Projects

I’ve applied qualitative and quantitative research methods to both digital and physical products and systems. The industries I’ve worked in range from technology and business equipment to retail consulting and automotive design. On many projects, I was the interaction designer and strategist. All of the research techniques described below apply to web-based products.

Pitney Bowes

DATA FLOW ENGINE

I conducted evaluations of an update to our data flow engine, Enterprise Designer®. The goal was to improve the UX while remaining backward-compatible with the existing tool. Expert users reviewed the UX throughout the development process. Recommendations were implemented soon after each evaluation.

Pitney Bowes

SYSTEM TROUBLESHOOTING

Conducted research with internal experts to define how to identify, address, and prevent flaws in a federally-mandated bank fraud system. I developed a collaborative ideation method to identify categories of problems and remediation methods for each category. Findings drove significant system development.

NCR Corporation

CASHIER PERFORMANCE SCORECARD

I was the UX researcher, designer, and business analyst leading the development of a cashier scorecard system for Home Depot. I worked with store operations management to define the scoring algorithm and design the weekly reports. I conducted validation interviews after roll-out with store personnel. Both store managers and cashiers confirmed the accuracy and usefulness of the reports. Within six months average transaction times improved by 10%.

Pitney Bowes

CLIENT TOUCHPOINT MAP & SYSTEM PLANNING

Conducted research with internal stakeholders and external clients to map all of the activities in which company employees directly interacted with clients. Collected anecdotes of significant high-level problems in the division’s processes and deliverables. Led exercise that set system development priorities and plans.

Pitney Bowes

LAN INSTALLATION of USB-only device

Led an iterative UX design and testing effort to add LAN connectivity to a USB-only device. The adapter had no UI. Users were small business people with no technical expertise. Six iterations of testing were required. Once launched, the USB-to-LAN device gained high acceptance with customers.

General Motors

CAR SEAT comfort COMPARISON

Led UX test to determine how to improve poorly-rated seats in a newly released GM automotive platform. Instead of using rating scales, I ran a formal rank-based experiment. None of the test seats proved to be superior to those in production. However, in separate interviews it was discovered the poor quality scores were due to shortcomings in the design of the initial quality survey, not owner dissatisfaction with their seats.