Portfolio

I'm well versed in using the Dovetail platform as a repository and data analyzing tool. The "Insights" feature, tagging capability, and interview video transcribing tool are particularly useful. The image above links to an example of insights I generated using the tool.

The exercise of developing a journey map is powerful for developing collaboration and building a robust mental model of how users experience a particular product, channel, or company over time. The above images links to a journey map I created to help understand how a particular segment currently uses and experiences outdoor fitness apps.

Paper prototyping, including interactive testing, is an important part of my design and research process, as it allows for rapid and cheap concept validation before investing in higher-fidelity iterations. The image above links to a video of a user test I conducted using a lo-fi paper prototype.

Lo-fi wireframes and flow charts are essential artifacts of the lean UX process. Balsamiq is one of my preferred tools for this stage of rapid iteration. The link above opens the wireframes I developed on Balsamiq for a mobile app prototype.

There are two uses of "heuristics" in design: one is in the understanding of basic psychological shortcuts people use when decision making, the other is the use of human-centered design heuristics in order to quickly assess designs for improvement (as used above).

Figma is a powerful tool (among others) for facilitating collaboration, rapid iteration, and the creation of fully interactive prototypes. Click the image above for an example of an interactive med-fi prototype I created to test key features and tasks for an outdoor activity app concept.

Personas are design artifact that help quickly convey key user information and stories to the development team. I use personas to synthesize user needs research and convey it in a accessible, easily understood format.

The power of storyboards is that they provide a visual context for product use that can help stakeholders and product owner prioritize user stories and backlog items for development. The above is an example of a storyboard I quickly created using a storyboard creation tool.

Scenarios, or user narratives, are another power tool I use for helping the development team empathize with and understand the user's context. This results in improved design buy in, better prioritization, and development team unity.

Talking with and understanding customer through one-one-one conversations is one of the most rewarding parts about being a UX researcher. I have experience identifying, recruiting, scheduling and interviewing users in person and via remote methods (such as Zoom). I love using tools like Dovetail as repository and analytic tools for quickly assess trends.

Knowing when and why to use various research methods is crucial part of being a skilled UX researcher. I'm versed in quantitative, qualitative, and mix-methods, as well as the best times to use various strategies. Surveys can be an excellent way to obtain data at scale, but the quality of data hinges or writing valid questions.

When an in-depth understanding of users needs is required quickly and at scale, remote unmoderated testing is one of the most powerful tools available (along with other remote studies, such as diary studies). From identifying the target audience, drafting screen questions, to writing interview protocols, I'm skilled at using a variety of unmoderated research methods.

User Interviews, lightweight surveys, and affinity walls are a few of the processes I use to initially validate hypotheses and determine user needs. I've found tools like Miro and Google forms aid in this process. Additional processes and tools (such as card sorting, diary studies, ethnographic studies) are typically used further into the design process.

Performing in-depth competitive analyses produce a wealth of actionable information in terms of opportunities for value innovation, feature identification, barriers to entry, and feature viability. The above image links to a competitive analysis I performed on outdoor activities apps.