About

I am a UX researcher with a background in psychology and human factors, specializing in contact center and enterprise software. My recent work centers on AI. I began in health systems research, managing IRB submissions, building codebooks, and co-authoring over 12 publications, before moving to usability testing for voice and mobile products at a research firm, with clients including Google and Amazon. Most recently, I led product research for enterprise software, focusing on AI-assisted tools for large contact center teams. I use mixed methods, including interviews, concept testing, surveys, and statistical analysis, to uncover user needs.

My practice is grounded in human factors. I focus on how people truly interact with systems, rather than relying on assumptions. My projects have included investigating what makes AI approval meaningful to agents and supervisors, how an AI copilot should be laid out during live calls, and what a platform migration really costs the people doing it. In every study, I clearly state what my evidence supports and its limitations.

Portrait of Serena Yang
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I'm passionate about research, I embrace challenges, and I welcome feedback and criticism. I have a golden-doodle named Sawyer. When I'm not working, I'm out in the mountains hiking, rock climbing, skiing, reading, or hanging out with loved ones. Sometimes I bake brownies too.

Where my research started

My interest began as a research assistant at the Visual and Spatial Cognition Lab at the University of Utah, using Oculus VR software to study how people judge what they can do in a virtual environment and how they perceive their virtual bodies.

Qualitative research

My first job after university was as a research analyst at the VA and the University of Utah. It built my experience with in-depth interviewing on sensitive topics and with thematic coding.

Why UX research

I graduated in 2019 with a psychology degree and a Human Factors certificate. Throughout my undergraduate years I was drawn to human-system interaction, and I moved from academic research to a UX tech startup to build my UX research background.

Publications

  • McCracken, M. K., Finney, H. C., Yang, S., Bodenheimer, B., Creem-Regehr, S. H., and Stefanucci, J. K. “Big Feet for Little People: Scaling Gap Affordance Judgments of Children and Adults with Virtual Feet.” In 2024 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), Bellevue, WA, USA, 2024, pp. 249–258. doi:10.1109/ISMAR62088.2024.00039. Nominated for Best Conference Paper, given to the top 5%.

Other research projects

  • Patient Perspective on Breast Cancer Cost (Dr. Matsen, Huntsman Cancer Institute)
  • Needs of Adult Children Regarding a Suicide Attempt in the Veteran Parent (Veteran Affairs)
  • Caregiver and Adolescent Experiences in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
  • Clinicians’ practices regarding pain assessment and management among older adults with heart failure
  • Pre-Implementation to Guide the Development of the MedSafe Clinical Decision Support System
  • Undergraduate thesis: Another Bigfoot Study: Gap Width Perception with Virtual Foot Scaling in Children