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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

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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 (or if you had 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

Read our team’s latest bold insights

Three things to improve acceptance of AI

Aug 20, 2018

To truly deliver on the promise of AI, developers need to keep the end users in mind. By integrating three components of context, interaction, and trust, AI can be the runaway success that futurists predict it will be.

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Recruiting methods and study logistics for human factors and user research

Aug 15, 2018

A stronger recruiting strategy that includes relationships with patient support groups and clinical treatment centers can provide better access to difficult-to-reach patient populations. Being intentional about how you plan the logistics of your human factors and user research can mitigate risks to validity introduced by biases.

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