United States

UX Research

Susan Mercer

Director of User Research

Usability Testing

Qualitative research

Communication

Problem-solving

Critical-thinking

Leadership

Project management

User research

Optimal Workshop

Qualtrics

UserTesting

Empathy

Stakeholder management

Presentation skills

Content research

Human computer interaction

Information architecture

Introduce yourself, define mentoring expectations and goals. Learn and grow together.

General mentorship

Making remote and globally distributed teams work for you and your needs.

Working remotely

Talk to people who have learned to manage their imposter syndrome.

Dealing with imposter syndrome

Navigating micro-aggression, getting paid what you are worth and finding a community.

Being a woman in tech

Understand the process of training, motivating and directing your team members.

Managing people

How to create a positive workplace culture that drives collaboration and productivity?

Fostering a good team culture

Steps to building and maintaining a strong, cohesive and effective team.

Building an effective team

Learn the tips to successfully manage a team in a remote environment.

Managing a remote team

Tips for transitioning into a new role or company.

Changing roles

How to successfully prepare and position yourself for a job promotion?

How to get promoted

Get actionable feedback on your resume or portfolio.

Resume and portfolio review

Practice HR, technical and behavioural interviews with mentors.

Practice mock interviews

Identify and define potential product problems and generating possible solutions.

Identifying problems vs solutions

Learn how to properly present your work and share ideas and opinions.

Presenting your work with impact

Tips on how to work and collaborate with designers.

Working with designers

How to work with team members with different skill sets but towards a common goal?

Working cross-functionally

Explore different generative and evaluative research techniques. User research synthesis and presentation.

Conducting good user research

How to set up product analytics and metrics to track success?

Leveraging Product Analytics

How to create personas, and leverage them in design.

Creating and leveraging user personas

How to conduct interviews, what to ask, and how to analyze your results? (eg. user interview)

Conducting effective customer interviews

Conduct user research with Type 1 diabetic patients to understand their needs and desires. Translate that research into actionable recommendations for medical devices.

Created curriculum for Mobile Design course, and teach it on a yearly basis.

Instructor for Usability of Mobile Digital Media, Fall 2014

Lead multiple projects to conduct formative and evaluative user research. Work closely with designers to incorporate research findings into designs. 

Experience in multiple business domains: healthcare, education, IT services, financial services, insurance

Experience with multiple research methods: interviews, contextual inquiry, ethnographic observation, collaging, desirability testing, surveys, card sorting, usability testing, eye tracking

Projects have included:
* In-home visits of patients with auto-immune diseases who perform at-home injections of medication. Ethnographic interviews to understand the context in which injections are made. Results used as input to new medical device product development.
* Interviews of Millennials to identify characteristics of a digital tool to engage and educate them to make informed financial decisions.
* Field research and interviews of institutional users to identify functional needs and usability issues with office machines.
* Coordination of qualitative and quantitative research across five countries to evaluate concepts for a globally-targeted mobile app.
* Usability testing of server administration software to be used by senior IT professionals.
* Summative usability testing of a medical device in preparation for FDA approval submission.
* Desirability testing to determine the visual design direction of web-based software used by medical practitioners.

Research Associate. Led usability evaluation projects from start to finish. Moderated usability tests, created project documentation, recorded evaluation sessions, analyzed findings and wrote reports.

Projects included:
 * Developed mobile usability testing camera sled to video mobile phones during testing.
 * Conducted mobile usability tests of an iPhone app and of a new UI concept.
 * Led a comparison test of three possible redesigns for a regional news site.
 * Lead tester for a complex project to refine the usability test protocol used to certify voting machines.
 * Eye-tracking analysis and usability test of emails and website for a University.
 * Comparative usability test of three automobile insurance quote websites.
 * Usability test of biomedical research database, allowing researchers to find equipment at other consortium universities.

Product Manager, Website. Determined project timelines, gathered requirements and interfaced closely with design and engineering team to deliver website enhancements.

Managed redesign of corporate website – including user research, information architecture redesign, wireframe development, usability testing of wireframes and prototypes and production of website.

Assisted team through transition from sprint-based Agile Scrum methodology to continuous delivery Kanban process to reduce time of delivery of projects and to provide flexibility to adjust to changing business demands.

Senior Web Producer. Serviced three online universities. Managed multiple web-based products: determined product strategy, determined scope, documented business requirements,
managed project schedules and resources.

Created Student Portal. Conducted competitive analysis, clarified and articulated vision for desired online student experience, managed team to document business requirements, created visual design and content.

Susan Mercer🇺🇸

About Susan Mercer

Expertise

What mentees say