Hi, I'm Anastasia, a dually trained Human Factors Engineer and Senior UX Researcher with 10+ years in safety-critical UX from healthcare to aviation.

Formative Usability Evaluation — Surgical Robotic System · BlackHagen Design — Fortune 100 medical device client (NDA)

Context. A Fortune 100 medical device company's next-generation surgical robotic system, undergoing formative usability evaluation ahead of FDA clearance for US market entry.

Challenge. Validate that surgical teams could safely operate the device console in high-stress OR environments, with particular risk concentrated in instrument insertion and hand-control calibration, under FDA HFE Guidance and IEC 62366-1.

Solution. Designed and helped moderate a mock-OR usability study with sterile-field fidelity across four surgical roles — surgeon, surgical assistant, circulating nurse, and scrub nurse/tech — using think-aloud and task-based protocols. Contributed session data and synthesis directly into a 200-point Use-Related Risk Assessment (URRA).

Methods & Tools. Think-Aloud Protocol · Task-Based Usability Testing · Use-Related Risk Assessment (URRA) · IFU & Documentation Review

Frameworks. IEC 62366-1 · ISO 14971 · FDA HFE Guidance · FDA 510(k)

Medicaid eHR Implementation & Change Management · NIH-funded university social work program — statewide Medicaid Waiver rollout

Context. A statewide Medicaid Waiver eHR rollout serving IDD populations, led by a 3-person NIH-funded research team embedded within a university social work department.

Challenge. A new eHR system launched alongside a major change-management shift from paper-based documentation, increasing cognitive load, disrupting clinician-patient rapport, and introducing new use errors across a 5-year statewide rollout.

Solution. Served as embedded field researcher and clinical implementation advisor for 5 years — running ethnography, contextual inquiry, usability testing, A/B testing, focus groups, and interviews across all four rollout phases. Translated findings into quarterly stakeholder reports and statewide clinician training.

Methods & Tools. Ethnography · Contextual Inquiry · Usability Testing · A/B Testing · Focus Groups · Service Blueprint

Frameworks. HIPAA · Medicaid Waiver Compliance · DMH/BIDD Regulatory Requirements

FliteDeck ProX · Jeppesen's FliteDeck ProX Electronic Flight Bag — ForeFlight, a Boeing Company

Context. ForeFlight, a Boeing company, building the airline industry's first fully integrated Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) — consolidating flight planning, charts, weather, and hazard awareness into a single safety-critical tool.

Challenge. Pilots needed to replace fragmented, paper-based workflows without adding risk in high-workload cockpit environments, all while meeting strict FAA/EASA usability guidelines for the 4.8-to-5.0 feature transition.

Solution. Conducted high-fidelity LOFT simulation testing (real routes, diversions, geographic edge cases), moderated usability sessions using think-aloud, SUS, and NASA TLX, A/B testing of briefing and integration flows, and FAA/EASA heuristic evaluations. Led a gap analysis across 200+ airline operators globally to prioritize the roadmap.

Methods & Tools. LOFT Simulation Testing · Moderated Usability Testing (SUS, NASA TLX) · A/B Testing · Cognitive Walkthroughs · FAA/EASA Heuristic Evaluation

No Delay · Redesigning a legacy pilot operations platform — major global airline carrier

Context. One of the world's largest airline carriers, running a 40-year-old legacy platform for pilot and ground-support operations.

Challenge. An 18-section navigation structure buried critical pre-flight and post-flight information behind layers of submenus. A requirement that all content be published led to severe information overload for pilots and support staff who needed answers in seconds, not minutes.

Solution. Led a 10-month research engagement — 40+ interviews, live card sorting, contextual inquiry with duty pilots in ground control, and iterative testing across web and mobile — to restructure the platform's information architecture from the ground up.

Methods & Tools. Contextual Inquiry · Card Sorting · Journey Mapping · Jobs-to-be-Done · A/B Testing · Aurelius · Dovetail · Airtable