UX Design
September 2021 - Present
Security Clearance: Top Secret, Active
As the nature of this work is confidential and protected under a Top Secret Clearance, I won't be able to show any project visuals or discuss any details regarding the projects. However, I can provide an overview of the processes and methods I use to research and design the projects I work on.
My position at Sherpa 6 works an agile process on a scrum team. This has given me the opportunity to work closely with the software team and stakeholders throughout each stage of UX Research and Design. Working in two week sprints, we utilize agile design which promotes collaboration and embraces change with the emphasis on small batch projects which deliver results quickly.
Focusing on a 5-step Lean UX Process, we first aim to understand our users and product. We then design the product, decide on design iterations, and prototype the product. We finish by validating and delivering designs which the engineers will use to develop the product.
Along with the Lean UX Process, we are also able to take opportunities to travel to observe our user during testing, training, and practical exercises. This affords us invaluable information that will drive refinement and development of the product.
Step 1 - Understand
The purpose of this step is to understand the problem I'm trying to solve. I'll work to identify stakeholders, in-scope required features, out-of-scope future features, and any technical limitations or requirements. Understanding the product I'm designing involves identifying issues and possible solutions as well. During this step, I'll conduct research meetings with stakeholders to further define the needs of this product. I'll also hold focus group sessions to understand the user's needs and how the development of the feature will help them. Task flows are completed as needed.
Deliverable: Lean UX Canvas which includes user personas, problem statements, business problems, solutions, business outcomes, user outcomes, hypotheses
Step 2 - Design
The purpose of this step is to develop a set of wireframes using Balsamiq. The wireframes are designed based on research done in Step 1 - Understanding. Wireframes include multiple options that could solve the problem.
Deliverable: Low-fidelity wireframes with multiple solutions
Step 3 - Decide
The purpose of this step is to review the wireframes from Step 2 with engineers, stakeholders, and my focus group over the course of multiple short design review meetings. The goal of these meetings are to find areas where the wireframes need improvement as well as to validate design and technical solutions. During design reviews, I gather feedback on designs, get perspective on designs from different users, and in the final meeting, review the designs with stakeholders. After all the meetings are finished, I walk away with improvements for the wireframes. Before finishing this step, I fine tune the wireframes to scale.
Deliverable: Research board which tracks the engineers, focus group users, and stakeholders I reviewed with and any prominent important quotes, insights, and action items that can validate design decisions
Step 4 - Prototype
The purpose of this step is to compile feedback and improvements received during Step 3 - Decide. During this step, I update the wireframes, making sure they are to scale and polished with final touches. High-fidelity prototypes are then started.
Deliverable: Final wireframes
Step 5 - Validate
The purpose of this step is to receive a final review of the wireframes by stakeholders and have them approved.
Deliverable: Completed Epic story with uploaded final wireframes
With time leftover in the sprint, work continues forward; focused on building high-fidelity prototypes in Sketch, which include pixel perfect measurements, colors, and assets for developers. Any remaining time left in the sprint is used to write documentation for the feature, write and complete test cases, and complete code reviews.
Along with the Lean UX process and focus groups interviews, I have also been given the opportunity to travel to the field to interact with and observe our users. During field travel, my team and I lead training sessions, testing opportunities, practical exercises, Q&A sessions, and surveys for further feedback. We are afforded the opportunity to observe our product being used in real-time; noticing pain points and being able to drive the discussion. The opportunity to interact with our users and have immersive conversations regarding the product provides us invaluable knowledge and we walk away with a list objectives, goals, and solutions that will drive further refinement and development of the product.