Carla Kary Merrill, Ph.D. Owner: Chatham Design Consulting

994 Old Sanford Road Moncure, NC 27559

Mobile: (919) 819-4458 email: merrill@chathamdesign.com

Chatham Design Consulting (www.chathamdesign.com) offers training in User Experience Design and Business Analysis. In the past ten years we have consulted for a broad range of industries and project domains. We excel at understanding user needs, communicating user needs to project teams, and designing user interfaces that meet user needs. Now we are focusing on training executives, managers, and project teams in the purpose and value of UX, and the practice of successful UX techniques.

Summary of Experience and Accomplishments User Experience (UX) Design Consultant / Usability Architect / Business Analyst Cisco, North Carolina State Treasurer, Syngenta, Fujitsu America, Inc., Wachovia Bank, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline

UX Design: Architected innovative UI designs for scientific applications, learning development websites, mobile devices, retail touch screens and kiosk user interfaces, and banking software; prototyped designs (high and low fidelity) and created wireframes using graphics and prototyping tools (Adobe Creative Suite Dreamweaver and Fireworks; Microsoft Expression Blend); acted as the primary UI architect for agile and waterfall projects; delivered executive-level presentations on UX design and usability best practicies; conducted design reviews; managed design teams.

User Profiling / Usability Testing: Gathered user requirements at customer sites; developed personas and scenarios; provided heuristic usability evaluations of web and mobile sites; created usability test scripts, conducted usability tests and user acceptance testing, and delivered test results analysis and recommendations; designed metrics spreadsheets for usability test results analysis.

Business Analysis: Created user system process flow maps for current and To Be systems; defined use cases in JAD sessions; created and managed user stories for agile software projects; gathered and documented functional requirements, created internal design specifications; delivered end-user training and training documentation; designed and managed a content management system for DoD reports and grants.

Recent User Experience Innovation and Recognition (Presentations, Publications, and Training in User Experience Design, Business Analysis, and Information Design)

“Touch Me! Reinventing a Business Application for the Touchscreen,” User Experience Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 3, 3rd Quarter 2010, abstract at http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_publications/user_experience/past_issues/2010-3.html

“Fujitsu’s Touch Screen Technology Lowers Software Training Costs,” Retail Info Systems (RIS) Online News, 08/25/09, featuring the Globalstore innovation in training and online help for touchscreen, http://risnews.edgl.com/home

“Techniques For Designing Touch Screen Busines Applications,” poster/touchscreen demo presentation at Usability Professionals Association (UPA) 2009 International Conference Bringing Usability to Life, 2009, Portland, Oregon

“UI Design That Maximizes Touch Screen Usability,” poster/touchscreen demo presentation at 10th Annual ASIS&T Information Architecture Summit Expanding Our Horizons, 2009, Memphis, Tennessee

“Talking shop with Carla Merrill, Ph.D., A human factors architect with Fujitsu discusses the role of touch screen technology in improving customer service and reducing employee training time.” Grocery Headquarters Magazine, April 2008, p.27, www.groceryheadquarters.com

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"Incorporating Pragmatic Usability Testing in an Agile Software Test Plan," presentation for the Triangle Informaton Systems Quality Assurance (TISQA) Creating Agility and Effectiveness in Software Testing Conference and Expo, October 27, 2005

Work History Detail

12/01/2012 to 11/08/2013 UX Analyst Cisco

In this contract position I provided heuristic evaluations for Cisco’s HR websites and learning applications. I delivered executive-level presentations on the best practices for UX Design and Usability Testing. For a new, high-profile application I gathered user requirements, created personas and scenarios, and created UI designs. I created usability test scripts for the new user interface, conducted usability testing. and designed the metrics analysis spreadsheet to capture test results.

5/1/2012 to 11/1/2012 Senior Business Analyst Syngenta

In this contract position, I organized and conducted user/stakeholder interviews for a major software project for tracking and tracing the transport of biological materials throughout their lifecycle. I documented user requirements and conducted user evaluations of vendor software for potential purchase. I also lead the effort to design the conceptual overview of the user interface for the new track and trace software. I received a monetary award for my contributions to moving this project forward, together with letters of appreciate from the users/stakeholders for meeting their needs. My second project was a major bioinformatics project to design and implement a database for storing curated project data for genetic research and then manipulating that data for research development purposes. I gathered user/stakeholder requirements, designed the user interface (both conceptual and detailed) to satisfy those requirements, achieved signoff with stakeholders, and documented the functional requirements and use cases for the UI. I was commended by stakeholders and management for designing a user interface that was intuitive, attractive, and met user needs.

1/21/2012 to 4/30/2012 UX Analyst Cisco

In this contract position I analyzed the quality of the user experience for internal applications created in the Learning Development Systems Group. I provided usability evaluations for website portals and applications, usablity testing setup and analysis, and recommendations for UX design process improvement within the group.

3/11/2011 to 1/15/2011 QA/User Acceptance Test Specialist NC State Treasurer’s Office

In this contract position (through Highmark Companies) I migrated content for the state treasurer’s intranet and internet websites, from the old CMS system to a new Sharepoint 2010 system (see www.nctreasurer.com). I also created and conducted User Acceptance Tests (UAT) based on project requirements specifications.

9/07 to 12/2010 Software Product Usability Architect Retail, Fujitsu America, Inc., Youngsville, NC

In this full-time, permanent position, I was the lead for all user interface design for all retail software. I was responsible for designing and prototyping new screens for each software release (twice yearly). For prototyping, I used Adobe Creative Suite (Dreamweaver and Fireworks) and Microsoft Expression Blend. The retail software I was responsible for includes a suite of applications covering the point-of-sale, the back office store management, enterprise-level discount and loyalty systems, and a return system that functions across all stores in a retailer’s system. As the Architect, I provided innovate solutions for touch-screen implementation and drove acceptance of touch implementation in the company. I was also responsible for providing online help and end-user training at customer sites and through remote webex. From a process perspective, I was responsible for defining the usability best practices of

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the retail division as well as explaining how our processes meet or exceed the best practices of established user-centered design. I participated in executive management sessions to recommend directions for the future for the customer experience, defining the customer experience vision for our software. Customers using the software I designed include DressBarn and RadioShack check out desks, Stop&Shop grocery check out desks, Shopko check out desks, and Harris Teeter self-checkout stations.

8/07 to 9/07 Business Analyst Consultant HCS (Highmark Companies), Raleigh, NC

For this consulting contract I interviewed users at the North Carolina State Treasurer Auditors department to understand their current workflow process, document the process flow, and recommend improvements based on an automated, paperless workflow requirement. I delivered a 100 page plus document with existing process flow diagrams, descriptions of the flow, and new replacement process flow diagrams with descriptions and an analysis of the advantages of the new flows. This document was accepted by the executive management team at the department with high satisfaction. My website for consulting work: www.focuseddesign.com

1/06 to 1/07 Business Analyst / Project Manager GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development Division, RTP, NC

For this contract I provided business analysis for several cheminformatics application development projects using Agile/SCRUM methodology. I was responsible for understanding and documenting the customer’s requirements and usage patterns for scientific analysis using Spotfire software, including working with customers to develop user stories. For several other projects, I managed the agile iteration tasks during development using Version One software, bug tracking during testing using JIRA software, and change management in the deployment phase.

5/05 to 11/05 Business Analyst/Knowledge Management Analyst GlaxoSmithKline,-IT Division, RTP, NC

For this contract my role required analyzing the root causes of poor uptake for an internal software program that was rolled out to the R&D organization and suggesting solutions for increasing uptake to expected levels. This work involved gathering and analyzing usage statistics, providing statistics to the IT dashboard application, interviewing users with both good and bad feedback, defining the problems preventing successful uptake, and recommending solutions. These solutions included developing awareness campaigns and modifying the software user interface to meet user needs.

10/05 to 1/06 User Interface Design Consultant Truveon Corporation, Durham,, NC

Truveon is a startup that offers innovative, state-of-the-art HVAC systems for residential and commercial applications. These systems are controlled by software in touch-screen wall units throughout the structure as well as in a central control computer. I profiled the customer base for the systems, then designed and prototyped the user interface for the touch-screen wall units. I also created a usability test for my interactive prototype.

7/04 to 5/05 User Interface Designer/Technical Advisor II Wachovia Bank Direct Access Support Call Center, Charlotte, NC

For this contract I was an interaction designer on a design team responsible for creating the user interface design for a new .NET-C#-based call center customer service application. This effort included facilitating JAD sessions with stakeholders to gather customer requirements, creating use cases with the development team, creating wireframes and presenting them to the management and development teams, and designing and writing user interface specification and usability documents. Our development environment used Agile processes. In August, I received a letter of recognition from the project’s Core management team for my work. In October, I received a Wachovia Shared Success award from the Learning and Knowledge Management team for my design work. The toolset I am using for creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, and documentation is:

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.NET Winforms Dreamweaver and Fireworks (Adobe Creative Suite) Visio Paint Shop Pro PowerPoint MS Word MS Excel MS Visual Source Safe 5/03 to 7/04 Business Analyst Consultant MCNC-Research and Development Institute Signal Electronics Division, RTP, NC

For this contract I designed and implemented a task entry MS Access database to meet the needs of the division; organized and managed the online document set for multiple projects; created integrated project schedules in MS Project for the division and their customers; designed documentation templates for government research reports, scientific publications and proposals, data gathering spreadsheets, and data analysis reporting; defined internal research and production processes for hardware configuration management; documented the division’s research hardware and software products for government customers, created CMM powerpoint presentations for government customers, and designed and wrote a field guide for the division’s product demonstrations.

9/02 to 3/03 Consultant Wireless Multimedia Solutions RTP, NC

For this contract I designed the documentation, including FrameMaker templates, for the first release of the Wireless Multimedia SDK. I also gathered customer requirements and wrote customer scenarios that were used to test the product. 2/02-7/02 Business Analyst/UI Design Consultant Novartis Pharmaceuticals

For this consulting contract, I gathered customer requirements and translated them into use cases and scenarios, then applied goal-oriented design techniques to design and prototype the user interface for an “intelligent” data mining application. The application was for internal use by Novartis research scientists. My deliverables included:

Interviews and profiles of primary target users within the company

Use cases and scenarios for the primary users

A prototype of the UI based on the user scenarios

Verification of the prototype’s design with target users

A User Interface Design Specification document that describes each object on the UI and its behavior.

7/01-10/01 Business Analyst/UI Design Consultant Novartis Pharmaceuticals

For this consulting contract, I performed a usability analysis of the current intranet portal design and developed alternative designs (wireframing) using Dreamweaver and Fireworks (Adobe Creative Suite). 10/99 to 12/01 Manager, Customer Interaction Engineering Group Manager, DNS Division Intranet

Acterna - Data Network Services Division - acterna.com (formerly Wavetek Wandel Goltermann) Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

The Data Network Services division of Acterna produces hardware and software for testing networks.

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I was hired by the VP of Engineering to lead the user interface design effort for the Division. My design, implementation, and documentation accomplishments at WWG/Acterna are:

1. Design of the DominoNAS 1.0 Launch Window Browser-based UI design and UI Design document by Carla Merrill, lead of the WWG UI design team. For more information and a demo, see:

• http://www.acterna.com/products/dominonas/dominonas.html

2. Design and implementation of the DominoNAS Documentation Browser for the DominoNAS Documentation CD Browser-based UI design by Carla Merrill. For samples, see www.focuseddesign.com.

3. Definition of documentation management processes for Government contract projects and ISO audits of projects at Wavetech, Wandel and Goltermann (Acterna)

4. Design and implementation FrameMaker book templates for DominoNAS user documentation

5. Design, implementation, and management of the DNS division’s intranet

6. Design. implementation, and delivery of a UI Design training presentation for senior management This presentation shows how engineering and marketing segments can integrate user interface design into the product development life cycle.

7. Technical writing training and process traning for the members of my documentation team.

8. XML coding and training XML coding for the user interface of a web-based network analysis application XML course completed at the programmer level completed for browser-based application design. Ccertificate of course completion from DB Basics.

08/96 to 10/99 Manager, Documentation Group/ Product Usability Team Lead MERANT, DataDirect Division, Morrisville, NC

The DataDirect Division of MERANT (now DataDirect Technologies) produced standards-based database drivers. My design, implementation, and documentation accomplishments at MERANT were:

1. Technical Publications Manager and Trainer of a group of four technical writers.

2. Design and implementation of the MERANT DataDirect Product Documentation Web Page This web page was consistently in the top ten hits for the entire DataDirect website as measured by the Division’s web metrics software. My design was adopted as the corporate standard for browser-based delivery of online product documentation.

3. Usability evaluation of the prototype for a Setup Wizard for a new database query integration and a browser-based product installer prototype.

4. Design and implementation of in-house usability testing of the Setup Wizard during the Beta phase of the software development cycle (including the creation of a design document and usability test documents, management of usability testing, and creation of the final usability report).

5. Design of the wizard user interface for a software branding tool that integrated the instructions into the wizard windows (with UI storyboard prototypes created in Paint Shop Pro and the creation of the instructional text for the released product.)

6. Human factors representative on a UI design team for a new database integration application.

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05/95 to 07/96 Manager, User Documentation Imonics, Inc., Cary, North Carolina Imonics produced patient record workflow software for Medaphis, an insurance claim processing company.

I managed a group of nine technical writers who focused on creating user guides and online help for the software. My accomplishments at Imonics were:

1. Built the writing group from the original two-member group.

2. Trained the team in establish writing and editing procedures for books and online help.

3. Pioneered a new methodology for using single-source online help files on both UNIX and Windows platforms, and I trained the writers in this new methodology.

4. Together with the other documentation managers, formed a user interface design review group. Unfortunately, Imonics failed in July of 1996, and my job there ended.

10/89 to 05/95 Senior Technical Writer - Sykes Enterprises and PDR Consulting Services

Projects at IBM and SAS Institute

I designed and wrote entire documentation libraries for high-level software and hardware projects at these companies. My work included hardcopy books in multiple electronic formats and online help. Some of the most interesting work during this period includes:

The development of the library and supervision of the writing team for the Data Visualization software and hardware products created at the IBM Watson Research Center in Poughkeepsie, New York.

The development of the library for the OSI network communications products developed in the IBM Networking Labs in Rome, Italy.

The development of an online help system for UNIX X-windows platforms that simulated the look and feel of Microsoft Windows online help. This help system was created for the Emulus software product at SAS Institute in Cary, North Carolina. I worked one-on-one with the developer of Emulus software to design and code the help system, using RTF. We named the help system Helplus, and we published an article in Dr. Dobb’s Journal in June, 1995 that described our work together on this project. My involvement in the design went beyond the help system to the software user interface because we wanted to correct user interface problems at the source instead of in the documentation.

The development of the library for Opera, an expert search engine based on fuzzy logic. Opera was developed by the IBM Support Group in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Opera was internal software designed to assist the high-level support team in locating existing problems and solutions that closely matched the current problem they were trying to solve for a customer. Opera was intended to mimic the assistance support reps. typically get from the local "office expert."

7/93 to 6/99 Internationalization Services Consultant Internationalization and Translation Services (ITS), Inc.

I was one of four partners who formed ITS. We provided consulting and translation services for several companies, including IBM and SAS Institute. We wrote and published The Internationalization Report, which explains what internationalization and localization are, explains why they are important for today’s software companies, and describes how best to achieve them in software and documentation, based on ISO standards. The report includes a number of examples and guidelines. Samples of the report are available upon request.

9/82 to 6/84 Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Humanistic Studies Department at the Medical School of the University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois

I taught seminars in philosophy of science, sociobiology, and medical ethics to graduate students in the schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Public Health, and Medicine. During my teaching career, I published a number of papers in my areas of expertise in prominent academic journals.

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Computer Skills and Software Standards Experience

Operating Systems

Windows 7, most UNIX platforms; most mainframe/legacy platforms, Linux.

Software and Development Methodology

Agile Development Process, SCRUM Project Management, Waterfall Development Process, RUP/UML Development Process, Use Cases, User Acceptance Testing

UI Prototyping and coding: .NET environments, specifically Windows Presentation Facility (WPF) with Expression Blend design experience, Winforms, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, UML, Visio, Paint Shop Pro, MS Powerpoint;

Project management: Version One, JIRA and TeamTrack incident tracking software, Caliber requirements manager, Cicso WebEx Social, Sharepoint 2010, MS ACCESS, MS Office, MS Project; Test Director

Configuration Managers: PVCS, Clearcase/Rational, SourceSafe, CVS

Desktop Publishing Systems with advanced knowledge in FrameMaker and WebWorks; SGML editors; most online help authoring software; most PDF and HTML and XML authoring and conversion software; practical experience with Spotfire, SAS/SCL and SAS/AF (SAS Institute’s proprietary object-oriented programming languages). ISO 9000 and 10000 standards for software and documentation. The application of the CMM to DoD-related hardware and software projects

Education Ph.D., Philosophy

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois with specialization in: Philosophy of Biology and Medical Ethics (as Carla Eva Kary)

B.A., Biology Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (as Carla Eva Kary)

DB Basics Advanced Javascript (July, 2001).

DB Basics XML training at the programmer level, completed for browser-based application design (2000).

Object-Oriented Programming with SAS/SCL at SAS Institute (1994). This course was completed at SAS Institute in preparation for designing and writing a programming guide that provided detailed comments on sample SAS/SCL programs for client-server applications.

IBM parallel processing technology training for the IBM Power Visualization Server (1993). This course was completed at the IBM Watson Research Center in Poughkeepsie as part of the project development for the IBM Data Visualization product.

Complete List of Seminars, Publications, Presentations, and Awards 2010 “Touch Me! Reinventing a Business Application for the Touchscreen,” User Experience Magazine, Volumne 9,

Issue 3, 3rd

Quarter 2010, abstract at http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_publications/user_experience/past_issues/2010-3.html

2009 “Fujitsu’s Touch Screen Technology Lowers Software Training Costs,” Retail Info Systems (RIS) Online News, 08/25/09, featuring the Globalstore innovation in training and online help for touchscreen, http://risnews.edgl.com/home

2009 “Techniques For Designing Touch Screen Busines Applications,” poster/touchscreen demo presentation at Usability Professionals Association (UPA) 2009 International Conference Bringing Usability to Life, 2009, Portland, Oregon

2009 “UI Design That Maximizes Touch Screen Usability,” poster/touchscreen demo presentation at 10th

Annual ASIS&T Information Architecture Summit Expanding Our Horizons, 2009, Memphis, Tennessee

2008 “Talking shop with Carla Merrill, Ph.D., A human factors architect with Fujitsu discusses the role of touch screen technology in improving customer service and reducing employee training time.” Grocery Headquarters Magazine, April 2008, p.27, www.groceryheadquarters.com

2005 October, "Incorporating Pragmatic Usability Testing in an Agile Software Test Plan," for the Triangle Informaton Systems Quality Assurance (TISQA) Creating Agility and Effectiveness in Software Testing Conference and Expo, October 27, 2005.

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2005 April, “From Technical Communicator To User Interface Designer,” with Diane Feldman, for TRIDOC Conference, Society for Technical Communication, Carolina Chapter, Raleigh, NC.

2004 December, “Managing Agile Development Projects that Satisfy Customers” for the NC Project Management Institute – IS LIG, www.ncpmi.org.

2004 October, Wachovia Shared Success Award for User Interface Design, Wachovia Direct Access Support, Charlotte, NC. 2004 August, Wachovia Core Team Letter of Recognition “Ring the Bell” for design excellence and on-time delivery. 2004 (May-June) “Revisiting the Path to Usability” with Diane Feldman, IT Professional Magazine of the IEEE. 2003 (November) Half-day Seminar: “User Profiling: The Starting Point for Delivering Information That Satisfies Your Customers”

for the American Medical Informatics Association conference in Washington, DC. 2003 (October) “Getting It Right the First Time” for the Raleigh NAWBO Business Conference. 2003 (May)Full-day Seminar: “How To Design Software and Documentation That Customers Want To Use” with Diane Feldman,

for the STC Annual Conference in Dallas. 2003 January: “How To Organize and Lead a Software User Interface Design Team” with Diane Feldman, STC Telephone Seminar,

sponsored by the Society for Technical Communication, US and Canadian audience in attendance: over 400. 2002 October: “Finding the Customer Behind the Veil of Requirements” for the RTP Software Process Improvement Network

(SPIN) group, Research Triangle Park, NC. 2002 April: “Technical Communicators as User Interface Designers” for the TriDOC Conference, sponsored by the Society for

Technical Communication, Carolina Chapter, Research Triangle Park, NC.

2000 Acterna Leadership Award for my design work on the first release of the DominoNAS product.

1999 MERANT DataDirect Leadership Award, presented for my work on the new DataDirect suite of products.

1997 MERANT DataDirect Team Quality Award, presented for work on the DataDirect ODBC Drivers 3.0 Release.

1995 Imonics Tiger Team Award, presented to seven members of the special team that delivered upgraded software and documentation to the customer in record time.

1995 Journal of Computer Documentation, "Analytic Review of Online Help," ACM SIGDOC, Vol. 1, No. 4, November, 1995.

1995 Dr. Dobb’s Journal, "Interactive Design Methodology" with Phil Herold, software engineer at SAS Institute, June, 1995.

1995 Presentation of "Internationalization and Translatability" with Karin Spalink at the annual meeting of the Society of Technical Communication (STC) in Washington, DC.

1995 STC Award, Carolina Chapter: Certificate of Achievement for writing A Guide to Emulus: An Enhanced 3270 Emulator for the X Window System.

1994 Presentation of "Internationalization and Translatability" with Karin Spalink at the annual meeting of PCOC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

1994 Publication and presentation of "The Helplus Hypertext System for the X Windows System" at SIGDOC’94 in Banff, Canada, with Phil Herold, software engineer at SAS Institute.

1994 Presentation of "Internationalization and Translatability" with Karin Spalink and David Kumhyr at the World Trade Association in RTP, NC, and the Carolina Association of Translators in Charleston, SC.

1994 Presentation of "The Helplus Hypertext System for the X Windows System" at SAS Institute, with software engineer, Phil Herold.

1993 Co-author with David Kumhyr of Internationalization Report: Concepts and Procedures (now in its second edition).

1993 Presentation of "Internationalization: Preparing Software for the Global Marketplace" at the annual meeting of the American Translators Association, the North Carolina Computer EXPO, and North Carolina State University.

1993 STC Award, Carolina Chapter: Certificate of Merit for writing IBM Power Visualization System: Installation and Service for the 7245 Server.

1993 Sykes Enterprises, Inc., Service Recognition Award

(in addition to the above, more than ten publications and awards in technical writing and academic journals)