EXPERIENCE

Manager of User Experience Design

Sep 2015 - Present  -   PROS   -   Houston, TX

Managed a team of up to 6 user experience (UX) designers and was responsible for their results and retention.  Coached, provided feedback, and evaluated direct performance. Reviewed deliverables and established hiring practices.  Envisioned new designs for the product portfolio.

  • Maintained 100% median quarterly retention rate by building relationships with one-on-ones.

  • Obtained 98% satisfaction rating from attendees and enhanced talent recruiting efforts by creating and hosting a design conference for students and aspiring UX professionals.

  • Earned "Outperformer" award for high performance (top 5% of 500 employees).

  • Recognized on performance review as “flawlessly managed” all responsibilities.

  • Worked to reduce bias and improve hiring effectiveness by presenting 40 improvement opportunities to Chief People Officer based on research from 18 hiring managers.

  • Earned PROS a “Visionary” rating from Gartner industry analyst by designing and presenting a 15-minute prototype demo of a CPQ quoting workflow with machine learning features.

  • Improved visibility of team's expenses towards a $60k budget, morale metrics, and goal performance by creating a dashboard with Power BI.

Lead User Experience Designer

Mar 2014 - Sep 2015   1 yr 7 mos   -   PROS   -   Houston, TX

Led design efforts for several strategic software projects. Collaborated with user researchers, visual designers, product managers and developers. Mentored junior designers.

  • Innovated a product concept with iterative design and feedback from 22 user tests.

  • Fixed over 10 significant usability defects for a complex configuration product using sketches, wireframes, high-fidelity Axure prototypes, and 8 user testing sessions.

  • Improved the performance of a junior UX designer using coaching and feedback.

  • Influenced product strategy decisions with 2 heuristic evaluations and presentations.

 

Senior User Experience Designer

Dec 2011 - Mar 2014   2 yrs 4 mos   -   PROS   -   Houston, TX

Led research and design efforts for multiple B2B software product teams. Performed contextual inquiries and usability testing with users. Led collaborative design sessions with product managers and developers. Created low and high-fidelity prototypes, wrote microcopy, and conducted surveys. Evangelized user experience design techniques.

  • Recognized on performance review as “always exceeds performance requirements” and as “outstanding helping [our] team to meet our deadlines and responsibilities.”

  • Sustained productivity of 3 teams simultaneously with design guidance and prototypes.

  • Managed a design intern on creating personas and a System Usability Scale survey.

  • Improved ideation efficiency by teaching sketching to over 20 product managers, developers, and junior designers with a 3-hour interactive workshop.

Human Factors Engineer

May 2007 - Dec 2011   4 yrs 8 mos   -   PROS   -   Houston, TX

Responsible for improving the usability and customer satisfaction of B2B software by introducing UX design techniques into an Agile development environment. Performed contextual inquiries and usability testing with users. Led collaborative design sessions with product managers and developers. Created low and high-fidelity prototypes, wrote microcopy, and conducted surveys.

  • Achieved 1,000% increase in customers for a pricing application by redesigning it with user interviews, paper prototyping and usability testing.

  • Improved efficiency by delivering high-quality, on-time paper and Flash prototypes.

  • Managed 2 interns on rapid prototyping techniques.

  • Benchmarked perceived product usability using System Usability Scale surveys.

  • Wrote and delivered 2 presentations on interface design to over 30 developers.

 

Senior Programmer

Oct 2006 - Mar 2007   6 mos   -   CooperSurgical   -   Stafford, TX

Researched, designed, developed, documented, and maintained software applications supporting the company’s business processes.

  • Led the design, development and on-time delivery of an equipment maintenance application.

 

Programmer

Nov 2004 - Oct 2006   2 yrs   -   Lone Star Medical Products   -   Stafford, TX

Designed and developed software applications supporting the company’s business processes. Interviewed users, developed interfaces, and documented procedures.

  • Recognized on performance review as “department’s best writer” and for creating “easy to understand and use” interfaces.

EDUCATION

B.S., Computer Science

2003   -   Texas A&M University   -   College Station, TX

  • Minored in Psychology

  • CARPOOL – a volunteer student organization providing free, non-judgmental rides home for intoxicated patrons.

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified User Experience Analyst (CXA)

License #2014-298   -   Human Factors International

 

Certified Usability Analyst (CUA)

License #2008-1985   -   Human Factors International

 

Pragmatic Marketing Certified - Level 2

Aug 2013   -   Pragmatic Marketing   

PROFESSIONAL GROUPS

User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA)

2008 - Present   -   Member & Volunteer

 

UXPA - Houston Chapter

In 2013, I helped establish Houston's chapter of the UXPA. Since then, I've coordinated over a dozen events cumulatively attended by hundreds of people. With over 1,400 members and growing, HUXPA serves as a helpful community for Houston's user experience professionals.