Cathy M. Pearl


Experience

2007 – 2008

Voice User Interface Consultant – Tellme (Microsoft)

Lead designer for a traffic application.  Created a high-level design with rapid iteration based on customer requirements, usability testing, and internal feedback.  Conducted a traffic survey to get input from drivers in multiple US cities.

1999 - 2007

Senior Voice User Interface Designer – Nuance Communications

Responsible for the design and development of large-scale telephone speech applications.  Conducted usability studies, including designing Wizard of Oz systems, moderating subjects, and analyzing results.  Lead VUI designer on projects for health care, transportation, financial information, travel, and unified messaging.  Lead designer for San Francisco Bay Area’s 511.

 

Primary liaison with tools group for V-Builder, a speech application design and development tool.  Worked with engineering on usability and tool features; served as mentor and evangelist for Professional Services. 

1997-1999

Software Specialist - Raytheon ITSS at NASA Ames 
Designed and developed user interface for a software tool kit for human-machine interaction simulation. Authored and maintained web-based user's guide.

 

1995-1997

Associate Instructor - Indiana University/Bloomington
Taught hands-on introductory computing lab focused on word processors, spreadsheets, and basic Internet skills. Responsible for lecturing and grading for multiple classes.

 

1993-1995

Software Engineer - Pacific Communication Sciences, Inc.
Worked as lead developer for hardware verification system. Gathered requirements from internal customers. Designed and developed user interface and embedded scripting language.

Education

1997

M.S. Computer Science - Indiana University/Bloomington
Area of Study: Human-Computer Interaction
Master's Thesis: "Natural Language versus Graphical User Interfaces"

 

1994

B.S. Cognitive Science - University of California at San Diego
Minor: Computer Science - Artificial Intelligence

Related Skills

§         Programming experience in C++, Visual Basic, LISP, JavaScript, Perl, and Scheme. 

§         Experience with web site design. 

§         Experience in user interface design and construction, and usability evaluation.

Publications

1998 The MIDAS User Interface
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society