financial empowerment
Empowering consumers to take control of their financial health
More than 20% of people in the U.S. have bad credit scores resulting from delinquent debt or identity theft, yet many lack access and knowledge to understand how personal credit data can affect everything from getting a job to getting a place to live. I led a cross-functional team of strategy, content and UX/UI experts in the redesign and re-platforming of a financial health protection product, offered by a leading consumer credit bureau. The effort included researching, designing and prototyping a new design system aimed at increasing financial independence by giving people greater knowledge, access and control over their credit and identity data.
Product Design Scope: Client Management, Design Team Leadership, UX, Prototyping, User Testing
healthcare innovation
Helping health systems transform healthcare together
From tumultuous regulatory changes to improving patient outcomes, health system administrators are navigating a minefield of obstacles trying to deliver quality patient care. While technology signals promise for pressing issues, administrators lack the time to find, evaluate and implement the best solutions. I joined the team at AVIA Health to create a product prototype that brings together health system leaders focused on solving a common challenge to strategically source and implement innovative technology, at scale. I translated the existing service model, workflows and use cases into a new digital platform that moves health system administrators through the process faster, giving AVIA a tangible way to evaluate the product concept and market fit prior to investing in a pilot launch. The platform was used to measure the speed at which participants were able to assess, evaluate and select technology partners using the digital platform.
Product Design Scope: Requirements Definition, Concepting, UX, Prototyping, User Testing
workforce development
Preparing adults with autism for competitive employment
Each year, 50,000 adults with autism enter the workforce and face staggering unemployment rates nearing 80%.* AutonomyWorks is combating the problem by building a workforce of adults with autism who are uniquely skilled to deliver exceptional business services. I created a voluntary training program providing extended computer and professional skills training to prepare more adults with autism for employment, at AutonomyWorks or elsewhere. I led all aspects of the educational programming, including design of the curriculum, training materials, teacher training and performance assessment. Since launch, 720 people have participated in training, with 54% of program graduates receiving employment opportunities at AutonomyWorks. In the first year of the program, employee shifts increased 43%. Since then, the number of times someone with autism gets out of bed to come to work at AutonomyWorks has increased 34% (YoY).
LXD Scope: Curriculum Design, Instructional Design, Team Leadership, Assessment
EDUCATION / CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Creating new models for local journalism?
The degradation of the media and crisis in journalism has been called a crisis of democracy. Without local news, how can citizens have the information they need to make informed decisions about their community’s government institutions, schools, businesses and neighbors? Working with a grant from the Knight Foundation, I developed a course where Northwestern University graduate students in design and journalism employ design thinking methods to imagine and prototype new approaches to local journalism. I created the course curriculum and facilitated classes to give students practical experience with customer research, journey mapping, brainstorming and prototyping. Two of the student concepts were selected for further development. I’m currently co-teaching and advising students as they move from product concept to designing, prototyping and testing product features.
Learning Design Scope: Curriculum Design, Instructional Design, Facilitation, Teaching
JOB TRAINING
Putting high-potential, junior talent on a fast track to career success
While the numbers for college graduates interested in pursuing a career in User Experience were surging, the hiring rates for college grads remained at an all time low during my tenure at Razorfish-Sapient. Recent college grads were ready to work, but were missing critical hard and soft skills needed to succeed in a high-pressure, up and out culture. I developed a global UX Bootcamp program giving junior talent the skills, experience and exposure needed to make billable contributions to their teams in the first sixty days. The six-week intensive focused on advancing UX skills, cultivating soft skills, hands-on project learning and mentorship. I developed the business case, hiring strategy, curriculum and course topics. I oversaw a team of domain experts and external vendors to create all course content. I co-directed the pilot, with new hires from seven markets and three continents. Bootcamp participants received more than 200 hours of hands-on learning during the six week program, with 80% hitting utilization targets in less than sixty days. Year one retention rates were 90%, followed by 50% in year two.
Learning Design Scope: Program Design, Curriculum Design, Instructional Design, Facilitation, Team Leadership, Design Mentorship
WORKFORCE / ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Tapping community experts to help nonprofits employ more people with disabilities
Today, almost half of the nation’s nonprofits operate with less than one month of cash reserves**, posing significant risks to economic stability and job security for non-profit employees. When employees already face employment challenges due to intellectual and developmental disabilities, the threat of losing a job has even greater risks. Through a grant from AutismSpeaks, I designed and implemented a business accelerator program, helping non-profits and startups build sustainable employment opportunities for individuals with autism and other disabilities. The eight-week program provided assistance to help business owners overcome common pain points of operating a non-profit business and employing people with unique skills and needs. Participants received 80 hours of technical expertise and mentorship through a series of workshops, panel discussions, presentations and working sessions.
Learning Design Scope: Curriculum Design, Instructional Design, Program Management, Facilitation
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Giving small businesses better tools to operate more effectively
From managing cash flow and resources to rising costs and competition, there’s no shortage of challenges small business owners (SMBs) must overcome to stay afloat. I partnered with a service design agency to help a major home improvement retailer create a suite of new service offerings that help SMBs operate more effectively. Together, we conducted multi-market research studies to uncover customer journeys, pain points and opportunity spaces. I benchmarked competitor performance and external industries leading with innovation. I co-facilitated large-scale workshops, leading to the creation of concepts for new service models, including the launch of an on-demand, delivery service in 30+ markets, giving small businesses alternative ways to get supplies faster and cheaper. This pilot is the first in a 5 year strategic roadmap aimed at providing operational efficiencies, cost savings and expert consulting services to help small business owners succeed.
Experience Strategy Scope: Stakeholder Discovery, User Research, Journey Mapping, Competitive Benchmarking, Service Design
HEALTHCARE INNOVATION
Putting patients at the center of the product development
PatientWisdom® is a digital platform that gives patients a way to share brief "stories" about their health and care. Patient stories are integrated with electronic health records, giving health care providers a quick snapshot of what matters most to patients. While the power of patient storytelling and data were at the core of this young startup, patient voices were missing from the product design process. I implemented a user research practice for the organization, integrating a regular cadence of user research and prototype testing into the development workflow. I created test protocols, standardized data collection methods and trained team members to conduct and analyze user research. PatientWisdom has since launched coordinated products for patients, providers and health communities, continuing to give patients and families a consistent and meaningful voice in the product design and development process.
Product Design Scope: Product Strategy, Design Team Leadership, User Research, UX, Design Ops
LOGISTICS CUSTOMER SERVICE
Creating communication tools that keep customers and employees on track to deliver at work
Product manufacturers are heavily reliant on planes, trains and automobiles to keep production cycles on schedule. While technology and data make it easier to move industrial products and raw materials from coast to coast, human interaction in critical to coordinate efforts between different shippers, suppliers and operators. I joined the team at Fjord to redesign the customer service experience for a leading B2B rail transport company. We conducted research to uncover pain points and opportunity areas to improve communication between customers and employees. We defined current state journeys, systems, technology and trends to concept new service models and communication interactions. Concepts were later taken into testing prior to defining the product roadmap and development plan.
Experience Strategy Scope: User Research, Journey Mapping, Concepting, Service Design
* Autism Facts and Figures, 2018. Autism Speaks; ** The Financial Health of the United States Nonprofits Sector: Facts and Observations, 2018.