S6E33 Bryant Foster | Design for Human Factors & User Experience

Being an Engineer · 15 Aug 2025 · 51m · Episode 33

What this episode covers

Bryant Foster, Vice President of Human Factors and User Experience at Research Collective, discusses his background in cognitive psychology and his work with clients like Google, GE Healthcare, and Medtronic. He explains how his team uses advanced usability testing tools, including eye tracking, pupilometry, and facial emotion analysis, to measure cognitive load and objective user behavior rather than relying on potentially dishonest self-reports. Foster details methodologies for ensuring medical device safety, such as use-related risk analysis and task analysis, and shares insights from his time at Google X on the importance of defining clear research questions. He also covers cost-effective approaches like heuristic evaluations and the importance of providing constructive, solution-oriented feedback to engineering teams.

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