CAREER SUMMARY
My expertise is in conducting benchmarking, competitor, qualitative & quantitative user experience research, creating impact for startups and larger companies spanning e-commerce, healthcare, and energy. My findings and recommendations inform design decisions for new features or updates to existing ones, app evaluation, and development with the goal of ensuring a seamless experience for the end user. I have 6 years of experience in User-Centered Design Research & Information Architecture and am 1 course away from completing my UX certification from NN/g.
EXPERTISE
Usability Testing
User Centered Design
Benchmarking Research
Qualitative and Qualitative Research
Voice of Customer
WORK EXPERIENCE
User researcher
workrise technologies, inc./ 2021-2023
As the Research Lead embedded within a domain operating model, I facilitated stakeholder workshops, and conducted user interviews, UX audits, concept testing, and usability evaluations. These methods were used to understand current state experiences and inform future state product and PI planning.
Partnered with product teams and cross-functional partners to define, measure, and work through the end-to-end research lifecycle. Using mixed methods for generative and evaluative research projects, I built empathy for users, informed product direction, and business strategies, and improved product usability.
Facilitated workshops across six business domains to identify primary and secondary users, and what user information each domain needs to confidently make well-informed user-centered decisions. Workshops also aimed to retrieve user knowledge from SME heads and create an artifact for all to use as a resource when making business or product decisions affecting users.
Created a UX learning plan for non-researchers to learn the basics of UX Design and Research to better understand the User-Centered Design process.
Conducted User interviews with internal partners to build my Domain’s backlog and inform product and research roadmaps.
User Experience Research Specialist
Parkview Health/ 2019- present
Working within the Health Services and Informatics Research Team, I contributed to health system and grant-funded projects integrating HCI, design thinking, and clinical informatics skills to improve complex healthcare tech use. I designed, conducted, analyzed, and reported on UCD research including moderated usability testing, focus groups, interviews, and ethnographic observations with patients and clinicians.
Conducted UCD research for the Parkview Health mobile app and collaborated on designing a new app for Substance User Disorder Peer Recovery programs.
Researched the impact of new Electronic Health Record (EHR) features on clinician workflow through ethnography and contextual inquiry.
Conducted a Human Factors Evaluation of a COVID-related medical device prototype seeking Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.
Scheduled and carried out complex test scenarios with a very niche group of users (Teams of Doctors, Nurses, and Patient Care Techs). A final report of findings was submitted to the FDA.
UX Architect
Vera Bradley Designs / 2016 - 2019
Responsibilities included conducting usability research to assess current site performance, researching and analyzing user goals, needs & preferences and analyzing Voice of Customer; and identifying requirements for new site features.
Conducted UX research (i.e. benchmarking research, best practices, competitor analysis, user surveys, baseline studies, and usability tests) Via Monetate, SurveyMonkey & UserTesting to inform UCD.
Developed user journeys and task flows for different actions performed on the e-commerce website.
Assistant Digital Strategist
The Office of Communications & Marketing, SUNY Oswego / 2015-2016
Development of content strategies, project planning, requirements gathering, and digital strategy for client meetings.
Created and maintained a website for the SUNY Oswego English Department to showcase and promote students’ digital works.
Migrated the SUNY Oswego website and data from an antiquated CMS to Drupal 7.
Graduate Research Assistant,
A Comparative Study of Pet Robot Use in Alzheimer’s/ Dementia Care
SUNY Oswego / 2015- 2016
Investigation on the effects and benefits of pet robot use for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care in adult care facilities.
Pending peer-review for publication by AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) for publication under the title JustoCat Pet Robot and Patient Care: A Study of Benefits Provided to Elderly Dementia Patients, Caregivers and Health Care Professionals
Drafted project proposal for submission to the Institutional Review Board for approval; conducted ethnographies, created surveys provided to patient’s families and caregivers, and conducted the initial statistical analysis of results.
SKILLS & TOOLS
Analytical/Research Skills
Investigate trends and perform qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis, Leverage Google Analytics for website performance.
Testing Methods
Research: Mixed Methods Research, Remote unmoderated usability studies via Usability Hub, Survey Monkey, Microsoft Forms, Monetate and UserTesting; Live moderated interviews, observation and ethnographic research, focus groups, survey creation and analysis
Information Architecture: Tree Test, Card Sort, A/B Testing, Click Test, Surveying via Optimal Workshop and User Testing
Computer/Technical Literacy
Google Analytics, ForeSee CX Suite, Clarabridge (CEMS), Monetate, HTML5, CSS3, Jira/ Confluence, and working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite including Illustrator and XD.
EDUCATION
M.A. Human-Computer Interaction
Grad Cert. Integrated Health Systems
State University of New York at Oswego
2014-2016
Key course concepts: User experience, psychology, web design, software design, usability evaluation and testing, user research, information architecture, eHealth systems, biomedical informatics, principles of programming
B.A. Psychology
Minor in Cognitive Science
State University of New York at Oswego
2009-2013
Key course concepts: Perception, biopsychology, cognitive neuroscience, human development, linguistics, semiotics, marketing, economics, personality theories
CERTIFICATIONS
Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification: Research Track (In Progress)
VOLUNTEER ORG.
Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana
Technology Committee Member/ September 2017- March 2019
Transplant Committee Chair/ March 2019- February 2020
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Member/ 2014- present
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
Peer Reviewer/ 2018-present