Hello, I’m DrewI apply rigor to the process of creating new services

As a researcher

As a service designer

I possess the skills and experience to understand how and why people tick: methods derived from anthropology, data analysis, and lean startup disciplines.

I fuse research insights into products, services and strategies that are desirable to consumers, viable for the business, and technically feasible.

This portfolio highlights three of my favorite recent projects. The projects span exploratory research through final design.

Selected projects

DesignStrategy Research

Accenture

Godrej Healthcare

Merchant & Muse

AccentureHow can Accenture leverage the people, technology, and processes of office environments to attract and retain millenial workers in its worldwide outsourcing operations?

Strategic Directions Through Experience Prototypes

Desk Platform Concept Interactive Surface Concept Technology Concept

Opportunity Spaces

Research Insights

Our report highlighted strategic directions. Buy-in from cooperate management was of paramount importance to our client, so we also presented our findings as a series of experience prototypes. And we invited upper management to join.

Key corporate players left the experience with stories that have lived on and kept the report relevant and alive.

We compiled our insights into a framework to help Accenture understand opportunities to align its workspace practices with the needs and expectations of its next generation of workers.

The above framework is a slight modification of what we produced for the client. The detailed concepts have been stripped out and replaced with more generic language.

Research conducted in Texas, India, and the Philippines through interviews, observations, and shadowing.

We sought to understand:

• How Accenture can prepare for the employee of the future

• What workspace is for the employee of the future

• A roadmap for implementation

Teammates:Anijo Mathews

John Trotti Tiago Justino

Our insights clustered into various buckets, around themes such as learning, non-work space, and social/tribal groups.

Due to contractual restrictions, I unfortunately cannot disclose individual insights or concepts.

TechnologyMobilityCulture

Growth TribesTribes Environment

Desk platform conceptTeam identity concept Outside learning concept

Godrej Healthcare

Godrej runs this program not only for new strategic ideas or product directions, but because they want design thinking to become integrated into their company. To this end, Godrej

staffs leaders from across departments on the teams. My role then, especially as the most experienced design researcher on the team, was as much about teaching as doing.

It is hard to talk about health. Especially when decisions reflect the harsh reality of balancing health against financial,

family, and other constraints. To get people talking about such trade-offs, and to help overcome language

barriers, we relied heavily on card sorts and other boundary objects.

Unique Context and Rapid Schedule Teaching and Leadership Role

How can Godrej, a conglomerate with a deep strength in manufacturing and a brand name that is widely trusted, move into the Healthcare space?

The immersion program was compressed into four and a half weeks. This forced tight constraints on all parts of the project.

The novel context of working within an unfamiliar culture added additional challenges. We relied heavily on our Godrej teammates to help us understand

if the ‘insights’ we were finding were novel or merely cultural norms with which we were unfamiliar.

Teammates:Marcie Cooperman

Minji KimSouresh Banerjee

Neeta DandarTejashree Jain

Stimulus-Based Research into Sensitive Areas

As an American I came into the project with preconceptions about what hospitals and healthcare should look like. Meeting one of Mumbai’s top orthopedic surgeons in this tiny, dirty, hospital shook my belief about what it means to provide quality care.

Sapna Hospital - A leading orthopedic practice Sion Hospital

From field research, to all-night analysis sessions, it was exhilarating to be part of our Godrej teammates first encounters with the design process. I also offered a rare opportunity to reflect my own process.

At the bequest of a Godrej teammate, I gave white board ‘lectures’ to articulate not just what we were doing, but why.

Sharing Design Process Firsts Whiteboard ‘lecture series’

Merchant & Muse

Why is it still so difficult to get the ingredients we need to make the dinner we want—right when we want it?

Eliminate the Paradox of Choice: Provide a curated selection of high-quality ingredients.

Make it Your Own: Offer guidance, not dummy-proof meal kits

Promote Spontaneous Aspirational Home Cooked Meals: Make it possible to enjoy a home-cooked meal without any of the planning.

Push the User’s Palate: Encourage culinary exploration, but don’t neglect those with less adventurous tastes.

Getting continual feedback on our service and positioning kept design efforts on track.

We used social media as a quick test of our concept as well as brand look & feel.

Sometimes you have to just try it and see what happens in order to grasp the design details.

For example, we discovered through a test how our process created problems for customers ordering multiple meals.

Insights Viability Testing

Prototyping

Design Principles

Concept and Positioning Brand and Marketing Experience

Understanding the business environment proved just as important as understanding the needs of users. The business models of farmers markets, grocery delivery services, restaurant suppliers, and boutique grocery stores informed our model.

Teammates:Paul Sheetz

Katie KowaloffAdam Panza

Food planning is hard, especially when you’re busy• It’s hard to plan ahead to have the right food in the fridge,

leading to waste (or an empty fridge)• Delivery can’t work when you’re never home• Most people don’t have options for impulse “real food” options• Online shopping and delivery involves high hurdles for setup• Some shoppers need to “squeeze the avacado”Lack of surprise & delight• Online shopping takes the surprise and delight out of food• It’s easy to get into a food rut, especially when you’re single

Research Planning

Online Qualitative Research

Coding and Analysis

Ethnographic Methods

Prototypes and Stimulus as Research

I have experience running research studies using a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

I’ve created research plans and recruitment criteria for online and in-person research. The work included framing research questions and writing screeners.

I have created and run studies using the online platforms Revelation and dScout. I have an ongoing interest in exploring new tools for online qualitative research.

I’ve used multiple types of prototypes, card sorts, and speculative design methods as part of qualitative studies I’ve been involved with.

I have analyzed large sets of qualitative data collected via online qualitative research using the rigorous analysis tools of in vivo and thematic coding.

In addition to more traditional, analogue, methods, I am comfortable working in excel and other analysis software to explore and derive insight from data.

I have used a number of qualitative research methods derived from ethnographic traditions. Some of these methods include: individual & group interviewing, observation, and shadowing.

Quantitative Research

My undergraduate senior honors thesis used a regression study of driving behavior across the US to understand what physical, social, and geographic features most influence how much people drive.

The research correlated driving data from a 10 billion entry database against granular data from the census and other private geographic data providers

I remain very interested in the intersection of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Research Skills And Experience

Other Skills And Experience

Prototyping

Prototyping Businesses

I have extensive experience with both physical and digital prototyping methods.

• In the physical realm I’ve built vehicles, desks, and whole rooms out of foamcore, as well as built scale models for proposed art installations. I also have experience with the rapid prototyping technologies of laser cutting and 3D printing.

• In the digital realm I specialize in mocking-up digital interfaces for wizard-of-OZ interactions.

I’ve conducted research with Dean Patrick Whitney on the use of value webs and activity maps to prototype new businesses within existing companies. We worked with United Way to explore how these tools could be used to drive their internal innovation efforts.

Design-Led Startups

I am currently working with a professor and a fellow masters candidate at ID on a stealth-stage startup. We are have secured pre-angel level funding, and will be releasing a proof of concept in the next few months.

I have interest in - and strive to work at - the intersection of Human Centered Design and Lean Startup methodology.

Technology

I enjoy working at the cutting edge of technology. While I am not an experienced programer, I have coded for projects in 3D immersive environments (CAVES), as well for projects using the Processing language for Arduino.

Project Management

I worked as a project manager for two years, directing much of the work of artist Janet Echelman.

My projects included the art component of the Philadelphia City Hall Plaza renovation. That piece, which has been under construction for the last two years, cost around 9 million dollars and will open Summer 2014.

Healthcare

I have a strong interest in and have worked on a number of projects in the healthcare space.

One project was with Qualia, a startup trying to use technology to lower the readmittance rate of heart disease patients.

I also co-led a research project for Godrej exploring strategic directions for the company within the outpatient services industry in India.

THE LEAN STARTUP

Establish key CCA training practices

codify learnings from CCAs into training curriculum

Design tool to assist CCA’s on calls

Build ALFA tool for CCAs

Provide feedback on tool to programers

Incorperate Community Leader learnings into product

Provide feedback about BETA tool

Give BETA tool to keycommunity leaders

Get feedback from callers

Give information abouttool and training on 2-1-1 calls

Use tool on calls and tweek as needed

Train community leaders

Identify key communityleaders

Replace website interface with new product

Phase 1 -Codifying CCA knowledge

Phase 2 -Testing tool with key partners

Phase 3 -Public portal

Community Care Associate/ Trainer

Goal

Resource TeamProgramer Community Leader

Build BETA tool

Incorperate caller feedback into product