Summary
Usability/human factors professional with an extensive technical communication and web development background who thrives on new experiences and technical challenges, specifically as they relate to improving organizations' user-centered design processes via leadership and example.
Specialties
Personas/user profiles, audience, task, and workflow analysis, requirements gathering, information architecture, interaction design, high/low fidelity prototyping, and usability testing. Documentation for highly technical audiences. Excellent project management abilities. Knowledge of Visio, HTML/CSS, XHTML, Photoshop, Fullshot, Acrobat, Flash, and Dreamweaver, as well as various development tools (Eclipse, Wikis), source control systems (Perforce, CVS, SVN), bug tracking systems (Clarify, RT), and graphics packages (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro). Hands-on experience with Java, C, Pascal, JavaScript and other programming languages.
Industry Experience
Sr. Usability Specialist, MathWorks, Inc.
October 2006 - Present
Usability lead for a number of internal business applications, including the corporate Intranet. Current projects include improving the findability of information on the Intranet through search and a better information architecture, evaluating and working with IT to redesign distribution lists for the organization, and enhancing human resources applications.
Interaction Design Manager, Avaya, Inc.
April 2006 - October 2006
Evangelize and establish user-centered design processes within the Enterprise Communications Applications Division (ECAD).
Manage a team of 6 interaction designers who provide user experience services in support of multiple, geographically distributed product development teams.
Work within the division and with standards groups to improve the consistency and overall look and feel of products.
Estimate budgetary needs for team, and hire/evaluate team members.
Usability Specialist, StreamBase Systems, Inc.
April 2004 - April 2006
Interaction designer for an Eclipse-based, Integrated Development Environment (IDE):
Led cross-functional participatory design meetings and wrote user-level design specifications that included scenarios, screen mockups, workflow descriptions, methods for error prevention/handling, and backwards compatibility/upgrade paths.
Approved implementation of design specifications by reviewing interaction model, screen layouts, and all user-visible text (labels, error messages, etc.).
Organized and conducted customer interviews, feedback sessions, and heuristic evaluations; created questionnaires and analyzed responses.
Researched, developed, and honed persona descriptions; evangelized use of personas throughout engineering as part of user-centered design process.
Facilitated collaboration among remote graphic artist, developers, quality assurance engineers, and technical writers for all UI-related features.
Project manager for all aspects of user interface design and development:
Defined requirements for future releases, which necessitated first-rate and efficient communication with customers, remote sales engineers, marketing, and product management.
Solely responsible for UI schedule creation and management, bug/feature request prioritization/resolution, release planning and acceptance criteria, etc.
Designed, developed, and rolled out all usability-related processes and procedures.
Conducted and reported on usability testing of paper and early-stage prototypes for new features of the IDE as well as for a major Web site redesign.
Senior Technical Writer/Interaction Designer, BEA Systems, Inc.
June 2000 - April 2004
Core participatory design team member for WebLogic Server 9.0 Administration Console interaction design; led information architecture study for WebLogic Server documentation web site and proposed new organization based on user research and feedback.
Actively participated in designing the WebLogic Portal edocs Web site, taking into account corporate requirements, user and task analysis, information architecture best practices, and existing templates; collaborated with various engineering and usability architects to design and document portal features such as the Webflow and Pipeline Editor.
Worked with the corporate Ease of Use Center to design questionnaires and provided assistance with usability tests.
Produced high-quality documentation for four releases of WebLogic Portal (developed entirely in Boulder, CO) from my home in Boston; produced on-line documentation and Javadoc for WebLogic Server 7.x through 9.0.
Technical Writer, DirectAdvice.com, Inc.
September 1999 - June 2000
Collaborated with Human Factors International to evaluate the usability of the company's external Web site; participated in organization, writing, and data collection activities for online survey results.
Evaluated and redesigned GUI screens for a stand-alone application used by business analysts to modify Oracle database content; designed and wrote accompanying User's Guide; assisted developers in repackaging the tool as a Web application.
Assisted Java developers in their migration efforts for DirectAdvice's proprietary financial software from OMNIS to Java; wrote functional specifications, design documents, and documented Java code using Visual Café, JVISION, and UML.
Documented how the financial modeling component of the software worked given DirectAdvice's investment strategies, assumptions, government regulations, and so on.
Researched customization efforts of DirectAdvice's financial software; organized a set of standard interface design requirements and created a process for partner engagements.
Technical Writer (Consultant via Adept, Inc.), Pfizer Central Research, Groton CT
February 1999 - September 1999
Wrote installation, operation, and user acceptance test scripts for Oracle Forms, Visual Basic, and Web-based applications.
Researched, designed, and wrote User's Guides for hardcopy and online delivery; assisted Technical Project Managers in the development of Functional Requirements Specifications and Software Design Documents.
Collaborated with engineers to develop a training course and manual on Active Server Pages (ASP) technology.
Technical Writer, The Allied Group, Inc. (merged with Strategic Technologies in 2001)
April 1998 - February 1999
Documented systems and applications, including intranet/extranet online help for end-users, and design, configuration and operation manuals for system/database administrators.
Collaborated with systems engineers and regional technical managers to determine a process for post-project system documentation and to develop a component-based documentation standard.
Continuously worked in diverse project teams to write technical RFP responses for Fortune 1000, 500 and 100 clients, helping secure million-dollar deals. Conceptualized and implemented a standard RFP-response methodology based on business processes, customer demands and input from regional technical executives.
Researched and compiled legal documents, including Statements of Work, letters of commitment, Master Work Agreements and assumptions, terms and conditions for technical projects.
Collaborated with Marketing, Creative, and Project Management professionals to research and compile supporting documents, including tri-fold brochures, case studies, style guides and proposal-response templates.
Manager of Web Development, Interactive Technology Group; The Allied Group, Inc. (merged with Strategic Technologies in 2001)
December 1997 - April 1998
Managed interactive development projects (Internet, Intranet, Java kiosk) on a day-to-day basis.
Defined, wrote and presented a detailed methodology on interactive development for a dual audience of potential clients and internal users.
Created, wrote, and implemented various development policies and procedures, including coding standards, maintenance contracts, site verification/testing procedures, source control, etc.
Conducted research and guided deployment of computer-based training. Recruited and interviewed candidates for available department positions.
Lead Interactive Developer, Interactive Technology Group; The Allied Group, Inc. (merged with Strategic Technologies in 2001)
February 1997 - December 1997
Collaborated with Web developers, graphic designers, and clients to develop a professional look and feel and useful information architecture for various Internet, Intranet, and Extranet sites.
Helped to developed these sites using HTML, dynamic HTML, JavaScript, LiveWire, Netscape Enterprise Server and a variety of production tools.
Led a number of long-term projects for clients such as United Technologies Corporation and The Hartford Insurance Company.
Determined project specifications, project scope and technical architectures while coordinating efforts of developers and presenting recommendations in weekly project status meetings.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Professional & Technical Writing and Computer Science; University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT; May, 1997.
Master of Science, Human Factors in Information Design (see also Course Work); Bentley College, Waltham, MA; February, 2004.
Memberships
Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Boston Chapter; Secretary 2006, Vice President 2007.
ACM’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI)
