Hi, my name is Kristen (she/her)

“After researching findings from our sales team's customer contacts and synthesizing results from user feedback and user survey, it became apparent that improving the flow of work in Onvio Documents was a high value improvement that our users desired. Kristen and accepted this large scale challenge head on. She approached it both qualitatively and quantitatively, gathering information needed to make informed design decisions. This included reviewing user comments, setting up user interviews, setting up stakeholder interviews, and iterating prototype designs. Each of these steps is a multi-faceted process involving design expertise and knowledge. What this means is that she has created real value and improvement in Onvio. Users have had excellent feedback on this design and It will be part of a post filing season release. These user-workflow improvements will be a lasting change in Onvio, and will help users work in a more effective style. Following this engagement, we have started ideating with our document scanning process, which is also a feature that has gotten a lot of negative user feedback. This will be an anticipated set of improvements for our users.”

"Kristen is an extremely empathetic, passionate, and hard working employee. She cares deeply about the people, projects and culture she contributes to and it shows in her work and how she interacts with other employees. An example of empathy is how she can almost instantly pick up on when someone is having a hard day and seeks them out to make sure they are okay, offer to go for a walk or be a listening ear. An example of her work ethic is how she has single-handedly taken on Onvio Documents/Workflow as a mid-level designer far exceeded the requirements of her level to deliver for the team. An example of how Kristen contributes to a positive team/company culture is how she is always the first to schedule team events, celebrations, and attend company organizations like BEN, Yoga and more. Kristen is a curious and thoughtful UXer. She takes time to fully understand the problems of a project to analyze how UX can be a part of the solution and strategy moving forward. Her approach to collaboration is very inclusive and fosters an environment of camaraderie and exploration. I appreciate Kristen's ability to vocalize her needs and express her feelings. Her transparency and acceptance of others is one of the many qualities that makes Kristen the trustworthy, dependable, indispensable team member this UX team is lucky to have. Keep killing it on your projects and hopefully we will get to work together again soon!”

“Kristen and I met informally at a work function earlier this year, and ended up having conversations about work management challenges, and I was immediately interested because of my background as a scrum master. I worked with her and the Document Management Service team who she was doing UX design for at the time to help align their agile practices. Her willingness to learn to write user stories and conduct story estimation - as well as her ability to pick up on what was being taught quickly about other aspects of agile - were both impressive. She continues to be an agile enthusiast and regularly attends the Tax Professionals Agile Guild meetings which I host. She's engaged and has great questions and feedback for our group. Kristen does not limit her role and participation within the company to just that of a UX Designer - she gets involved in various BRGs and is widely seen as an open-minded person and a good listener. She is empathetic and understands what makes people tick, and very importantly, understands the importance of trust in any working relationship, and she's open about this with her peers. You can tell that people who work with her enjoy working with her. In 2019 I hope to see Kristen's continued participation in the Agile Guild. Additionally, my new team the Tax Professionals Agile Task Force (under Steven Tear) plans to work with UX in both Dallas and Ann Arbor to help formalize how UX engages development teams, and work to streamline and standardize that process to help our UX designers have a more consistent experience from team to team. Kristen's enthusiasm to work with me on this in the past makes her an obvious partner from UX to continue to work with. In closing, this company could truly use more energetic, vibrant people like Kristen.”

“I worked with Kristen on 2 different projects this year - Onvio Firm Practice and Onvio Documents - besides our daily interactions on the UX team. As the User Researcher for the team, I tested iteratively prototypes that Kristen created for Firm Practice and Onvio Documents. In both cases, the products are very complex and, in the latter case of Onvio Documents, Kristen was asked to come on the project to reverse a 50% return rate. Onvio Documents had never had a UX designer on the team before being launched and both of us were brought on the team to help the abysmal return rate. Kristen came on the team as designer and, based on my interviews with users, she re-designed major functionalities and got the users excited again about the product. Working with Kristen on all these projects, but especially on this very difficult and high-pressure project, was a pleasure because she is disciplined, hard-working, has an eye for detail, and knows exactly how to turn user feedback into deliverables. Her deliverables for the team and her good rapport with the Onvio team put the UX in a great light, adding to the overall work with all do here to evangelize UX. As a member on the UX team, Kristen is a delight and an inspiration in her dedication to creating a healthy culture of harmony, care, and respect at work. She is the one who always takes the initiative to bring us together not only as professionals but also as human beings who need time to decompress and mingle. For example, she brought together UX professionals and other Thomson Reuters staff for the so-called Tea Time, a monthly event when we meet to share ideas, mingle, and support one another in our work. She has also suggested that we come together as a team to discuss best practices for working as a team respectfully and transparently. Last but not least, not long ago, Kristen brought us all together over lunch to watch a UX talk she had recently attended. As someone who tends to get buried in work most of the time, I appreciate immensely Kristen’s effort to make us attentive to our needs as professionals and human beings. I know I can always rely on her to share knowledge and events in the field. Kristen is one of those rare persons that keeps the team together by reminding us how important it is to be professional and caring at the same time.”

“The work you have done for Onvio Documents this year is incredible. We've needed the research and direction you have provided for us for so long. I appreciate your attention to detail and quick turnaround time on our projects and requests. You fit in really well and we enjoy having you as a part of our team. Your personality makes it easy for everyone to be comfortable and open with their ideas and questions. I'm glad we got to know each other this year and work on project Accio together! I'm so thankful you've been able to stay on to help with scanning and future features we plan on implementing going forward. The work you do is critical for our product's success.”

“Kristen has provided a tremendous amount of guidance to our team this year. It has been wonderful to have a UX-knowledgeable person dedicated to assisting with the prototypes on new features as well as providing guidance on questions on which buttons, icons, etc to use in each situation that arises. Kristen has really become a part of our Onvio Documents team. She attends our daily huddles, iteration reviews, and organizes meetings with us to present her ideas and prototypes. She excels at taking feedback and coming back to us quickly with changes. She is great at meeting deadlines that we agree on as well. We love having her as a part of our team!”

“During the time I managed Kristen, she stood out as a passionate advocate for the user, always keeping them in focus as she performed analysis. She was also determined to craft the highest quality deliverables for her clients. Her focus on detail not only made her a highly respected member of the Usability team but also across the larger organization. Kristen did well to create a sense of trust and confidence while working with clients or cross-functionally at ForeSee. Kristen strived to improve professionally and was very open to receiving feedback from me as her manager as well as her colleagues. Not only would she listen to suggestions or new approaches, she would put them into action. She had a strong sense of intellectual curiosity that served her well. Kristen would be an asset to any organization seeking a perceptive, communicative, team player.”

“It has been a great pleasure to participate in Kristen's growth as a professional, and as a person. I first met her as an intern who was personable and fun but who lacked confidence in her knowledge and skills. I have watched her develop her skill set and have seen her confidence and professionalism grow accordingly. Kristen has become an outstanding UX practitioner and a consummate professional. She can handle any design or research challenge with ease. She is a polished presenter and can explain complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way that resonates with stakeholders. Kristen is also friendly and personable, and a team player who works extremely well in teams. She understands team dynamics and is adept at building relationships within a team, and cross-functionally as well.”

“Kristen is an extremely detail-oriented and thorough usability analyst. In my two years working with her, I saw her dive deep into dozens of heuristic evaluations to unearth UX problems and offer best-practice solutions to clients whose sites ranged from e-commerce to health care to consumer packaged goods and others. Handling such a wide range of site types requires research to understand the goals of their stakeholders and users; Kristen conducted that research thoroughly and quickly in order to hit the tight deadlines required for the deliverables. She also is a natural presenter, as evidenced by clients' frequent positive feedback.”