Analyzing survey data, conducting primary research, comparing the Human Centered Design & Engineering experience with other programs, and developing user personas and journey maps.

This Direct Research Project mapped out the journey Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) graduates take in their careers. This research partnered up with the HCDE Alumni Leadership Board along with Mike Berg and Paula Chuchro to identify the diverse range of careers and core transitional moments of HCDE alumni. The HCDE department sends out alumni survey for new graduates, however no research has been closely looked at beyond quantitative data.

The primary goal of the research was to understand the experiences and needs of HCDE alumni as they navigate their career paths and highlight the key transitional moments in their journey. We wanted to unravel the ongoing learning, networking, and other needs and discover how alumni are meeting or not meeting those needs today. We also wanted to generate and develop alumni involvement and outreach to support the Alumni Leadership Board in planning events and continuing education efforts for HCDE students and alumni.

Research

Our target research group were Senior Alumni who have been in the industry for more than five years. We conducted secondary research using the data and information available on the internet to explore: How do departments within a university engage alumni after graduation, and what are some of the popular events and learnings activities for UX alumni and professionals? Some of our most insightful findings were:

• Participation in alumni panels 

• Career assistance through career counseling, career development programs, and self-assessment for department-specific programs.

• Benefits and discounts on subscriptions and software 

• Representation based on academic programs 

• Independent presence on Linkedin

Based on our secondary research we developed an interview plan to conduct eight semi structured interviews. The interviews lasted roughly an hour long some in person and some remote. The screening and recruitment were performed through outsourced recruiting due to timeline. Our interview were based on these questions:

• What are some of the common career paths and key transitional moments in alumni careers and what are some of the challenges they faced navigating that path?

• What are their preferences for ongoing learning, volunteering, and networking needs? What are some of the existing channels and routes they are choosing to meet those?

• How do they interact with the department as alumni today? What factors motivate them to engage with the department activities and with current students in the future?

• What are some of the barriers that prevent them from staying involved with the HCDE community?

Based on our primary and secondary research we were able to find our toppling findings that identified patterns and pain points in engaging with the HCDE community and department. We found that alumni look for opportunities that align with their values, such as professional development, industry connections, and updates on the latest UX trends. They want to give and get value. We also found that alumni value connections that they made at different phases of their journey, including their time with the department and after graduation. They emphasized that connections matter. Lastly, alumni are looking for clear and digestible forms of communication from the department so that they can feel engaged and easily keep in touch. Although personal communication wasn’t a common theme it was an important one they wanted a clear and personal approach.

Based on our findings we were able to come up with opportunities for growth for the HCDE Alumni Board. We wanted to provide the Board with ideas to involve alumni and to increase ongoing learning. We found that alumni wanted to receive and give value and that they wanted a more personal approach when being reached out to.

Reflection

Something we learned was that small changes can make a big impacts to the future involving alumni. For instance we found that making a more personal approach can get alumni to be more involved. We also found that highlighting alumni and allowing them to present and talk about a topics they are passionate about will encourage their involvement to the department. We also found that involvement for alumni did not necessarily mean donate money, but to come to the events and be involved socially to not only benefit them, but students. We wanted to capitalize that involvement in the program was not for money donation.

What I would do differently?

Something I would do differently is to find more participants, we ended up having one outlier who wasn't too interested in getting involved. I wish I could have asked him more questions to see what was valuable for him specifically to come and be more involved with the program. I think I would also like to research participants/alumni that aren’t in the state anymore and see how we can get them to be involved with the program. Not necessary have them come back to Washington to be involved, but how we can support them where they are and possibly other alumni that are around that region as well. I also would like to interview other participants who aren’t necessarily involved with HCDE, but who are alumni at other college and universities that could also help benefit current students. I think it would be interesting to see the future of HCDE to be more inclusive to the UX world to allow students to learn different perspectives and hats in the industry. I think the future of that would be beneficial to current students but also alumni to create a broader social network. I think this would encourage the HCDE program is broaden out and help out current students and alumni.