Resume
Founder, Principal Consultant
Company: UX287.com
Start Date: January 2023
End Date: Present
UX287 specializes in providing UX research, product management, and process improvement consulting. Primarily collaborating with Snacks Design to deliver strategic product development and UX design services for their clients, leveraging my extensive experience in digital transformation and agile methodologies.
Additionally, I continue to offer consultancy services to Lisa App, contributing to ongoing product enhancement, technical maintenance, and market engagement strategies.
We've got plans to extend our consultancy services to a broader range of clients seeking innovative UX solutions and product management expertise. Let's chat!
Principle Designer, Technical Product Management Consultant
Company: Snacks Design - Contracting with AAR
Start Date: August 2021
End Date: Present
Contract Role at AAR (NYSE: AIR):
Engaged to lead product discovery and digital transformation in MRO operations.
Product Launch and Recognition:
Played critical roles in design, product management, and support launching AAR's Concourse digital MRO platform launch in November 2023. The platform’s application won the Aviation Weekly Laureate in 2024.
UX Research and Leadership:
Led 10 UX professionals in workflow analysis, prototyping, and validation for a digital MRO process. Established an Airtable for Observations and Insights, now with 5-20 contributors collecting over 100 observations on a weekly basis, enhancing design and roadmap management processes.
SUSS/UX-Lite Survey Integration:
Initiated SUSS/UX-Lite surveys and built an Airtable database for user feedback, promoting rapid product development. Early data collection stages are set to inform continuous improvement.
Strategic Consulting and Digital Transformation:
Collaborated extensively with AAR's leadership, including VPs of Engineering, Product, and Business, to drive the digitalization and optimization of operations. As platform rollout continues, our efforts will directly impact operations conducted in over 2 million square feet of aircraft hangar space, significantly enhancing service delivery to major US aviation providers.
Agile Methodology Implementation:
Advocated for Scrum and agile among senior leadership, enhancing team productivity and project management, and boosting organizational agility.
Director, Product Management
Company: LisaApp.com
Start Date: August 2015
End Date: February 2021
As the Director of Product in a fast-paced startup environment, I was at the forefront of driving the product's vision and execution, leading all aspects of product management, design, and development. My role was instrumental in shaping the product strategy and delivering high-quality web and mobile applications.
Strategic Product Leadership:
Oversaw the product lifecycle from concept to launch, focusing on scheduling, consumer charges, provider payments, tax reporting, and B2B event management.
Operational Improvement and Cost Management:
Implemented Zapier and other no-code tool integrations with Postgres and various SaaS vendors (Stripe, Google, AgileCRM, Slack, etc.), to improve operations and reduce cost. This strategic move reduced development costs by over 50%.
Market Engagement and Customer Acquisition:
Led the successful onboarding of 2,000 service providers in the Chicago area and acquiring 4,000 customers within the first half-year post-launch.
Cross-Functional Team Management:
Directed a team comprising 6 offshore engineers, 1 QA, and 1 UX designer, ensuring seamless collaboration with founders, marketing, operations, and finance executives.
Business Model Innovation:
Initiated and guided the pivot from a B2C to an event-driven B2B model, responding adeptly to market needs and enhancing the service portfolio.
B2B Services Expansion:
Orchestrated the deployment of applications supporting B2B events in 15 states, managing services including in-office massage, scheduling, billing, and provider payment.
In this role, I gained extensive experience in product management, design, research, engineering management, and vendor management, playing a pivotal role in the company's launch and continued operation. The experience provided deep insights into the dynamics of startup growth and the challenges of meeting diverse investor expectations.
Sr. UX Design Lead
Company: Dom & Tom
Start Date: September 2014
End Date: July 2015
As a Sr. UX Design Lead, I played a pivotal role in steering UX design and product discovery sessions, focusing on developing applications across responsive web, iOS, and Android native platforms. My tenure was marked by the introduction of Lean UX processes and Agile practices in an agency environment previously dominated by sales and development perspectives.
Innovative UX Design Leadership:
Guided UX design and product discovery for a range of applications, ensuring optimal user experience across responsive web and native mobile platforms (iOS and Android).
Lean UX and Agile Practices Implementation:
Successfully introduced and integrated Lean UX processes and Agile methodologies into the company's workflow, fostering a more efficient and collaborative environment.
Key Project Contributions:
- Developed a responsive web app prototype using Axure for a Fortune 500 client, facilitating a large-scale usability test to validate new features in an existing product line.
- Led the design and development of a native mobile application for a payments/eCommerce startup, encompassing both iOS and Android platforms.
- Created design and requirement artifacts for a startup in the automotive space, focusing on personal vehicle data management and mechanic shop advertising.
- Spearheaded complete product design and discovery for a startup in the beauty and wellness industry, culminating in my transition to join the client full-time as Director of Product Management (refer to the above position at LISA App).
This role enabled me to harness my expertise in UX design and product management, contributing significantly to diverse projects and laying the groundwork for advanced roles in product leadership.
Sr. UX Designer
Company: Echo Global Logistics
Start Date: July 2012
End Date: Invalid date
As Echo's first UX hire, I pioneered the introduction of UX design and Agile/Lean project management principles within the organization. My role was crucial in transforming the company's approach to product development and design across various departments.
Organizational Transformation and Agile Integration:
Instrumental in reorganizing an IT team of approximately 80 members, leading to the creation of 10 multi-disciplinary Agile product management teams. My coaching and mentoring were pivotal in embedding sophisticated UX research and design processes within these teams.
Design and Development Leadership:
Focused on both revitalizing legacy systems burdened with design debt and launching new applications utilizing modern frameworks, thereby supporting emerging business initiatives.
This role marked a significant phase in my career, allowing me to lay the groundwork for advanced UX practices and Agile methodologies within an evolving corporate environment.
UX Design Lead
Company: Cars.com
Start Date: July 2010
End Date: July 2012
Transformed the Cars.com B2B application into a sophisticated business intelligence (BI) platform, enhancing its capability to provide auto dealers and dealer group executives with essential business performance insights, market dynamics, and advertising ROI. Managed the product discovery lifecycle, from ideation to backlog management and then feature release. As an integral member of the core Scrum team, I collaborated closely with the Product Manager, Solutions Architect, and Scrum Master.
Sr. Business Analyst
Company: INCISENT Technologies
Start Date: August 2006
End Date: Invalid date
Collaborated closely with the CEO and founder to define and design SaaS products that enhance key performance indicators crucial to retail auto dealers, specifically in managing pre-owned inventory. Managed a wide spectrum of requirements, including data, interaction, and visual design within multidisciplinary project teams consisting of 5-8 engineers (database, middle-tier, front-end, testing). Additionally, I communicated with and trained the Marketing and Field Operations teams on new product processes and capabilities.
- Delivered products that catered to various user needs, from tactical front-line managers to strategy-oriented dealer-group executives.
- Clients reported significant improvements in front-end gross profit and inventory turnover rates, along with substantial reductions in inventory days supply.
In this role, my contributions significantly influenced product strategy and design, directly impacting client performance and success.
Project Manager
Company: Interactive Solutions International
Start Date: January 2004
End Date: August 2004
Managed and consulted on multiple concurrent PBX installation projects (3 – 10) implementing the Interactive Intelligence suite of Windows 2000 based PBX software. Procured telecom resources from the local PSTN (T1/PRI) and managed delivery and installation schedule while acting as an intermediary between the PSTN and the client’s IT/Telecom team. Defined system and end user interface requirements for call center applications, business operations, and general office connectivity such as automated/voice response units (ARU/VRU), call flow routing, and customer service oriented database lookups (e.g. customer account details, product information, etc)
Business Analyst
Company: American Century Investments
Start Date: May 1998
End Date: January 2004
Early member of the eCommerce team responsible for developing requirements defining American Century’s complete cradle-to-grave customer self-service account management system at www.americancentury.com (paper free, digital signature enabled account opening through account redemption). Developed new processes and intranet based tools for use in the call center to capture contact drivers and customer feedback and then used that data to implement new projects to reduce call center contacts, reduce cost, and improve web site usability. Successfully managed projects in a geographically dispersed, remote location team environment.