James Dishman
Summary
UX researcher and designer graduating with an MS in User Experience from Kent State University in December 2026, 3.95 GPA. Background spans accessibility auditing, discovery research, title research, AI agent system design, and creativity support tools. Thirty years in electronic music production and a decade co-leading Pittsburgh's Ableton User Group inform a practice focused on expert users, cognitively demanding systems, and tools that genuinely extend human capability.
Skills
Research Methods
Contextual inquiry · Semi-structured interviews · Moderated usability testing · Unmoderated usability testing · Cognitive walkthrough · Journey mapping · Affinity mapping · JTBD analysis · Card sorting · Paper prototyping · Survey design · Heuristic evaluation
Accessibility
WCAG 2.1 AA/AAA · COGA cognitive accessibility · VoiceOver testing · Contrast analysis (WebAIM) · Readability analysis (Flesch-Kincaid) · PDF remediation · Universal design
Design & Tools
Figma · Photoshop · Miro · Obsidian · Adobe Acrobat · Google Forms · Loop11 · Lyssna
Technical
HTML/CSS · Next.js · TypeScript · React Native / Expo · Python · Rust · p5.js · SQLite · RAG / vector search · GitHub Actions CI/CD · API integration · Google Analytics 4 · AI prompt design · Multi-agent system design
Experience
Title Researcher
Oil and Gas Title Research
- Research property, lease, and ownership records for oil and gas title work
- Resolve ambiguous record histories through document review, cross-checking, and chain-of-title analysis
- Bring prior abstracting experience into a current research role focused on records, evidence, and defensible conclusions
Smart Meter Technician
Wellington Energy (FirstEnergy subcontractor)
- Conducted residential electrical service assessments at high volume across assigned territory, evaluating safety conditions before equipment exchange
- Communicated directly with residents to explain service interruptions and manage expectations during live infrastructure work
- Performed meter exchanges (analog to smart meter), documenting each site and escalating non-standard conditions for triage and resolution
- Worked independently across a distributed daily territory with no direct supervision, maintaining consistent safety and service standards
Graduate Assistant
Kent State University
- Developed instructional materials for graduate-level UX courses, improving course structure and student outcomes
- Assisted in authoring a graduate-level UX textbook through systematic analysis of academic publications and content development
- Conducted full site-map analysis and copy review across MS UX program web materials
- Verified qualitative research data for faculty projects
User Group Organizer
Pittsburgh Ableton User Group · Ableton AG
- Co-founded and led community meetings for Ableton users across the Pittsburgh region, growing an active practitioner network (with Paul Miller and Steve Knots)
- Served as direct liaison between user community and Ableton's international corporate team, channeling field feedback into product development cycles
- Collaborated with university faculty and educators to expand music technology education access and inclusivity
Material Handler
Osmose Utility Services
- Managed field logistics for steel and fiberglass pole repair crews across a Western Pennsylvania territory, coordinating material delivery to active utility job sites
- Operated warehouse inventory and loaded trucks for distribution infrastructure restoration projects serving regional electric utilities
- Gained direct exposure to electrical distribution system components, pole condition assessment workflows, and utility field operations
Self-employed Title Abstractor
Various Clients and Brokers
- Conducted certified title analysis across multiple states and counties; managed complex multi-party research workflows
- Led teams to resolve title defects through research, analysis, and resolution workflows
- Partnered with attorneys on title opinions, delivering resolution on complex legal and property issues
Education
Selected Projects
Persistent AI collaboration system with Hermes on GPT-5.5, a bounded Claude Code specialist lane, durable memory, and trust calibration. Designed and built as a working research platform for human-AI collaboration patterns.
Active iPad FM synthesizer build using device sensors, motion, environment, camera, spatial data, and touch as real-time modulation sources.
Multi-method evaluation across Ableton products, grounded in long-term music production experience and a decade co-leading Pittsburgh's Ableton User Group.
Usability research collection anchored by a 15-participant moderated mobile study, with planning, facilitation, task analysis, and synthesis across multiple methods.
Multi-method WCAG 2.1 audit across social media, web contrast, assistive technology, and PDF remediation, with music technology examples from the Ableton ecosystem.
Designed and built the web presence for Pittsburgh Ableton User Group. Next.js static site with community-first information architecture, deployed on GitHub Pages.