Lebsontech LLC

Eye Street Solutions (2008 - 2010)

• Performed usability assessment of approximately 30 FEMA and DHS sub-sites.
• Facilitated information architecture study of FEMA individual assistance pages with survivors of Atlanta flooding including a focus group, a card sort activity, and individual usability sessions.
• Conducted usability test of FEMA individual assistance pages with survivors of Hurricane Ike.
• Facilitated focus group at international disaster management conference followed by usability testing of a disaster management web site.
• Created usability training program at FEMA, including training courses for usability, accessibility, web analytics, information architecture, research methods, and search engine optimization.
• Developed new FEMA style guide.
• Extensive involvement in projects related to search engine optimization, web analytics and ForeSee surveys.

Westat (2008 - 2009)

• Examined current and proposed site structure of corporate intranet site through a card sort activity with a subsequent "first click" analysis.
• Conducted heuristic review of IRS site, including the development of wireframe mockups.

Navigation Arts (2009)

• Part of extended team leading usability tests for existing Navigation Arts clients including NatureServe and a children's hospital center.

UserWorks, Inc. (1994 - 2009)

• Started in 1994 as undergraduate intern, then functioned as staff human factors engineer, and later as a contractor before coming back as a full-time employee from 2004-2007. Have contracted additional projects as Lebsontech since 2008.
• Member of management team dealing with company operations, client relations and business development, while working as a full-time employee.
• Managed projects involving usability and information architecture evaluation.
• Created wireframes, web prototypes and web sites.
• Developed and managed MS SQL-server-based 40,000 person recruitment and reminder system.
• Responsible for internal IT operations, including management of IT team, usability labs and staff support.

IQ Solutions (2005 - 2009)

• FBI, 2005: Examined public-facing FBI.gov web site. Conducted stakeholder interviews, telephone interviews with representative users and usability test of existing site. Provided recommendations document to FBI along with wireframes detailing revised home page and updated, streamlined site structure. After site redesign, conducted second round of testing. Presented findings to stakeholders of web infrastructure and content at FBI.
• NIDA, 2006: Administered remote usability tests of NIDA online drug awareness games for students, followed by observation and polling of hundreds of students at NIDA drug awareness fair.
• Cross-departmental, 2008 - 2009: Provided consulting services to social marketing research team to streamline data collection and analysis efforts and improve reports to government stakeholders at various agencies.

Bureau of Economic Analysis (Digital Management, 2008)

• Conducted expert reviews of Interactive Tables applications.
• Produced key deliverables including an eighty-page report, an associated PowerPoint deck and illustrative wireframes that were presented to stakeholders.
• Provided documentation detailing places where existing applications were not 508-compliant.

K12, Inc. (2007 - 2008)

• Managed staff and external vendors as Market Research Director, and advocated for usability and user research throughout the company.
• Oversaw usability tests of distance learning products, such as elementary school math prototypes and Power-Glide foreign language learning products.
• Drafted RFPs and oversaw vendors for K-8 and HS satisfaction surveys that required third-party validation.
• Directly involved with all aspects of survey design, implementation, analysis and reporting.
• Surveys in 2008 included: high-school course satisfaction with individual course breakdowns, and a resulting 1400-slide PowerPoint deck; satisfaction with the special education program among students of all grades; and satisfaction with the advanced learner curriculum among parents of students in grades K- 8.
• Responsible for survey analysis mainly using SPSS, Access, and Excel to analyze Vovici output.
• Presented research findings to key stakeholders in each case.
• Created and maintained portable usability lab.
• Member of product marketing team.

Library of Congress (UserWorks, 2006-2008)

• Conducted a usability evaluation of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). Performed a usability test with representative users. Evaluated usability, IA, design, and layout of the site.
• Conducted usability testing of a federated search prototype. Performed a second round of testing of federated search functionality after redesign in 2008. User testing focused on the ability of users to locate key information, understand search results and limit results by utilizing filters of various types of faceted classifications.

Airline Tariff Publishing Co. (ATPCO) (CSC Consulting, 2007)

• Involved in project to convert TN3270 "green screen" systems into web-based applications.
• Managed user experience activities for "batch processing" including regular meetings with business and architecture teams, requirements gathering, heuristic reviews, and iterative wireframe creation.

Department of Education (UserWorks, 2006)

• Managed multi-pronged effort to analyze existing information architecture of Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) site including web-based front-end, Oracle-driven back-end and administrative control panel.
• Produced IA evaluation document which detailed recommended changes to data structure and site architecture.
• Managed production of high-fidelity site prototype and subsequently performed cognitive walkthroughs.
• Produced Access database to help staff catalog, tag and visualize different data structures for web resources.
• Note of appreciation is included on FREE site's "About" page.

University of Connecticut (2004 - 2009)

• Held a grant-funded role involving coordination with sponsoring agencies, and development and management of jewishdatabank.org web site as well as associated custom-built database.
• Archived hundreds of data files and quantitative research reports.
• Point of contact for 3000+ researchers of Jewish demography who requested assistance with archive.

University of Connecticut Health Center (1998 - 2004)

• Initially involved with medical sociology research, including the analysis and reporting of quality of care for asthmatic children. Primary data collected by analysis of patient records at clinics in impoverished communities.
• Subsequently involved with a project to integrate handheld computers into the medical school curriculum.
• Managed program to train UCHC faculty on the educational uses of handheld computers
• Developed Windows Mobile student encounter log - creation of wireframes and interactive prototype.
• Managed programmers to develop a final product subsequently utilized by the entire medical school.

Usability Professionals Association (UPA)

• UPA Washington DC Chapter - President in 2010 (board member since 2009)
• Lebson, Cory. Forthcoming, 2010. "What You Should Know about SEO: Tips for the User Experience Professional." Usability Professionals Association 2010 Conference, Munich Germany, May 27, 2010.
• Peer reviewer for 2009 conference presentations.
• Lebson, Cory. 2007. "The 'Googlefication' of Site Search: Adapting to Google’s Influence on User Behavior." Usability Professionals Association 2007 Conference, Austin, Texas, June 15, 2007.
• Lebson, Cory. 2006. "Tools for Electronic Collaboration: Off the Shelf and Into the Usability Lab." Usability Professionals Association 2006 Conference, Broomfield, Colorado, June 16, 2006.