Skip to main content
Skip to main content

01 / Featured case study · From alpha to finished product

WearITReadR / AI Study Generator

WearITReadR / AI Study Generator

WearITReadR / AI Study Generator

From a functional alpha to a finished research toolkit. WearITReadR brings data access, study documentation, flowcharts, and AI-assisted study creation into one interface.

Role

Researcher & designer

Timeline

August 2024 - Present

Tools

Shiny · Wear-IT · LLM · Qualtrics · JSON · Pyhton · R · YAML · CSS · Javascript

Methods

Feasibility, Acceptability and Usability trial

The project in brief

Start with the working demo, then follow my design process: from the first functional prototype, through wireframes and mockups, to the finished product. The feasibility trial comes last.

Try it first

The finished toolkit, live.

5,700+

Lines of source code across R, Python, and CSS

285

Commits I’ve authored since May 2024

31

R source files in the package

Try it yourself: this is a clickable recreation of the app. Use the left panel to move between tools, open the codebook, search the data dictionary, build a flowchart, or ask the AI Study Assistant for a schedule. It loads the real Daily Diary documentation from the project’s GitHub repository, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Wear-IT ReadR
Interactive demo · real study documentation

Purpose of this tool

This is a human-accessible tool to help pull data and generate codebooks for Wear-IT users.

Set App Working Directory

Use this to set the working directory of the app. It will reference this directory when saving and viewing codebooks, data dictionaries, and study flowchart exports.

Tip: use the panel on the left to move between tools, just like in the real app.

My design process · 01 / Prototype

Start with the core tasks.

The first alpha made the essential functions visible: pulling Wear-IT data, selecting codebook sections, and entering study metadata. These screens capture the starting point before a shared application layout took shape.

Alpha / Home. The first prototype introduced the tool’s purpose with a simple top navigation.

Alpha / Home

The first prototype introduced the tool’s purpose with a simple top navigation.

Alpha / Data pull. Study ID and API token fields made the initial Wear-IT data-pull workflow visible.

Alpha / Data pull

Study ID and API token fields made the initial Wear-IT data-pull workflow visible.

Alpha / Codebook generator. An expandable selection tree and study metadata fields formed the early codebook generator.

Alpha / Codebook generator

An expandable selection tree and study metadata fields formed the early codebook generator.

The starting point / A small set of functional screens, before wireframing the broader research workflow.

My design process · 02 / Wireframes

Give every task a place.

Low-fidelity wireframes mapped six core views around a consistent sidebar. Survey selection, previews, generation, and downloads each received a clear place in the interface, without committing to visual polish too early.

Wireframe / Home. A shared sidebar connected survey selection with the tool’s main research tasks.

Wireframe / Home

A shared sidebar connected survey selection with the tool’s main research tasks.

Wireframe / Data pull. Survey selection, a data preview, and the pull-data action were grouped into one screen.

Wireframe / Data pull

Survey selection, a data preview, and the pull-data action were grouped into one screen.

Wireframe / Codebook generator. Source data, codebook options, and generation were separated into distinct steps.

Wireframe / Codebook generator

Source data, codebook options, and generation were separated into distinct steps.

Wireframe / Codebook viewer. A contents panel sat beside the codebook preview, with a dedicated download action.

Wireframe / Codebook viewer

A contents panel sat beside the codebook preview, with a dedicated download action.

Wireframe / Data dictionary. The dictionary view organized variables, types, and descriptions into a table.

Wireframe / Data dictionary

The dictionary view organized variables, types, and descriptions into a table.

Wireframe / Flowchart. Survey selection and a simple start-to-end diagram established the flowchart view.

Wireframe / Flowchart

Survey selection and a simple start-to-end diagram established the flowchart view.

My design process · 03 / Mockups

Make the toolkit feel like one product.

The visual mockup explored a common application shell across six views: navigation, forms, document previews, data tables, and survey logic. This is the design exploration, shown separately from the implemented screens that follow.

UI mockup / Research toolkit. A six-screen visual exploration brought navigation, forms, document previews, tables, and survey logic into one visual system.

UI mockup / Research toolkit

A six-screen visual exploration brought navigation, forms, document previews, tables, and survey logic into one visual system.

My design process · 04 / Final product

The finished product.

The finished interface brings data access, codebooks, data dictionaries, study flowcharts, and the AI Study Assistant together in one shared application shell. Select any screenshot to view it at full size.

Finished product / Home. The WearITReadR home screen introduces the toolkit and provides a working-directory selector.

Finished product / Home

The WearITReadR home screen introduces the toolkit and provides a working-directory selector.

Finished product / Data pull. The finished data-pull screen groups study credentials, saved-key selection, a Wear-IT endpoint, and the primary pull action.

Finished product / Data pull

The finished data-pull screen groups study credentials, saved-key selection, a Wear-IT endpoint, and the primary pull action.

Finished product / Codebook generator. Codebook options and study metadata appear side by side within the shared application shell.

Finished product / Codebook generator

Codebook options and study metadata appear side by side within the shared application shell.

Finished product / Codebook viewer. The document viewer displays a generated study codebook, including its contents and variable pages.

Finished product / Codebook viewer

The document viewer displays a generated study codebook, including its contents and variable pages.

Finished product / Dictionary generator. A dedicated action generates a data dictionary from the data pulled into the app.

Finished product / Dictionary generator

A dedicated action generates a data dictionary from the data pulled into the app.

Finished product / Dictionary viewer. The dictionary table exposes question text, response types, missingness codes, ranges, and response labels.

Finished product / Dictionary viewer

The dictionary table exposes question text, response types, missingness codes, ranges, and response labels.

Finished product / Study flowchart. Survey selection, flowchart generation, and PNG export sit above the branching survey diagram.

Finished product / Study flowchart

Survey selection, flowchart generation, and PNG export sit above the branching survey diagram.

Finished product / AI Study Assistant. Configuration and a chat-based prompt support creating or changing a study within the same toolkit.

Finished product / AI Study Assistant

Configuration and a chat-based prompt support creating or changing a study within the same toolkit.

Feasibility trial · 01 / The question

Can AI make study creation more useful?

I wanted to understand whether an AI-assisted workflow could be a practical alternative to a familiar study-building tool. I built a generator and tested its feasibility against Qualtrics, then used what I learned to guide a clearer experience. [Add the target users, use context, and specific problem the trial addressed.]

I wanted to understand whether an AI-assisted workflow could be a practical alternative to a familiar study-building tool. I built a generator and tested its feasibility against Qualtrics, then used what I learned to guide a clearer experience. [Add the target users, use context, and specific problem the trial addressed.]

Feasibility trial · 02 / Research

Putting the idea to the test.

Methods / I ran a feasibility trial comparing my AI generator with Qualtrics. [Add the study design, tasks, conditions, and analysis approach.]

Participants / [N] participants. [Add recruitment, relevant characteristics, inclusion criteria, and consent details.]

Measures / [List the actual measures, how each was scored, and what each helped me understand.]

Feasibility trial · 03 / Key findings

What the trial taught me.

I’m connecting the trial evidence to the decisions behind the redesign. [Add the findings below, with enough context to explain what each means.]

01 / [Add insight]

[Describe the observation, the evidence behind it, and what I changed in response.]

02 / [Add insight]

[Explain a second pattern from the trial and why it mattered for the experience.]

03 / [Add insight]

[Add a third insight, including any uncertainty or limitation in the evidence.]

“[Add a short, verbatim participant quote.]”

[Participant ID · context · permission to quote]

Reflection & next steps

Useful tools need thoughtful testing.

The interface is now implemented, but screenshots alone do not establish usability or research impact. My next step is to evaluate the finished workflow with [target users] against [success criteria], and connect those results to the next iteration.