I am a lead UX Practitioner specialized in user research, with over ten years experience working on projects across multiple channels. Working globally, I have aided many companies, from start‑ups to Fortune 500 companies to launch successful products.
My approach balances qualitative and quantitative research methods with creative flair and a genuine passion for creating products people are excited to use.
Ux is Ready is a research & design consultancy which I co-founded in early 2014 to support the rapidly emerging startup scene in Barcelona.
Ux is Ready is a research & design consultancy which I co-founded in early 2014 to support the rapidly emerging startup scene in Barcelona.
A mobile application for a P2P platform
We coach clients through an agile UX design process. Focusing on helping teams understand their end users, within the context of the design problem they are solving.
We coach clients through an agile UX design process. Focusing on helping teams understand their end users, within the context of the design problem they are solving.
User testing sessions for a Barcelona startup
Some clients hire us to craft a new product or service, while others need to improve their existing user experiences. We tailor our process to meet individual clients needs and budget, shaping products and services that work and customers enjoy using.
Some clients hire us to craft a new product or service, while others need to improve their existing user experiences. We tailor our process to meet individual clients needs and budget, shaping products and services that work and customers enjoy using.
Due to client confidentiality, case studies of these projects are only available on request.
Government Digital Services (GDS) in the UK has the job of digitally transforming government, to achieve this it operates more like a tech start up than a government organization. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is a government department which is focused on creating a digitally enabled criminal justice service. The challenge was to design a new digital channel for the submission and management of advocates bills for defense costs in the Crown Court. The system currently being used for submitting these claims is mainly paper based and the accumulation of years of task specific processes on top of processes which all have numerous supporting forms and protocols.
Government Digital Services (GDS) in the UK has the job of digitally transforming government, to achieve this it operates more like a tech start up than a government organization. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is a government department which is focused on creating a digitally enabled criminal justice service. The challenge was to design a new digital channel for the submission and management of advocates bills for defense costs in the Crown Court. The system currently being used for submitting these claims is mainly paper based and the accumulation of years of task specific processes on top of processes which all have numerous supporting forms and protocols.
Journey map with user needs, discovery phase
As the lead researcher on this project I was embedded in a multi-disciplinary agile team and designed and executed the research plan from the discovery phase through to the beta launch. During discovery we mapped the end to end service and used a number of different sources of insight to identify user needs and develop an understanding of the service’s users. This work allowed the team to focus the MVP on a billing application called ‘Advocate Defence Payments’. At the beginning of the alpha phase the designer prototyped some initial concepts for each user story. I used these for concept testing and as a stimulus to get a deeper understanding of the user needs. The prototype was iterated upon using build/measure/learn cycles throughout beta until it was at a point where users could begin to process claims and be paid via the system.
As the lead researcher on this project I was embedded in a multi-disciplinary agile team and designed and executed the research plan from the discovery phase through to the beta launch. During discovery we mapped the end to end service and used a number of different sources of insight to identify user needs and develop an understanding of the service’s users. This work allowed the team to focus the MVP on a billing application called ‘Advocate Defence Payments’. At the beginning of the alpha phase the designer prototyped some initial concepts for each user story. I used these for concept testing and as a stimulus to get a deeper understanding of the user needs. The prototype was iterated upon using build/measure/learn cycles throughout beta until it was at a point where users could begin to process claims and be paid via the system.
Usability testing, beta phase
The new system addresses the primary user needs of both legal providers and government employees. Legal professionals can directly submit their claims from their case management system to the government processing centre, including all trial evidence. Claims will be queued and allocated via a custom built tool which will considerably reduce the hours currently involved in allocating claims to government employees. Another key issue which we solved was reducing the number of rejected claims, this was tackled first at the process level and secondly via a communication tool which will allow items to be resolved directly between the provider and government caseworker before the claim is assessed.
The new system addresses the primary user needs of both legal providers and government employees. Legal professionals can directly submit their claims from their case management system to the government processing centre, including all trial evidence. Claims will be queued and allocated via a custom built tool which will considerably reduce the hours currently involved in allocating claims to government employees. Another key issue which we solved was reducing the number of rejected claims, this was tackled first at the process level and secondly via a communication tool which will allow items to be resolved directly between the provider and government caseworker before the claim is assessed.
Snapfish is a digital photo and e-commerce company. Photo prints are amongst the biggest sellers with 60% of customers ordering between 40 - 200 prints. The challenge was to create an application which allowed customers to organize, edit and review their prints before entering the checkout flow. Customers often received different sizes of prints within an order or found that their photos had been cropped. This was partly due to the increase in people taking more digital photographs with varying aspect ratios from 3.4 to 1.1 and these ratios not being equivalent to print sizes.
Snapfish is a digital photo and e-commerce company. Photo prints are amongst the biggest sellers with 60% of customers ordering between 40 - 200 prints. The challenge was to create an application which allowed customers to organize, edit and review their prints before entering the checkout flow. Customers often received different sizes of prints within an order or found that their photos had been cropped. This was partly due to the increase in people taking more digital photographs with varying aspect ratios from 3.4 to 1.1 and these ratios not being equivalent to print sizes.
Voice of customer, sprint planning, image ordered in three different print sizes
I evaluated the existing print flow in the USA, Europe and Asia and then analyzed the corresponding web analytics. In tandem with this I interviewed customer service and business stakeholders. I synthesized these findings into a low-fidelity axure prototype which was used by the engineering team to create a high-fidelity prototype for user testing. Remote moderated testing was carried out in Ireland with six participants over two days and the prototype allowed test participants to use their own Snapfish accounts and photographs.
I evaluated the existing print flow in the USA, Europe and Asia and then analyzed the corresponding web analytics. In tandem with this I interviewed customer service and business stakeholders. I synthesized these findings into a low-fidelity axure prototype which was used by the engineering team to create a high-fidelity prototype for user testing. Remote moderated testing was carried out in Ireland with six participants over two days and the prototype allowed test participants to use their own Snapfish accounts and photographs.
Customers mental model, key quotes
A key finding from the user testing was that the difference in aspect ratios between digital and film photo formats is an unfamiliar and confusing topic hence the test participants were unclear about the repurcussions of the choices they were being asked to make. The application was designed to automatically detect the correct print size for the customers photos. In addition to this customers now make choices based on whether their photos are to be put in a photo album or hung on the wall, rather than trying to understand what aspect ratio their source photo is. We also mapped the customers mental model of purchasing prints and aligned the end-to-end purchase flow to match their behavior pattern of "select > act > proof > buy”.
A key finding from the user testing was that the difference in aspect ratios between digital and film photo formats is an unfamiliar and confusing topic hence the test participants were unclear about the repurcussions of the choices they were being asked to make. The application was designed to automatically detect the correct print size for the customers photos. In addition to this customers now make choices based on whether their photos are to be put in a photo album or hung on the wall, rather than trying to understand what aspect ratio their source photo is. We also mapped the customers mental model of purchasing prints and aligned the end-to-end purchase flow to match their behavior pattern of "select > act > proof > buy”.
Due to client confidentiality, research samples are only available on request.
The high level goal of this project was to simplify the checkout flow and improve reliability by decreasing errors.
The high level goal of this project was to simplify the checkout flow and improve reliability by decreasing errors.
Purchase funnel dropout rates & user stories
During the discovery phase I analyzed the web traffic in the primary markets, collected feedback from the customer service team worldwide and researched the current best practices for checkout flows. This gave the project team a full understanding of the customers' pain points and where they were dropping off.
During the discovery phase I analyzed the web traffic in the primary markets, collected feedback from the customer service team worldwide and researched the current best practices for checkout flows. This gave the project team a full understanding of the customers' pain points and where they were dropping off.
Experience map
Some of the more low risk design changes were made to the checkout flow and I did two rounds of usability testing so the team could understand what items to add to the backlog. A primary finding across all markets was that the total price needed to be displayed upfront on the cart page and not for the first time on the review page. This meant any coupons or offers, shipping options or deleted products needed to immediately be reflected in the total price. The first phase of the re-design brought all the redemption flows onto the cart page the success of which was measured by running an A/B test. A second design phase integrated the shipping options flow which was again measured by A/B testing. At the end of the second phase a final round of usability testing was completed so the design changes could be verified in the context of the full checkout flow.
Some of the more low risk design changes were made to the checkout flow and I did two rounds of usability testing so the team could understand what items to add to the backlog. A primary finding across all markets was that the total price needed to be displayed upfront on the cart page and not for the first time on the review page. This meant any coupons or offers, shipping options or deleted products needed to immediately be reflected in the total price. The first phase of the re-design brought all the redemption flows onto the cart page the success of which was measured by running an A/B test. A second design phase integrated the shipping options flow which was again measured by A/B testing. At the end of the second phase a final round of usability testing was completed so the design changes could be verified in the context of the full checkout flow.
Due to client confidentiality, research samples are only available on request.
As a contractor at Bank of America I designed site architectures, process flows, wireframe schematics and detailed page specifications for financial applications and sales websites.
As a contractor at Bank of America I designed site architectures, process flows, wireframe schematics and detailed page specifications for financial applications and sales websites.
Sample deliverables
The projects I worked on included a relationship rewards application, enabling customers to easily redeem points. As well as the re-design of Bank of America’s three European acquisition websites.
The projects I worked on included a relationship rewards application, enabling customers to easily redeem points. As well as the re-design of Bank of America’s three European acquisition websites.
I designed the interface of a CRM solution for the San Francisco Chronicle to manage media ad sales.
I designed the interface of a CRM solution for the San Francisco Chronicle to manage media ad sales.
Wireframe of CRM tool
The tool enabled the chronicle the Chronicle to track the complex relationship between brands, advertisers and agencies, while providing them a 360 view of their media ad sales. The tool streamlined their ability to sell advertising and process orders.
The tool enabled the chronicle the Chronicle to track the complex relationship between brands, advertisers and agencies, while providing them a 360 view of their media ad sales. The tool streamlined their ability to sell advertising and process orders.
