Kate McCracken

education

Master’s Graphic Design (deferred)

North Carolina State University | 2018

Design research, human-centered design, frameworks, machine learning, AI, participatory design systems

Master’s Product Design (Graduated)

North Carolina State University | 2018

Design research, design for social entrepreneurship, service design, UX/UI design, product design

Bachelor’s Fine Art (Graduated)

Kansas City Art Institute | 2004-2008

Graphic design, performance art, new media studies, painting

Accomplishments

1st Place, NC State Research Symposium - Recognized for exceptional synthesis and storytelling in design research for a product meant to assess the effectiveness of product design as social justice intervention in the context of a traffic stop 

IBM Thinking Practitioner IBM , Virtual, 05/2017 Acquired skills in employing IBM 's approach to applying design thinking at the speed & scale a modern enterprise demands to drive a company-wide movement, rallying individuals toward a collective purpose for catalyzing change and drive business outcomes.

Google Data Analytics Google Career Certificates, Virtual, 11/2024 Learned how to clean and organize data for analysis, and complete analysis and calculations using spreadsheets, SQL and R programming, key analytical skills (data cleaning, analysis, & visualization) and tools (spreadsheets, SQL, R programming, Tableau) 

Google Project Management Google Career Certificates, 11/2024 Acquired skills in the foundations of Agile project management, with a focus on implementing Scrum events, building Scrum artifacts, and understanding Scrum roles to create effective project documentation and artifacts throughout the various phases of a project, and practiced strategic communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management through real-world scenarios

methodologies

Accessibility best practices, diary studies, usability testing (remote & in-person), in-depth interview, ethnography, heuristic analysis, persona creation, concept mapping, empathy mapping, journey mapping, task flows, design workshops, thematic analysis, A/B testing, group facilitation, workshop design and facilitation, business goal mapping & assessment, recruiting, and risk assessment.

tools

Software

UserZoom, User Testing, Dscout, Qualtrics, Sketch Wireframes, Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office

Softskills

Conflict resolution training, inclusivity training, anti-racism training, perpetual efforts towards allyship with diversity, inclusion, and philanthropy, group facilitation training, cognitive flexibility, negotiation, service oriented, creative, collaborative, & problem facing.

work

UX Specialist (contract) | Converge Technology Solutions Corp. | September 2024 - November 2024

• Spearhead product strategy for AI-driven MVP products, achieving a 15% increase in user engagement and significant organizational efficiency improvements including time estimation accuracy for project planning. Analyzed 22+ participant interviews to create a journey map, identifying avenues to elevate research and development for increased experiment generation. Work led to an AI solution for a custom privatized patent summarization tool, decreasing time-to-task by 50%.

• Own and manage end-to-end research projects, from defining research questions with stakeholders to delivering findings from use case studies, with a focus on high-quality, actionable insights 

• Develop a comprehensive agile UX research strategy and roadmap to align product features with user needs and business objectives

• Plan and execute surveys to triangulate with interviews, usability tests, and field study findings to scope the problem space and validate user needs

• Create user personas, empathy maps, and journey maps to communicate user insights effectively across stakeholders

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure user insights are feasible and integrated into the product development process

• Build and strategize a UX research culture by staying synchronized with and updating team on research best practices, AI trends, ethical best practices, and emerging technologies relevant to UX design

• Contribute to business growth by engaging in pitches, resource estimations, and project planning 

Senior Design Strategist | Link | May 2024- September 2024 (4 months)

• Conducted informal interviews, literature reviews, and ethnographic studies to define and scope stakeholder needs in B2B2C context

• Analyzed research findings and synthesized data into clear, actionable recommendations for the design and product teams

• Built and implemented a design strategy toolkit to streamline services and enable team to become cross collaborative leading to more agile workshop planning and increase in customer satisfaction

• Helped 2 strategists and 1 design strategist grow in design thinking skills through mentorship and design thinking training

Design Strategist (contract) | Duke Energy Corporation | February 2023 - May 2024

• Drove product innovation across six business units, identifying service gaps and leading to $4 million in annual cost reductions.

• Gathered extensive survey data across teams for participant recruitment and to understand user roles, team hierarchy, and identify initial pain points 

• Conducted user 40+ interviews and focus groups to understand user needs and direct design to the right problems and solutions

• Collaborated closely with designers and developers to plan and conduct usability testing leading to effective iteration, reduced design debt, and launch acceleration

• Utilized pre-existing survey data to triangulate research findings and expose gaps in understanding 

• Presented findings for designers, developers, managers, and executives in custom formats

• Constructed and facilitated design thinking workshops to collaborate closely with product management, design, and engineering teams and align user needs with business goals 

• Actively contributed to the UX Research team culture by developing the UXR practice within Duke Energy through development of community practice, infrastructure of research standards and a design strategy toolkit

Design Strategist | Mad*Pow | August 2021 - November 2022

• Partnered extensively with clients from goal setting to information architecture, crafting responsive wireframes and prototypes. 

• Collaborated with designers, managers, and developers at various stages to ensure user insights are integrated into the development process

• Planned and executed qualitative research studies triangulating with client analytics data to verify findings

• Employed a user-centered approach, identifying genuine needs and utilizing analytics for continuous enhancement

• Led multidisciplinary teams to craft human-centered digital solutions by translating complex requirements into intuitive interfaces for Fortune 50 banking institution

• Acted as a UX subject matter expert for a Fortune 100 financial services company’s new business team, offering design thinking and inclusive practice exercises and delivering final UI and UX designs

UX Strategist | Optum | June 2020 - August 2021

• Managed product research from conception to launch, leading to a 25% reduction in user errors through comprehensive competitive analysis, usability testing, and collaborative design strategy

• Led a 15+ person team of designers, content strategists, developers, and business systems analysts through design thinking process

• Facilitated design thinking workshops with developers, senior medical subject matter experts, and executives to successfully identifying gaps where data is needed and to align business objectives 

• Identified and recruited providers for usability testing and product feedback sessions

• Using research software (Qualtrics and User testing) to expert level to conduct surveys and usability testing to uncover gaps in data and create interview moderator guides

Lead UX Researcher & Designer (contract) | Blue Cross NC | June 2019 - June 2020

• Led research initiatives that increased Medicare revenue by 35% annually through improved user experiences

• Planned and executed usability tests and observational studies to uncover gaps in data and collaborated with business leadership to prioritize research initiatives 

• Led information architecture for all internal and employee portal products delivering wireframes and workflows in close collaboration with development team

• Elevated a junior researcher into mid level position through mentorship fostering growth and collaboration within the team

UX Research Engineer (contract) | Lenovo | December 2018 - June 2019

• Directed UX research through the entire product development life-cycle for a high-profile product, contributing to a projected 10% increase in sales

• Utilized diverse research methods, including diary studies, surveys, and ethnography, to identify and address the right problems 

• Delivered user behavior insights and motivation in actionable design recommendations to development and design teams

• Fostered a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and growth by mentoring and training a UX designer to co-conduct usability testing fast-tracking the research timeline