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A senior User Researcher on a GDS Beta web service for Electoral staff administering the recently introduced Voter Authority Certificates. Also in-depth WCAG Accessibility studies performed with users (supplied by the Digital Accessibility Centre) to understand aspects needing accessibility improvements.
Returned to the Police Digital Service (Home Office) as the lead User Researcher for the Ludus project (to replace the football offender’s reporting system) and focused on users with accessibility issues and/or using assistive technologies. Followed GDS principles to ensure Ludus met Home Office Accessibility Standards (based on WCAG 2.1 AA & PSBAR reqs). Also prepared and represented user research for the project’s GDS Assessment (Beta). Subsequently worked on the Multi-Agency Public Protection System (MAPPS) project as a senior interaction (Ix/UX) designer. MAPPS is a joint project between the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. The work was to design & build (with the GDS Toolkit) interactive prototypes for their user researchers & developers.
Senior User Researcher for the MOD’s Identity and Access Manager (IDAM) – a user-centred design-led web service project. Scripting and running user research sessions at the Royal Navy, recording, processing and presenting the empirical user research findings/user’s needs from qualitative & quantitative data collected. Also building/shaping hi-fidelity interactive design prototypes using the GOK.UK GDS Prototype Toolkit.
Contracted as a senior User Researcher in a user centred design Discovery to improve the Police National Database.
Tasks were to:
- Affinity-sort user research interviews – to bring out user needs, common themes, pain points & wishes
- Run 'How might we' Ideation Workshops to gather users’ design & solution ideas
- Summarise findings into user stories ready for input into an Alpha
- Also involved in their Product Centricity department (DDAT) with pre-Discovery workshops
Contracted as the User Researcher for the DfE's Analyse School Performance (ASP) web service. Mostly conducting face-to-face 'guerrilla style' UR sessions - collecting user needs/ideas to feed into requirements/enhancements & new stories in the User Research Backlog (fuelling Sprints). Also arranged/conducted UR sessions to test for Accessibility. Interspersed with front-end development work to support UR sessions. Using Agile methods, VSO (like Jira) and Visual Studio.
Conducted user research in two Alpha (GDS / Agile) projects. The goal was to understand internal user needs related to processing HMRC (Big Data) files and evaluating technology platforms. Initially, we focused on VAT processing, but we also considered wider strategic ONS solutions.
- Collecting user needs, analysis and translating into user stories.
- Using Morae video recording in dedicated user research labs as well as simple audio recording of sessions at user’s own desks
- Holding user sessions to familiarise/expose internal VAT processing team with planned technology/process.
- Introducing internal business users to a Cloudera (Big Data) technology stack of: Hadoop User Experience (HUE), Impala SQL, Hive SQL, Oozie Workflows and Jupyter Notebooks & Python
- GDS awareness as well as ONS’ own style guides awareness
MOT Transformation project - UX Design & User Research for a replacement web-based MOT system for laptops & handhelds - for MOT Garages & DVSA enforcement officers. Closely adhered to GDS guides.
Mobile Compliance project - UX design & front-end development (prototyping) for the web-based transformation (for Smartphones and laptops). Using: HTML5, CSS3, LESS, SASS, Javascript, Responsive Design using Bootstrap (initially) and jQuery (incl. Datatables, Typeahead and Validate), Node.js, Nodemon, Government GDS Guides, MySQL, ElasticSearch, Jira, Confluence, SourceTree, Gitlab, Government GDS Prototype Toolkit, Mustache Templating, Balsamiq, UXPin, Axure, etc.
Mobile Compliance project - UX design & front-end development (prototyping) for the web-based transformation (for Smartphones and laptops). Using: HTML5, CSS3, LESS, SASS, Javascript, Responsive Design using Bootstrap (initially) and jQuery (incl. Datatables, Typeahead and Validate), Node.js, Nodemon, Government GDS Guides, MySQL, ElasticSearch, Jira, Confluence, SourceTree, Gitlab, Government GDS Prototype Toolkit, Mustache Templating, Balsamiq, UXPin, Axure, etc.
Part of a user research team at General Dynamics working on the Morpheus programme. Our goal was to replace the unwieldy Bowman communications system used by the British Army. We conducted face-to-face guerrilla/pop-up style user research sessions at various Army barracks, as well as detailed in-house workshops with wireframe reviews. Collaborated with all ranks of the military, gathering and distilling user stories to fuel development Sprints. Additionally created wireframe prototypes using Axure RP, following Gov.UK GDS design patterns.
Contracted by NHS Digitals' Cyber & Data Security Centre as the lead User Researcher to ascertain user needs for the next phase of improvements to the Data and Security Centre Hub (digital service). NHS (similar to GDS) principles applied throughout.
In another role with NHS England, contracted as a senior UX & Ix Designer to troubleshoot their LeDeR project (digital service for notification of deaths of those with disabilities) through a second attempt at passing the GDS assessment (successfully this time). Done using the NHS Design System & Toolkit (Nunjucks & javaScript validation). GDS principles followed throughout.
In another role with NHS England, contracted as a senior UX & Ix Designer to troubleshoot their LeDeR project (digital service for notification of deaths of those with disabilities) through a second attempt at passing the GDS assessment (successfully this time). Done using the NHS Design System & Toolkit (Nunjucks & javaScript validation). GDS principles followed throughout.
Senior Front-end Web Developer and UX Designer. Major overhaul to the user experience & refresh program for the Met Office’s public website. Also implemented analytics reporting with WebTrends (creating custom reports). Developed weather related targeting for Google DFP Ad placements and developed infrastructure to allow Syndicated Content to appear on external websites.
The founding CEO, business analyst and lead developer for a bespoke Web Applications Development agency, spanning over 8 years. The role included liaising with customers, writing proposals, project requirements, prototyping, developing & integrating various ecommerce and other custom-built web technologies for E-CC.org's clients and configuring suitable web hosting solutions.
Clients pre 2000 (generally more Real Time Software Engineering related)...
Project-managed and co-developed an Intranet based Web application to generate reports from equities trading data collated from four different database systems. Designed and produced a central common database schema for holding various systems trading data and built the end-of-day update scripts. Produced a Servlet-based web application in which various trade-data reports could be generated and displayed on Lehman Brothers’ own intranet.
Supported Bond Traders and debugged an existing Fixed Income (Risk Management) system (in C++).
Legacy C++ system was earmarked for replacement - so developed a successor Bond Trading system, integrating feeds from a Bloomberg Trading System into Nomura's business environment. Gained knowledge of writing interfaces to Tibco's (Teknekron) publish-subscribe system for end-of-day prices.
Built upon Nomura’s Transaction Express to receive Counterparty Data and re-package them to Bloomberg for end of day processing. Created Java applications to produce end-of day reports for various business departments. Documented the System Design and Support notes in HTML for the company's Intranet. Used Java, Swing & JDBC for real-time Bond-Trade monitor apps. Also worked on Euro conversion & Y2K testing. Converted the trade-monitor apps to Java Applets to run from the company's intranet.
Also supported a Murex FX system.
Originally contracted to trouble-shoot Operational Flight Program software for the Aiming & Radar sections of the FRS2 Sea Harrier Mid-Life Update. Later invited to rejoin British Aeropspace as OFP Team Leader for the FA2 Sea Harrier IN/GPS project. Assisted the team with numerous tasks as well as modifying the 1553 avionics message database.
Adapted BiSync protocols for Digital's Synchronous Communications cards for SWIFT, Belgium. Used: Tektronix 68000 Assembler, VMS 'C', VMS V5.5 Sys-Libraries, OSI Model, Swift-BiSync, X.25, VAX cluster & VAX station, Microvax 3100, 68302 multi protocol processor, Digital Comms cards: DSW41, DSW42 & DSV11.