Sam Alper • Bold Insight

Sam Alper

PhD

Director

Sam’s background in human factors and industrial engineering has led to a systematic approach to problem solving, which considers both the technical and social aspects of challenges, that he applies to each project. He spent the better part of a decade investigating accidents from a human factors perspective, presenting to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and being deposed as an expert witness. Sam has a deep research background and has developed and implemented qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Sam as a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

Bold facts

Learn more about

Sam

Something unique about you summed up in one sentence

Pretty sure I’m the only one in the office who can juggle 5 objects.

Your favorite part of working at Bold Insight

The goal of our work is to make life easier and/or better for people. While maintaining scientific rigor, we make sure to have fun. From top to bottom, each team member wants each of the others to succeed.

In your spare time you would absolutely do this:

I already play hockey. But given spare time in the right location, I’d love to do more SCUBA.

How long have you been in the UX field?

Tangentially, for almost a decade. As a primary focus, for over three years.

Your favorite city in the world is...and why?

Madison, WI. After going to school there for 10 years, I fell in love with the city.

Your ultimate celebrity dinner party guest list would include:

The Dalai Lama for his presence in the moment and his joyfulness. Pope Francis for his thoughts on culture change and helping a group adapt to a new environment. Barack Obama for his ability to stay on message through adversity, even when it put him at a disadvantage. Ellen DeGeneres for her ability to do good with humor.

Long-term personal or professional goal?

I’m curious about whether, and how, we could apply user experience principles to jobs– I think there’s potential to do a lot of good by improving peoples’ experiences at work.

Any other facts to share?

I’m an expert! At least, I have testified as an expert witness in the field of human factors and no one has disputed my expertise.

Read Sam's bold insights

March 24, 2020

Is FMEA inadequate for human factors analyses?

A "traditional" risk assessment does not meet the needs of FDA-required human factors analyses.

Conducting research with kids? Considerations for running studies with adolescent participants

May 31, 2023

Imagine: You’re interviewing a 9-year-old to get feedback on a new level of a popular children’s game. During the warmup part of the session, she was chatty and smiling and made a lot of eye contact, but now something has changed. She’s nervous and is struggling to...

Want to increase employee retention? Design your company around your employees

May 19, 2023

Bold Insight believes responsive design that prioritizes employee experiences helps drive engagement and productivity (and boosts financial performance). That’s why when we began to design Bold Insight’s corporate architecture, we drew from our own broad experiences...

Why employee experience should get the same attention as user experience

May 16, 2023

HR leaders made it through the system shocks of 2020. They made it through the Great Resignation. Now, many are focusing once again on “normal” priorities like reducing employee attrition and improving engagement. To assess that, many of today’s HR leaders conduct...

Not sure how to use AI tools in your UX research? Consider making it your sparring partner

May 11, 2023

Last winter, there was a shift in the way people think and talk about artificial intelligence (AI); it felt seismic and sudden. Even though we’ve been quietly surrounded by AI for some time, the media’s perfect-storm reaction to Bard, ChatGPT, and others has caused...