I believe in understanding how things work. My childhood was littered with the fragments of clocks, watches, lawnmowers, and anything else that wasn’t vigilantly guarded. From that childhood practice of tearing things down to their component parts to understand them, I have developed sophisticated analytical skills. I can quickly learn how a system works and spot potential problems.
 
When I worked as a programmer/writer on Microsoft Auto, I recognized the need to reorganize the online help content. The help for the MSAuto Platform Development Kit (PDK) is displayed in conjunction with the help for Windows CE, but when I began working on MSAuto, the help topics were named and organized differently from those in Windows CE. Because of these organizational differences, it was difficult for users to switch between related Windows CE and MSAuto PDK topics. I presented a plan to conform the organization and style of the MSAuto PDK help to that of Windows CE help. After my plan was approved I made the necessary changes, I also modeled many of the software processes and most of the architecture in the MSAuto software in illustrations for inclusion in the help content.
 
I collaborated on the Requirements and Functional Specification for an n-tier database-driven test tool. In addition, I participated in design meetings and used white board diagrams to help the group identify and define issues and to present solutions for discussion. I created numerous diagrams as communication tools for internal use by the design team. I also wrote the Technical Specification for this tool and maintained it as the tool development continued.
 
While I was completing the User-Centered Design Certificate at the University of Washington School of Technical Communications, I designed and completed a research project using their UX lab. While my primary interest is in UX design, I found that I also immensely enjoyed doing the research. I also worked through the process of designing a Web site for a client.