and the product. A mid quarter check-in is often beneficial but not required. There is no cost to propose a usability studies project.
Overall timeline
November – First week of January
Project proposals
- Clients propose projects.
- Instructors may ask clarifying questions.
Mid-January
Project kickoff
- Student teams reach out to clients for an initial meeting.
- Clients and teams finalize project scope.
Late January – Early March
Planning and conducting studies
- Student teams learn about the product or service being evaluated.
- Teams develop a preliminary study plan and a complete study kit.
- Teams conduct usability studies.
- Clients may optionally provide feedback on study materials.
Early to mid-March
Final reports and presentations
- Student teams prepare a written report and a short oral presentation.
- If there is mutual interest, teams may give a more in-depth presentation to the client.
What clients need to provide
During the study period, student teams need access to:
- A stable product or prototype to test.
- Target users of the product or service. Client support may be needed to recruit hard-to-reach users.
Submit a project proposal
HCDE accepts usability project proposals in autumn quarter for the winter usability studies course. To help you scope a project, please review this example usability studies syllabus from 2025. Students generally complete an initial study proposal, an interaction or experience map, a study plan, a study kit, and a final report and presentation.
To propose a project for Winter 2026 (January – March), please complete this form. Instructors will have the most opportunity to ask clarification questions and iterate on projects submitted by 20 December, but we can work with proposals submitted until 5 January. Project selection will occur in the second & third weeks of January.
Project proposal formTo discuss your plans, email Melissa Ewing at mewing3@uw.edu.
If you are interested in sponsoring a larger-scale project for either the undergraduate or graduate level, you may be interested in sponsoring a capstone project. Feel free to contact us at hcdecap@uw.edu to discuss your options.
Explore recent usability studies projects
UW Digital Initiatives Group
Making medical information easier to share
Partnering with UW’s Digital Initiatives Group (DIGI), the HCDE team evaluated a tool for sharing medical information, identifying ways to simplify terminology, improve navigation, and make health information easier to understand and share.
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Edmonds Historical Museum
Improving the Edmonds Historical Museum website
Partnering with the Edmonds Historical Museum, the HCDE team evaluated the museum’s redesigned website, identifying opportunities to improve navigation, clarify content, and make it easier for visitors to find information and engage with the museum.
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BOEING FOREFLIGHT
Improving multi-leg flight planning for pilots
Partnering with Boeing’s ForeFlight app team, the students studied how pilots plan multi-leg trips, identifying common workflows and recommending ways to streamline routing, clarify the interface, and improve onboarding.
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AMAZON
Understanding the Certified Refurbished customer experience
Partnering with Amazon, the HCDE team evaluated the Certified Refurbished program’s landing page and competitor sites, uncovering ways to improve trust, clarity, and ease of purchase for pre-owned devices.
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Nordstrom
Improving browsing on Nordstrom’s mobile website
Working with Nordstrom, the HCDE team studied how shoppers navigate the mobile site without search, revealing ways to improve category labels, navigation visibility, and overall browsing flow.
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Sony
Evaluating accessibility in Sony’s LinkBuds onboarding experience
Partnering with Sony, the team tested the accessibility of the LinkBuds onboarding process, uncovering design changes to improve how users with visual or dexterity challenges locate the QR code and access setup tutorials.
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WSDOT
Evaluating WSDOT Android app’s mountain pass reports
Partnering with WSDOT, the HCDE team evaluated the Mountain Pass Reports feature in the agency’s Android app, identifying ways to make key winter travel information easier to find, interpret, and act on.
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