‍Megan‍Olson
megan.olson.hf@gmail.com | MeganDOlson.weebly.com
Objective
· Secure an opportunity to leverage my training in human factors and user experience research to design more effective,
safer, and more satisfying system interactions for users.
Education
PH.D. | 2018 (ANTICIPATED) | TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY | LUBBOCK, TEXAS
· Experimental Psychology – Human Factors
· Research Area: Collision Perception and Time-to-Contact
M.A. | DECEMBER 2015 (ANTICIPATED) | TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY | LUBBOCK, TEXAS
· Experimental Psychology - Human Factors, GPA- 4.0
· Thesis: Simultaneous Judgments of Time-to-Contact for Visual and Auditory Objects
B.A. | MAY 2012 | RICE UNIVERSITY | HOUSTON, TEXAS
· Major: Cognitive Sciences (Emphases: Psychology, Linguistics)
· Honors Thesis: Effect of Experience on System Usability Scale (SUS) Scores
Relevant Research & Professional Experience
UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION WITH MICROSOFT | AUGUST 2015 - PRESENT
· Searched, analyzed and synthesized the literature for human factors methods as a part of a grant from Microsoft.
· Worked as a member of a team tasked with gathering the literature, and editing and writing white papers based on a
thoughtful integration of the researched methodologies
GRADUATE RESEARCHER | TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY | AUGUST 2013 - PRESENT
· Conceptualized, designed, administered, and analyzed three studies connecting visual perception and collision
perception
GRADUATE INSTRUCTOR | TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY | AUGUST 2013 - PRESENT
· Perception: Theories and Applications (Instructor Ratings: 4.91/5 for instructor effectiveness)
· Research Methods Lab (Instructor Ratings: 4.71/5 for instructor effectiveness)
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF HUMAN FACTORS | JANUARY 2014 – AUGUST 2015
· Collected data relating to publication records and system usage
· Conceptualized and implemented the Student Review Program
· Researched‍and‍conceptualized‍the‍journal’s‍replication‍initiative
USABILITY CONSULTANT | EYEGUIDE | MARCH 2015 – JULY 2015
· Planned, executed and evaluated two stages of iterative user testing and subsequent design implementation
· Designed iterative working design prototypes from paper prototyping to functional Axure browser/mobile applications
ENGLISH TEACHER | WORLD INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH | JULY 2012 - JULY 2013
· Prepared daily lesson plans and instructed classes of 1-30 students from low beginner to high advanced levels
· Conducted staff training at a new teaching center
· Coordinated with national management to determine local marketing strategies and hiring decisions
HUMAN FACTORS HONORS THESIS | RICE UNIVERSITY | JULY 2011 – MAY 2012
· Developed testing scenarios to evaluate the validity of the System Usability Scale score with respect to user experience
· Organized subject recruitment and management for all testing
· Collected and analyzed experimental data to determine significance for practitioners using the SUS
Publications and Presentations
REFERREED PUBLICATIONS
· Kortum, P., & Johnson, M. (2013, September). The relationship between levels of user experience with a product and
perceived system usability. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 57, No.
1, pp. 197-201). SAGE Publications.
REFERREED POSTERS AND PRESENTATIONS
· Olson, M., DeLucia, P.D., Baures, R. (2015). Simultaneous judgments of time-to-contact for visual and auditory objects.
Presentation at 2015 Houston Human Factors and Ergonomics Symposium. Houston, TX.
· Olson, M., & Popp, E. (2015). Usability evaluation of the Human Factors Journal manuscript submission portal. Poster
presented at 2015 Houston Human Factors and Ergonomics Symposium. Houston, TX.
· Armstrong, M., & Olson, M. (2015). Users designing interfaces: discovery through a modified design studio.
Presentation at 2015 Houston Human Factors and Ergonomics Symposium. Houston, TX.
NONREFERREED POSTERS AND PRESENTATIONS
· Olson, M., & Popp, E. (2015). Usability evaluation of the Human Factors Journal manuscript submission portal. Poster
presented at 2015 Human Factors and Ergonomics Symposium International Meeting. Los Angeles, CA.
Skills & Abilities
RESEARCH
· User Experience Research
and Usability Testing
· Task Analysis and
Cognitive Task Analysis
· Eye Tracking
· Heuristic Analysis
· User Centered Design
· Prototyping
· Experimental Design
· Statistical Analysis
LANGUAGES
· English (Native)
· Spanish (TESOL CertificationHigh Intermediate)
· Mandarin Chinese (Beginner)
SOFTWARE
· Statistical Analysis: SAS (Moderately
proficient), SPSS (Moderately proficient)
· Prototyping and Design: Axure
(Moderately proficient), Photoshop
(Beginner)
· Microsoft Office Suite: Word, Excel,
Powerpoint (Highly Proficient)
· Eye Tracking: Eye Guide Focus,
Visualizer, and Analyze (Moderately
proficient)
Honors and Awards
· AT&T‍Chancellor’s‍Graduate Fellowship – August 2013 – May 2017
· Houston HFES Travel Fellowship – October 2015
Service and Affiliations
HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS SOCIETY
STUDENT CHAPTER
· Vice-President | April 2015- Present
· Secretary | April 2014 – April 2015
· Member | August 2013 - Present
HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS SOCIETY
· Student Member | August 2013 - Present
Relevant Coursework
HUMAN FACTORS AND USER EXPERIENCE
· Human Factors Psychology
· Human Factors Methods
· Human Computer Interaction
· Usability Testing and Research
· Human Factors and Ergonomics (Undergraduate)
· Methods in Human-Computer Interaction
(Undergraduate)
· Human Factors and Medical Devices (Undergraduate)
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
· Human Factors in Engineering and Design
· Work Physiology
PSYCHOLOGY
· Cognitive Ergonomics
· Cognitive Neuroscience
· Perception
STATISTICS
· Experimental Design
· Advanced Correlational Methods and Regression
· Multivariate Statistics