Before Think Company, I spent 3+ years at a startup called Skuid ("squid").
Skuid is a hybrid design/dev tool that system admins can use to rapidly build interfaces and apps with clicks instead of code. At Skuid, I partnered with clients to help them completely re-skin and reimagine their Salesforce interfaces and workflows. I did this by leveraging my expertise in Skuid, Salesforce, CSS and Javascript.
As a collaborative teammate, I am motivated by the opportunity to solve problems that unlock more abundance in our society and help people reach their fullest potential. For example, I worked with three friends to tackle the challenge of sustaining modern friendship by building a personal SMS assistant called "Oslo." You can sign-up for our alpha product launch here. In addition, I recently started a YouTube channel called "mAker" that teaches anyone how to make products using low code tools.
Going forward, I'm eager to explore product design roles at mission-oriented product companies.
The process framework I reference the most is the Double Diamond, which was pioneered by the British Design Council in 2004.
I like the double diamond for two primary reasons. First, it suggests starting by identifying the problem and then working towards a solution. Without clearly understanding a problem, it’s hard to design a solution. Second, I like these expanding and contracting lines that represent divergent and convergent thinking. Learning how to use both during the right stage of a project has been helpful for my process.
Ideal workflow of a cross-functional team
Product Managers
1. Identifies and prioritizes the right problem to solve
2. Assesses market size and market demand for a solution
3. Surveys existing market solutions or competitors to try to understand strengths or gaps
4. Articulates initial business goals, success metrics, product features and hypotheses
5. Communicates product vision to the rest of the team by writing jobs to be done and product or feature briefs
6. Makes sure everyone else on the team has what they need to work without blockers
User Researchers
1. Leads the planning, scheduling and execution of user research in order to answer the highest priority questions and validate the riskiest assumptions
2. Synthesizes and unearths invaluable research insights
3. Presents research using relevant research artifacts like slides, journey maps, storyboards, workflow diagrams, user scenarios, and user stories
3. Establishes users' mental models, information architectures,
Product Designers
1. Participates in user research activities
2. Creates site maps, low-fidelity wireframes
3. After validating with internal team, creates high-fidelity mockups, clickable prototypes and micro-interactions where necessary
4. Works with team to validate and test designs with users
5. Contributes to product's design system
Product Engineers
1. Documents the technical solution design, including system architectures, relevant technologies and rationale
2. Works with the rest of the team to ensure designs are technically feasible
3. Builds, tests, deploys, supports and maintains the product
While I'm technically tool-agnostic, I've enjoyed using a lot of the following tools. That being said, I'm ultimately motivated by learning, so if there's a tool you've been raving about I'd love to hear about it!
I've worked with fortune 500 across several industries such as cloud computing, global talent management, television and media, finance and oil and gas.
✉️ Email me if you're interested in seeing my portfolio 💼 🎉
