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About Me

Introduction

 

My name is Hannah "Rivka" Barrett. I am a Human Factors Engineer at Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), where my research focuses on existing and future insulin management products for people living with diabetes.

 

Prior to my work with BD, I was a User Researcher/Human Factors Engineer at Bose Corporation, where my projects included mobile apps, hearing assistive devices, and consumer electronics.

 

In December 2018, I graduated with my M.S. in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University.

 

I've worked with clients and in-house teams across a wide variety of industries, including: 

  • Nonprofits

  • Hospitals and medical device companies

  • Financial services companies

  • Large national retailers

  • Technology startups and corporations

 

My experiences include:

  • Expert reviews

  • Usability testing

  • Accessibility evaluations

  • Facilitating an UX strategy workshop

  • Survey design and consultation

  • Field interviews

  • Redesigning a website's information architecture

  • Developing, iterating and prototyping design concepts

  • App and website redesigns

  • Organizing and running a design hackathon

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My Background

 

My story, as with most people who find themselves working in UX, is full of twists and turns.

 

Here's my journey in a nutshell:

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Fun Stuff

For fun, I enjoy hiking and camping, going to farmers' markets, and exploring hole-in-the-wall restaurants. There's an electronic drum kit stashed in the corner of my home office, which I play sometimes. During 2020-2021, I became very interested in VR and video games, and am now part of a working group on improving the user experience of captions and sign language applications within immersive VR environments.

2008-2012: Majored in Psychology as an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  • Worked in social psychology research labs at both the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Tufts University

2012-2013: Went to Australia on a Fulbright Research Fellowship

  • Spent a year at Australian National University evaluating a mentoring program for young people with hearing aids and cochlear implants

  • Volunteered at Parliament House in Canberra, where I helped conduct literature reviews for briefs on healthcare disparities and services for Australians with disabilities

  • Presented at Cochlear Headquarters in Sydney and met with executives to discuss issues with online rehabilitation programs for adult cochlear implant recipients

2013-2017: Returned to Boston and worked in various research- and tech-oriented positions evaluating products and services for people with disabilities.

  • Completed an AmeriCorps service year with Partners for Youth with Disabilities (PYD), a local nonprofit for youth with disabilities - helped coordinate social media marketing campaigns, plan events (including an initiative at the Massachusetts State House to highlight PYD's services) and recruit mentors

  • Worked at Brigham & Women's Hospital to evaluate a new mobile app and associated clinical dashboard for behavioral health patients and clinical social workers

  • Coordinated social media marketing and user support for an early-stage assistive technology startup creating an online service for children with autism

2017-2018: Entered Bentley University's Human Factors in Information Design program

  • Gained valuable work experience:

    • Worked at Bentley's User Experience Center (UXC)

    • Interned with the User Research team at Liberty Mutual Insurance

  • Became involved in the HFID graduate community:

    • Joined the board of the User Experience Graduate Association as VP of Special Events

    • Coordinated and ran the UXGA annual hackathon in March 2018

  • Volunteered with some worthy causes:

    • Served as a pro bono consultant for PYD (the same organization I'd volunteered with through AmeriCorps) to improve the usability and accessibility of their website. Recruited a small group of Bentley students to perform a heuristic evaluation and create wireframes visualizing our design recommendations.

    • PYD took many of our recommendations into account when redesigning their website.

  • Took some great classes:

    • Coursework included usability testing, field research, prototyping, mobile app design, information architecture and statistical analysis

2018-2019: Graduated from Bentley University's Human Factors in Information Design program

  • Now I can say I have an M.S. in Human Factors in Information Design!

  • Continued to gain new skills and experience in my field:

    • Interned full-time with iRobot Corporation's design research team, working on an independent project related to robotics

2019-2020: Joined Bose Corporation as a User Researcher/Human Factors Engineer

  • Projects included leading and co-leading traditional usability lab studies, surveys, competitive analyses, and ethnographic field research into users' experiences with consumer electronic products, medical devices and mobile apps.

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2020-2021: After my position at Bose was impacted in a large company-wide round of layoffs during COVID-19, I joined a fantastic small team of Human Factors Engineers at Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD)

  • Currently leading usability studies into existing and future hardware diabetes products, helping coordinate field studies and competitive analyses, and collaborating with UX designers on improving associated mobile apps

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