Portfolio Review
Accessibility Movement
I was the architect for Indeed’s first accessibility program.
Company had accrued 14 years of accessibility debt.
No clear path forward to bring products accessible, and no agreement on what accessibility meant.
Defined accessibility standard (WCAG 2.1, AA), and progressive milestones for teams to meet on quarterly and yearly basis.
Introduced custom framework for “always-on” software development environment defined by Prevent, Fix, and Monitor pillars. Within each are key tools, services, and resources for teams to drive accessibility fixes.
In year one, brought Indeed to accessible state through identification (6000 bugs) and remediation (100 contributors), of accessibility violations.
Team philosophy of “friendly neighborhood accessibility team” key to success; understood shame, fear, and anxiety teams had toward accessibility.
Elevated program after year one to be “beyond compliance” centering partner Fable as key to accessibility success: talk to people with disabilities so you build for them correctly.
“Intro to Accessibility” reflects speaking about the program in plain language at scale.
Tags: Accessibility, Design Operations, Leadership, Product Inclusion, Scale
Inclusion Framework
Using Annie Jean-Baptiste’s program at Google as model, founded first product inclusion program for Indeed: open door policy to seek consultation at any stage of development.
Consulted with Inclusion Resource Groups on 150+ product, marketing, and content requests over 2 years.
Designed Inclusion Framework (300 point taxonomy) for repeatable outcomes in identifying sensitivity, authenticity, and inclusion for all communities.
“Some Very Special TV” reflects design of material in support of building empathy for all communities.
Tags: Inclusion, Content, Content Design, Education Design, Visual Design
Compensation Tool & Experience Design
Summary
Paysa used big data and machine learning to empower people with their real market value. This valuation helped Paysa users make $500 million more than they previously made; usually in salary negotiations, job offers, and annual reviews.
Target users
Like many startups, we started with targeting technology professionals. Based on UXR, I found women were not resonating with Paysa’s original offering, thus focused on their specific needs in the tech industry when asking for money, which drove our choice of tone and style.
Why was I essential to the project?
The team had only one PM and no designers prior to me joining. The existing PM was optimized for growth and not user experience. It was my responsibility to own the overall user experience, bring design to the table with development as an equal, and guide rapid design/development in targeted sprints. This was all related to the vision and roadmap I developed in partnership with the founders of Paysa.
What did I contribute that was special?
I focused on the overall architecture of the total system: desktop, mobile, content, and email. I brought unity to disparate pieces through a design overhaul of the product in my first 3 months at Paysa. With a holistic structure in place, we tested different visuals and tones to bridge an understanding with the end user, key to any product design vision. Paysa users were insecure and anxious about asking for more money. Thus the branding, wording, and visuals were designed to enhance confidence and simplicity.
What was my team leaning on me for in the process?
All creative vision and direction, on behalf of authentic connection with our end user, rested with me.
What would I do next time to make it easier?
The one thing I did not prioritize was a living style guide, which I had done in previous roles, and would later become known as “design systems” at future companies.
What mistakes cost us time and energy?
Splitting focus between consumer and employer experiences. The founders were anxious about their next fundraising round and split our focus to build both employer and consumer experiences at the same time. This led to some innovation, but degraded the overall experience for both audiences. Learned that the integrity of our focus matters, and to advocate for what you know to be right with more influence.
How are customers going to benefit from my work?
As a product designer at Paysa, I was responsible for making sure users converted to Paysa accounts when they landed on our homepage or other SEO landing pages, as well as making sure we empowered our existing users with the right UX to ask employers for more money. The latter was the driving force behind my work, helping employees ask for more money through big data.
Tags: Product Design, Product Management, Visual Design, Product Inclusion, Education Design, Content Design
Food Subscription Box
Summary
Goodies was the first corporate subscription box service, at a time when there were only startups engaging in the space. Goodies was a brand born out of Walmart Labs, and based on the founder of Walmart’s middle name: Goode.
Target users
Walmart was struggling with two major issues: acquiring Millennial shoppers and competing with Amazon. This product focused on the former issue, and founded on the principal that younger shoppers did not want to go in stores or on giant catalogue sites like Amazon.
Why was I essential to the project?
I was responsible for the overall design, vision, and product roadmap. This encapsulated user reviews, desktop, buying, culinary expertise, mobile, gamification, warehousing, print marketing, box design, shipping, and payment processing.
What did I contribute that was special?
The vast number of touch points and competencies needed to build this product from scratch were immense. I provided the initial energy and vision, and built the team of 20 over the period of one year.
What was my team leaning on me for in the process?
My team leaned on me to understand the definition of done. For so many different pieces and an audacious vision, I empowered and helped all contributors understand when each element was market ready.
What would I do next time to make it easier?
Certain elements like the gamification were de-prioritized as we scaled. However, these elements made the end product the most special, thus, I would have adhered to the brand integrity stronger.
Tags: Product Design, Product Management, Visual Design, Culinary, User Reviews, Payments, Shipping, Warehousing, Desktop.
