Design Sales

Ron D. Schlegel

Information Architecture ( User Experience / Usability ( Information

Design / Visualization ( Interface Design

**** **** ******* ****, ***, West Chester, PA 19382 . 484-***-**** .

**************@*****.***

Profile Overview

HFI CERTIFIED, STRATEGIC, PROACTIVE, EMPATHIC AND ANALYTIC USER EXPERIENCE

ARCHITECT / DESIGNER WITH BROAD SET OF USABILITY EXPERTISE SPANNING

RESEARCH, ANALYSIS, DESIGN, AND EVALUATION. EXPERT IN OPTIMIZING THE USER

EXPERIENCE OF USER-CENTERED WEB APPLICATIONS AND WEBSITES FOR PC,

BLACKBERRY, CELL PHONE AND PRINT MEDIA. PROFICIENT AT TRANSFORMING BUSINESS

AND USER REQUIREMENTS, AND COMPLEX DATA SETS INTO REMARKABLY CLEAR, SIMPLE,

INTUITIVE AND CONTEXTUAL WEB EXPERIENCES. CHAMPION OF BEST PRACTICES WITH

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT SKILLS COMBINED

WITH A REPUTATION AS AN EFFECTIVE LIAISON. EFFECTIVE AT FORGING

COLLABORATIVE RELATIONS BETWEEN BUSINESS LINES TO EXECUTE SIGNIFICANT

INITIATIVES AND STREAMLINE PROCESSES.

. Certified Usability Analyst, Human Factors International

. Seven years experience in information architecture, information

design, interface design and usability

. Experienced with Axure, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Visio, Illustrator,

Photoshop, etc. for Windows and Mac

. Experienced designing for PC Web browsers, Blackberry, cellular mobile

phone and print media

. eCommerce, web apps, sites, portals, wizards, dashboards, forms,

graphs, visualizations, diagrams, tables

. Cognitive human factors: perception, attention, learning, memory,

trust, habituation, conversion, adoption

. Research: task analysis, surveys, card sorting, heuristic reviews,

contextual observations and interviews

. Experience in finance, healthcare, education, and telecommunications

. Masters degree in Mass Communication with 3.78 G.P.A; BS in Visual

Communications / Technology Education

. Extensive professional portfolio and professional references available

Core Competencies / Technical Proficiency

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE ? INFORMATION DESIGN ? DATA VISUALIZATION ?

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS ? USER INTERFACE DESIGN ? USABILITY REVIEW AND

TESTING ? INTERACTION DESIGN ? COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL HUMAN FACTORS ?

PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL WRITING ? CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT ?

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN ? TECHNICAL TRAINING ? DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Deliverables: wireframes, prototypes, strategic vision design, functional &

user requirements, task flow diagrams,

sitemaps, mockups, storyboards, personas, usability

testing plans and reports, scenarios, user surveys,

interview questions, presentations, icons, widgets,

style guides, CSS style sheets

Applications: Axure, Visio, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop,

Inspiration, Omnigraffle, Acrobat, Flash,

InDesign, QuarkXpress, PageMaker, Director,

Authorware, Powerpoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, Notes

Professional Experience (Employee & Consultant)

VANGUARD, MALVERN, PA OCTOBER

2009-PRESENT

INFORMATION ARCHITECT/UX, CONSULTANT

PROVIDING STRATEGIC INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE VISIONING FOR INSTITUTIONAL

ASSET MANAGER WEB SITES AND APPLICATIONS.

. Currently researching and co-designing next generation Web experience

strategic vision for financial advisors

. Designed concept screens for Relationship Managers to manage their AIM

Book of Business

. Created wireframe screens, dashboards, data visualizations, site maps,

and strategic design document

. Skillfully interviewed target end users to elicit user requirements and

develop user personas

. Observed end users to develop task flow diagrams and scenarios of use.

Davita Inc, Berwyn, PA Jan 2009-Jun 2009

User Interface Architect / Designer,

Consultant

Provided user interface design, information architecture/design and human

factors/usability expertise to redesign an inconsistent set of web

application interfaces into a single, unified, user-centric interface and

information architecture.

. Successfully designed an interactive prototype for a physician practice

and patient management web application that enables physicians to

easily navigate to/from patient and practice contexts with a single

click

. Streamlined the process of creating custom lab reports through the

strategic redesign of a report-creation wizard that enables average and

advanced physicians to create custom reports in different ways

appropriately

. Effectively redesigned a Lab Panel Analyzer application and data graphs

that improved analysis of lab test results

. Significantly increased the usability of existing web applications by

performing thorough and systematic heuristic evaluations and making

expert usability recommendations

. Strategically planned and designed an effective usability testing plan

with metrics, methods and instruments.

Chase Bank, Wilmington, DE Jun 2008-Jan 2009

Customer Experience Architect /

Designer, Consultant

Designed information architecture site map diagrams, screen layout

wireframes and functional requirements for Chase Credit Card Web sites.

. Proposed chat design standards for a consistent chat user experience

across multiple business lines

. Designed the task flow and screen layouts for the Chase Bill Pay

feature

. Conducted effective heuristic evaluations of credit card web sites and

made expert usability recommendations.

NetPlus Marketing, Conshohocken, PA Jan 2008-Jun 2008

User Experience Architect / Designer

Designed eCommerce websites for Armstrong Flooring partner, Floor Covering

Associates, Collette Vacations, ING Direct, and others including web 2.0

features.

. Designed user-centric information architecture site map diagrams,

screen wireframes, prototypes, and functional requirements for

eCommerce Web sites using Axure

. Ensured effective, user-centric interface designs by iteratively

meeting with users and clients

. Researched and tested prototyping and diagramming tools, leading to the

successful adoption of Axure

. Conducted competitive site research to benchmark designs.

Freddie Mac, McLean, VA May 2006-Jul 2007

Visual Information Designer

Significantly improved technical communication through effective visual

communication and improved productivity through functional information

architecture.

. Facilitated corporate adoption of proposed technology solutions by

significantly improving the design of proof of concepts through

systematic heuristic evaluation.

. Significantly improved communication between technical and business

groups by designing highly effective

conceptual visualizations and technical diagrams.

. Significantly increased the productivity of the Technology division

personnel by designing a highly usable, functionally-organized intranet

website information architecture.

. Contributed to the Technology Research division intelligence by

researching data visualization solutions.

Sprint Nextel Communications, Herndon, Dec 2004-May 2006

VA

Senior Interface Designer / Business

Analyst

Applied human factors/usability principles to strategically transform a

disparate set of tools-oriented sales web application user interfaces into

a cohesive, task-oriented web portal that enables sales personnel to easily

learn and use all sales applications (desktop, Blackberry, and cell phone

platforms) by learning a single application.

. Designed the portal to retain the tools navigation, enabling users to

adapt to the task paradigm in their time

. Designed a common user interface model template and prototype to apply

consistently to all sales applications.

. Performed in-depth analysis, optimized and documented task flows to

ensure optimal usability

. Designed highly intuitive wireframe screens and thoroughly defined

functional specifications

. Met with sales/marketing executives and supervised three developers to

ensure requirements were achieved.

"Ron is the consummate professional in all his undertakings. His approach

is thorough, consistent and beneficial for whichever project he was

assigned when I worked with him at Sprint. We worked on several projects

including the Sales Portal upgrade, and his management of the user

interface component was excellent, helping to build the requirements from

the ground up. His understanding of the how to translate real human needs

and requirements into an effective tool elevated the sales portal from just

a website to a revenue generating application! I value my time with Ron and

would recommend him to anyone looking to greatly enhance their

organization."

Jim Barker, Manager, Sales Portal Operations, Sprint Nextel

America Online, VCampus, Fannie Mae, AARP, U.S. Defense Contract Apr 2001-Dec

Management Agency 2004

Information Architect / Interface Designer / Usability Engineer,

Consultant

Hit the ground running and completed several significant, revenue-

generating projects.

. Strategically designed an efficient and effective multimedia course

authoring web application interface that enables course authors to

dynamically switch to/from authoring and instructional modes

. Gathered, thoroughly analyzed and documented business and user

requirements for effective design

. Significantly improved existing web application usability by

thoroughly and systematically analyzing application user interfaces

for usability problems, documented and facilitated recommended

solutions

. Created an effective usability testing plan by defining testing

strategies, methods, instruments and metrics.

. Objectively tested Web application user interfaces using pre-defined

heuristic and contextual inquiries.

"I worked with Ron during my RiskNet software development project in

Fannie Mae as his Project Manager. I found him to be a very

knowledgeable, thorough, and dependable software usability expert. The

work products that he generated were excellent and we adapted many of his

recommendations into the application's user interface design. If I had an

opportunity, I would hire Ron again. I recommend Ron to any organization

that needs an expert user experience and usability analyst."

Harun Kazaz, Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton

Soft Skills

. Resourceful, disciplined, responsible, perseverant, self-motivated,

with strong and positive work ethic

. Visual, empathic, creative, critical, independent, strategic, logical,

analytic and abstract thinker

. Goal and problem definition; solution and detail-oriented

. Proactive and independent learner

. Empathic designing, listening, speaking, writing and editing

. Cooperative team player, communicator and cross-functional liaison

. Native-born US citizen, fluent spoken and written English

Education

MA, MASS COMMUNICATION (GPA: 3.78) BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY, BOWLING

GREEN, OH.

. User-Centered Interface Design

. Information Architecture & Design

. Digital Interactive Web//Multimedia Design

. Media Adoption, Human-Computer Interaction

. Communication Technologies

. Research Methods

"Ron has impressed me with his capacity for analytical thinking and

intellectual independence. He is very articulate both in his written and

his oral communication. ... He works very hard, is conscientious and very

meticulous in all his work. I would not hesitate in putting him in the top

5% of students that I have encountered in the last 12 years".

Dr. Srinivas R. Melkote, Mass Communication Professor, Bowling Green State

University

BS, Visual Communications / Technology Education (GPA: 3.34) Millersville

University, Millersville, PA.

. Visual Communication

. Information Design

. Industrial Design, Usability, Human Factors

. Cognitive Psychology

. Curriculum Design & Development

. Instructional Design, Technical Training & Assessment

Professional Affiliations

. CERTIFIED USABILITY ANALYST, HUMAN FACTORS INTERNATIONAL

. Member, Usability Professionals Association

Dear Employer:

I strongly desire to break out of consulting into a challenging, full-

time, employee position analyzing and designing Web applications and

sites for a satisfying user experience. My multi-disciplinary background

in communications, technology, and education has provided me with an

unmatched set of knowledge and skills. I have over seven years of

experience designing Web user experiences that include approximately two

years experience of usability testing and information design. I am

experienced with gathering and analyzing business requirements, user

tasks, and applying usability heuristics throughout the design process. I

am also experienced with user research and usability testing methods,

including heuristic evaluation, observations, contextual inquiry, focus

group interviewing, and surveying. I approach interface and information

design problems from unique and very effective visual communication and

usability perspectives.

I possess several years experience utilizing the Web to research

information, and have become proficient with the Windows and Macintosh

OS/platforms. I am familiar with the function and capabilities of .NET,

Endeca, Scene 7, Web 2.0, AJAX, Spry, Flex, DHTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, OOUI,

ASP, JavaScript, Java, and other technologies. I am also familiar with

Section 508, ADA, and the WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Since a student, I have proactively studied the principles and processes

of usability engineering, user-centered interface design, interaction

design, information architecture/design, multimedia design, cognitive

psychology, and instructional design, and have a deep understanding of

them. Leading researchers that I have studied include Few, Tufte, Norman,

Nielsen, Kalbach, Rosenfeld & Morville, Constantine & Lockwood, Badre,

Mayhew, Holtzblatt, Baxley, Mandel, Isaacs, Mullet & Sano, Cooper,

Shneiderman, Rogers, Wroblewski, Spence, Ware, and others. I am a

proactive, independent learner who thrives in a dynamic environment,

attending to details while keeping a macro-vision of the business goals.

I have excellent professional and technical writing skills, as well as

effective oral communication skill. My research, analysis, design,

testing, and writing skills enable me to effectively analyze business and

user requirements, design, and communicate the needs of users, clients,

and subject-matter experts to the development team members. I work well

as a team leader, cooperative member of a team, cross-functional liaison,

and independent designer/ consultant.

Although my consulting engagements gave me the challenges that I thrive

on, I am seeking an employee role where I can learn the business more

deeply, planning and designing with deeper insights to make a more

significant and lasting contribution, and grow and advance professionally

within the company. I have tremendous capacity to provide your company

with many creative insights, ideas, plans, designs, processes,

recommendations, standards and best practices when given the opportunity.

My references and I are confident that the employer that hires me will

gain a highly proficient, analytic, versatile, productive, and loyal

employee with vast and superior talents and experience. Please contact me

to request my extensive portfolio, and to schedule an interview to

discuss how I can meet your immediate and long-term needs. You may also

review my LinkedIn profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ronschlegel.

Yours Truly,

Ron Schlegel

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