Laura Faulkner is the Human-Computer Interaction Specialist/Researcher for the Information Systems Laboratory of Applied Research Laboratories, The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), an invited instructor at UT-Austin's Software Quality Institute, and holds a Process Management certification from UT-Austin. She has served as the chair of the Software Quality Institute Advisory board, and on the Human Systems committee of the international organization, the Interservice/Industry Simulation, Training, and Education Conference. Ms. Faulkner has presented numerous papers in multiple, international venues including most recently an international academic conference on measuring behavior in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She has extensive experience with software systems design and fielding for the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, in the information warfare domain, including digital communications, intelligence operations, and sonar analysis. Project work has included ethnographic research, user task analyses, translations between user knowledge and system engineering, usability testing, process management, and user-centered documentation. Research endeavors have ranged from large-scale survey research for State-affiliated agencies and organizations, and the development and experimental testing of unique methods for gathering and analyzing human-computer interaction data.
Ms. Faulkner has studied human beings for more than 20 years, earning a Master's in Psychology, and undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Sociology. Her studies and work center around numerous human, technology, and organizational issues, including human factors and usability, software lifecycle processes, and human communication in work teams. Ms. Faulkner is currently a doctoral candidate in Psychology developing and testing structured methods for the practice of usability. She also supervises students each semester in performing human factors applied research for the undergraduate program in the UT-Austin Psychology Department.