I was one of the original UX researchers who brought the Echo and Alexa to market. Our research team established universal guidelines for developers and voice designers in creating conversational experiences at a time when voice-only smart speakers did not yet exist as a product category. Our research also shaped the messaging, pricing and creative visuals for the go-to market campaign.

To date, Echo devices and Alexa-driven experiences have thousands of rave customer reviews and over 100+ million units sold, granting Amazon a 69% market share (as of 2019) within the smart speaker category.

I focused on enhancing the out of box and first time experience for the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and first-generation Surface Book. I also led research for improving the Windows 10 installation and tutorial experience for Surface devices as part of the organizational transition from Windows 8. Critics’ reviews, such as this one, note the seamlessness of the OS experience in both laptop and tablet modes, in contrast from the original Windows 8 reviews.

The device received positive reviews from the Verge, Engadget, and other tech critics; it also became the fastest adopted Surface device among enterprise users in Microsoft’s history of Surface launches.

I founded and ran a UX research “team of one” within McGraw-Hill Education’s Digital Products Group, supporting existing legacy educational apps as well as new adaptive learning experiences used by more than 2+ million students and K-12 and postsecondary educators. I developed and executed on research roadmaps for the next generation of McGraw-Hill’s flagship adaptive learning products for mobile and desktop: Connect2 and ReadAnywhere.

Students have downloaded the ReadAnywhere app 2.1 million times, with a 4.7 iOS store rating across 10.1K ratings and a 4.3 Google Play store rating across 2.7K ratings.

I conducted foundational research for developing beta financial guidance and investing products for Capital One customers. Our mission: to enhance financial health and help people meet their financial goals, wherever they are on their journey. Our team was the first within the company to conduct original ethnographic research into how households, and not just individuals, manage their personal finances while juggling the challenges of variable income streams.

The beta financial guidance product launched to 180K customers and drove a 4.5% click-through rate on the CTA (call to action) intra-app link and 49% in-app conversion for setting up a savings plan.