MSU Libraries

Leading a Collaborative UX Project to Balance Business Goals and Timely Delivery

Directed a UX project by effectively managing team members, fostering collaboration, and ensuring professional conduct throughout. Successfully balanced each facet's contributions to maximize value for the business while maintaining steady progress toward completion and meeting critical deadlines.

1. Emphasizing Team Contributions Through Agile Scrum

   Adopted Agile principles to focus on individual and collective contributions during daily scrum meetings, fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability among team members.

2. Tracking Progress with Agile Metrics

   Balanced the importance of documentation with measurable progress tracking. As a Project Manager, utilized tools like burn-down charts to monitor and communicate team progress, ensuring alignment with deadlines and project goals while contributing to the visual design.

3. Prioritizing Clear and Effective Communication

   Recognized communication as a cornerstone of Agile methodology. Actively engaged with stakeholders from MSU Libraries and team members to align expectations, gather feedback, and ensure seamless collaboration.

4. Iterating for Continuous Improvement

   Leveraged the iterative UX process to refine and evolve designs through structured feedback cycles. Conducted regular meetings with MSU Libraries to evaluate iterations and incorporate feedback, adding greater value to the final proposal.

1.) Navigating Stakeholder Communication Dynamics

Faced the challenge of ensuring that communications intended for one group of stakeholders were consistently interpreted by others, requiring careful messaging and alignment to avoid misinterpretations and maintain project momentum.

2.) Balancing Visual Design and Brand Standards

Struggled to strike a balance between creating a visually appealing homepage that adhered to the MSU brand standards while preserving the clean, minimal aesthetic of the original site. This required meticulous attention to detail and creative problem-solving to achieve harmony.

1.) Enhancing Communication Precision in Agile Workflow

Learned to respond through communications that are to the point as rapid communication is part of Agile. Communication here proved difficult as it was through email rather than a messaging service, which would afford more direct and punctual response.

2.) Incorporating Design Principles for Visual and Functional Balance

Leveraged design expertise to address visual balance challenges by applying contrast and symmetrical layouts based on Gestalt principles, Additionally, utilized Fitts’ Law to optimize the usability of interactive elements and implemented a visual interpretation of the Zeigarnik Effect to enhance the effectiveness of the call-to-action encouraging support for the Libraries.