RITE usability test

Project Overview

Product: Fair Hire AI resume anonymization prototype

Role: Founder & UX Researcher

Method: RITE usability testing

Participants: 12 hiring managers / HR professionals

Outcome: Redesigned workflow and multi-file support

Background

Hiring managers support blind hiring in principle, but existing tools are cumbersome.

We needed to determine whether recruiters could intuitively anonymize resumes using our prototype without training.

Objectives/Research Questions

• Do hiring managers perceive value in an automated anonymization tool?
• Can users successfully complete the anonymization workflow without guidance?
• Where do users encounter confusion or friction in the process?

Approach

Methodology: RITE (Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation)

Participants: 12 hiring managers and HR professionals

Session format:

• 5-minute contextual interview
• task-based usability test
• retrospective probing

Tasks

• Upload a resume
• Anonymize the file
• Download the anonymized version

Results (Metrics)

Results were captured in a rainbow sheet to detect trends.

Step 1: Upload file(s)

RITE Updates

Design Impact

The RITE sessions led to three major changes:

1. Guided 3-step workflow
   Upload → Select anonymization → Download
2. Batch processing
   Users can upload multiple resumes
3. Selectable anonymization fields
   Users control which data to mask

Step 2: Select information to mask

Step 3: Anonymize file(s)

Retrospective

What I Learned

• RITE testing is highly effective for early-stage startup prototypes where UI changes can be implemented quickly.
• Recruiters expect bulk workflows, reflecting real hiring practices.
• Content clarity was as important as interaction design.

Next Steps

• Conduct validation testing on the updated prototype
• Evaluate recruiter trust in automated anonymization