Every semester, hundreds of University of Michigan students complete industry projects as part of their School of Information course work in usability evaluation, user research, and other subjects.
Your organization (business, non-profit, government agency, etc.) can propose a project for a team of students to work on! Here are some reasons why:
| Your organization is just starting to focus on user interface design but does not have the resources to do user research or usability testing. | Have a student team tackle one of your most pressing challenges. You will get insights you can apply right away, plus have an example to show the value. |
| Your UX team is overworked. | Pick a project from your list that is lower priority but still important, as a way to extend your team’s output while also helping students learn. |
| You plan to hire UX practitioners. | Propose a project as a way to meet some of the top emerging UX talent in Michigan (and the world). |
| You are not familiar with the UMSI curriculum. | Get a glimpse into what one of the oldest and most innovative UX academic programs is doing. If you like what they are teaching, update some of your methods or send some of your employees off to get a degree. |
Example projects
- A tool that needs an evaluation to ensure it meets the needs of your users.
- A dynamic website that needs a user experience assessment.
- An information problem you are trying to solve but are unsure of a potential solution.
- An idea for a product that would meet the needs of an aging population or people with disabilities that you need help researching and designing.
Courses seeking clients
| About the course | Client expectations & receivables |
|---|---|
| SI 622: Needs Assessment and Usability Evaluation Masters students work with clients to evaluate how well the user experience of their existing product or service meets the needs of its users. Methods used include: interaction map, user interviews, competitive analysis, survey, heuristic evaluation, user testing. See the FAQ for clients. | Give feedback on and receive deliverables for each of these assignments. Meet weekly with students, connect students with users for user interviews (5 people), survey (50 people), and user testing (5 people). Receive a series of reports and analyses, plus a final video presentation. |
| SI 682: Advanced User Research in the Field Masters students conduct advanced user research methods for information challenges that are early in the product life cycle. | Meet with students, provide feedback, and must provide access to users. Receive a polished report or presentation of findings. |
| SI 699: UX Research and Design Mastery Course Masters students in their final semester will research and design a tool or product, with a focus on accessibility for disabled, and/or aging populations. | Meet with students, provide feedback, and must provide access to users. Receive a report of research and design. |
To propose a project, complete the form at umsi.info/clientregister or email umsi.client.engagement@umich.edu.
To learn more about client opportunities with the School of Information, visit umsi.info/clientopportunities.
[…] Finally, it includes information on how to propose projects for UMSI classes. […]
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