Sogra Nishath

Manager and Senior Human Factors Specialist

I feel that consumers have a right to useful and easy to use products. This might be why people often describe me as a tireless advocate for the user. Usability is my passion, I love what I do and I love interacting with people.

I have over 8 years of experience in user research, interaction design and usability evaluation of consumer products. I discovered Human Factors when I came from Bangalore, India to pursue a graduate degree in BioMedical Engineering at Wright State University. I soon learned that Human Factors principles can be applied to any domain, including the medical field, so I immediately switched to Human Factors Engineering and I am so glad I did.

Prior to joining HumanCentric, I worked for Lexmark International as a usability engineer where I designed and conducted usability studies, focus groups, field research, benchmark studies, user interface specifications, hardware and software evaluation, heuristic analysis, surveys etc. Since joining HumanCentric in 2006, I have led UI and media teams for a large mobile phone manufacturer. My responsibilities included generating schedules, working with marketing to create user interface requirements specifications, analyzing and reviewing requirements with global teams (design and research, development, system test, etc.), and evaluating early prototypes. I have also led a UI team to create an interface specification document, from scratch, for an existing game console, and I have conducted focus groups and in-home interviews for a large mobile phone manufacturer.

Qualities for a successful product delivery:

Passion
Communication
Collaboration
Consistency
Negotiation
Thinking long term
Detail, detail, detail

Things Sogra hates to hear:

Legal immigration rules in America
This is how it's always been done
We can't change that
That impacts schedule
Honey, you can't change the world!
Can we make that change in the next release

Things Sogra loves to do:

To cook with my hubby
Attempt to play tennis, mostly just run around. Someday, I wish I can say I play decent tennis
Go shopping with my sister in the streets of Bangalore
Talking, talking and more talking

Education

M.S., Human Factors Engineering from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
B.S., Medical Electronics Engineering from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, India

Professional Involvement

Member, Usability Professionals' Association (UPA)

Community Involvement

Member, HFES Carolina Chapter (HFES-CC)
Member, Triangle Usability Professional Association (Tri-UPA)
Member, Product Development and Management Association (PDMA)

Patents

[APPLICATION] Paper Change Detection Method United States Patent Application 20090045565, Filed on February 19, 2009
[APPLICATION] Light guides to assist in movement of a handheld printing device United States Patent Application 20070147930, Filed on June 28, 2007

More about me

LinkedIn: Sogra Nishath

Contact Me

Phone: 919.481.0565