CloudEntr was a beta cloud security and authentication product Gemalto, a security and authentication firm, was creating. Gemalto's goal was to roll out the beta of CloudEntr as a test of the product in the marketplace. If the test was successful, the product would eventually be incorporated into the Gemalto Brand's suite of security and authentication tools. I was asked to conduct a detailed UX analysis and set of optimization recommendations to increase the number of sign-ups for the CloudEntr beta.

For the CloudEntr analysis there were two separate projects. The first I conducted was a detailed SEO (Search Engine Optimization) review with recommendations for target keywords, content audits, information architecture revisions and a strategy for attracting and building organic traffic via high quality calls to action. The second project I conducted was a comprehensive UX and Usability analysis and set of recommendations. Tests including eye tracking, 5 second and usability testing, and a Heuristic review.

The SEO recommendations, coupled with the UX analysis and optimization suggestions had a dramatic improvement in the number of beta subscribers CloudEntr received after implementation. Among the recommendations was re-targeting keywords away from 'industry-speak' and more toward typical search queries used to find Cloud security products. The UX and Usability recommendations improved clicks and conversions for sign-ups so much that CloudEntr was eventually re-Branded and added into the Gemalto product suite.

Arthur Rutenberg homes is one of the largest custom and community housing builders in the South East. They sell hundreds of millions of dollars in homes each month. Their website was driving traffic and many home visits, but it needed an update. They were concerned however that without first evaluating any potential new user experience they may inadvertently cause website traffic and thus sales to drop. I conducted a behavioral, heuristic and usability analysis of the existing and proposed wireframes.

Based on the analysis of the behavioral UX, heuristic and usability testing results, I determined that there were potential issues with the proposed new design that could cause confusion and task-flow errors. Using 5-second test and other data, I created a new series of rough wireframes to demonstrate how those issues could be overcome with a new layout. The new wireframes addressed many of the usability issues that were happening on the existing site, as well as those on the original proposed new design.

The wireframes and other UX, heuristic and usability recommendations were evaluated by the team. Many of my proposed changes were happily accepted and rolled into the final version of the new website. Today the new website is experiencing a number of improvments including; greater number of visits to the critical Plans, Visit Models and Luxury Edition pages. In addition, the improved UX has increased site visits, page duration, decreased bounce rate and is responsible for increased home visits. 

MedSpring Urgent Care is a large chain of urgent health care facilities spread in several major Cities across the US. The original version of their mobile site was not user friendly, according to the many comments they received through their Voice Of the Customer programs. A redesign was needed to make the mobile site easier to use, including using location data to help users find and navigate to the nearest facility to them. I was asked to conduct UX design research to help create the revised site.

I created a series of UX design research tests including content mapping, information architecture evaluations, usability tests and behavioral UX data analysis. Behavioral UX data from the Google Analytics mobile user engagement reports was especially helpful for evaluating the What Is Happening data. I also conducted mobile usability testing of the existing site and wireframes of the new site. Based on my analysis, I created new wireframes (example above) with an optimized mobile website structure and functionality.

The results of the research and revised wireframes were incorporated in the final version of the mobile redesign. Most of the recommended layout, information architecture and functionality was included in the new site. After rollout, the VoC feedback on the mobile experience significantly improved, as users found the site easier to use and more helpful. Data from Google Analytics confirmed that sessions and conversions were up, and visits to some facilities increased by double digit percentages.

Nixon is a high-end watch and fashion retailer skewing to Millennials. Their website home page had what is sometimes called a Tunnel, a decision path which requires the visitor to take action before navigating to the content. Their online store had conversion rates that did not equal in-store rates, and were also lower than the industry norm for eCommerce sites in the same category. I was asked to evaluate the user experience of the site to find issues and recommend optimizations.

Because of the revenue being generated by the eCommerce channel, concern about changes in the design was higher than normal. I therefore conducted Journey Mapping, Customer Interview and Contextual Inquiries to better define what a typical shopper would expect the experience to be. In addition, I conducted a deep-dive behavioral UX data analysis and remote unmoderated usability testing to provide quantitative and qualitative data for the evaluation.

The recommendations for optimizations were delivered to a large group with all product and vendor teams present. The result of the analysis was an admission by the Nixon team that the Tunnel needed to be removed, and that many of the other optimization recommendations should be made. The new site with revised navigation and shopper flows helped them have the best Holiday season ever. I was then hired to conduct a Mobile UX optimization project.

BigCommerce is a leading online eCommerce platform for individuals, small and large businesses that want a complete, turn-key solution to selling products online. The platform uses a control panel and series of tools to control products, pricing, payment, taxes, shipping and reporting. The BigCommerce team is very focused on continually optimizing the user experience. They contacted me to perform a detailed Behavioral UX and Usability testing audit to identify optimization opportunities.

I evaluated the User Experience by analyzing the Behavioral UX data coming from their Google Analytics and related back-end systems. I next conducted usability testing with participants who matched their typical customers. Using the data from these evaluations, I documented a series of task-flow optimization opportunities and presented the results in a PowerPoint document with video highlights of the usability testing sessions. In addition, I created low-fidelity mockups of the potential new UX.

The final analysis report and videos were presented to a large meeting with the executives and division teams present. The results were used to re-evaluate the user experience and to prioritize the optimizations. Because the presentation was so well received, I was asked to conduct two more analysis projects. The first on the BigCommerce website. That analysis was also well received by BigCommerce. I was asked to conduct another evaluation, this one on the direct marketing Landing Pages.