Effective experiences, designed efficiently

I am a user experience designer and researcher specializing in interaction design, information architecture, formative user research, and Axure prototyping. My clients hire me when they have a complex problem that needs to be solved and they want someone who will solve it well and who will work efficiently.

Services

Research & Analysis

  • Usability Testing
  • User & Stakeholder Interviews
  • Card Sorting & Tree Testing
  • Field Studies
  • Personas
  • Content Analysis

Design

  • User Experience Strategy
  • Conceptual Design
  • Detailed Interaction Design
  • Service Design
  • Information Architecture
  • Axure Prototyping
  • Storyboarding & Journey Mapping

Experience

Shannon McHarg, Principal


I thrive on solving complex design problems from strategic vision down to the tactical details and have 16 years of experience and a master's degree in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University. I'm always looking for ways my design skills can have an impact on the world and am currently looking for projects in the sustainability or civic spaces.

I'm located in Brunswick, Maine and do most of my work remotely, but I'm willing to travel for meetings and to conduct user research.




Industries

  • Government
  • Tax Preparation & Finance
  • Education & eLearning
  • Healthcare
  • Retail & E-Commerce
  • Insurance
  • Business to Business Services
  • Shipping & Logistics
  • Nonprofits
  • Open Data
  • Sports & Fitness
  • Travel
  • Online Auctions
  • Job Search

Major Clients

  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  • U.S. Department of Labor
  • U.S. Department of the Interior
  • H&R Block
  • L.L.Bean
  • Cengage Learning
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Quick Base
  • Zumba Fitness

Platforms

  • Web Applications
  • Responsive Websites
  • Mobile Apps (iPhone, Android, iPad)
  • Desktop Software
  • Responsive Emails
  • Omnichannel Services
  • Internet of Things

Portfolio

Note: I take client confidentiality seriously and most of my deliverables are internal documents that I can't share on my public website. Below shows before and after states for projects that have gone live with some explanation of the process. If you would like to see samples of my UX deliverables or learn more about my process, I'd be happy to discuss and share what I think is appropriate during an interview.

Government & civic work

I’ve been doing civic volunteer work since 2015 and took a full-time position as an Innovation Specialist with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue in 2018.

Natural Resources Revenue Data Portal

I am currently an Innovation Specialist with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue focused on user experience.

Tasks: User research, participant recruitment, user type definition, conceptual design, detailed interaction design, visual design, build reviews

Deliverables: User research guides, plans and findings, high fidelity Axure prototypes, low fidelity Axure prototypes, journey maps & process diagrams

The Maine Ballot

In 2016, I created a ballot website to help Mainers understand the referendum questions on statewide ballots. It had over 3,000 unique visitors leading up to the November 2018 election. In the last couple of years, Open Maine has gotten involved and volunteers have helped create and review the content on the site. During the 2018-2019 government shutdown, a colleague and I moved the site from Squarespace to GitHub to make it open source and available for people to fork and create similar sites for other states.

Tasks: Product management, user research, interaction design, visual design, development

Deliverables: Functioning website

OpenMaine

I’m involved with the local Code for America brigade, OpenMaine.

Tasks: User research, interaction design, product management

Deliverables: Survey, user research guide, plan, and findings, Axure prototype

Consulting work

I consulted both on my own and for a UX agency for over 10 years. My projects have ranged from one off usability studies and card sorts to a 2 year stint at Cengage Learning designing an educational product from the formative user research and concepting through detailed design and development support. I have worked with companies in all stages of UX maturity and have learned what does and doesn't work with each type of company.

ATI Nursing Education

Responsive redesign of student portal to allow students to complete tutorials, practice exams, and reviews to prepare for their NCLEX certification exam.

Tasks: Conceptual Design, Interaction Design, Responsive Web Design, Prototyping

Deliverables: Sitemap, Content Inventory, Wireframes, Responsive Prototype

PlanIt Impact Architecture Reporting Tool

Design for a new product to allow architects and city planners to evaluate the environmental impact of their designs.

Tasks: Interaction Design, Responsive Web Design, Prototyping

Deliverables: Workflow Diagrams, Wireframes, Responsive Prototype

POMCO Emergency Alert System

Redesign of a mobile app with bluetooth connected device used by students to alert campus security when they are in an emergency situation. Also redesigned dispatcher dashboard and the flow between the two users.

Tasks: Service Design, Interaction Design, Prototyping

Deliverables: Workflow Diagrams, Wireframes, Mobile Prototype, Quick Start Guide

Hallmark Baby Responsive E-Commerce Site

New responsive site built using Demandware. Translated Demandware specifications to Hallmark Baby's domain.

Tasks: Interaction Design, Responsive Web Design

Deliverables: Wireframes, Responsive Prototype

Zumba Instructor Network Portal

Redesign of the Zumba Instructor Network portal.

Tasks: Content Inventory, Template Design, Information Architecture, Collaboration with Visual Designers

Deliverables: Content Inventory, Screen Templates, Wireframes, Prototype

City Year Redesign

Redesign of the City Year website.

Tasks: Expert Review, Card Sort, Interaction Design

Deliverables: Expert Review Findings, Sitemap, Workflow Diagram, Wireframes

Cruises Only

Project to restructure the navigation and create page templates.

Tasks: Sitemap Analysis, Information Architecture

Deliverables: Sitemap, Wireframes, Screen Templates

L.L.Bean

I was a long-term contractor with L.L.Bean for 4 years while they were making the transition to agile development and readying their site to become responsive. Much of that 4 years was spent redesigning the website's header, footer, and entire product taxonomy, which went live recently. The project involved selling the changes at all levels of the organization and doing ridiculous amounts of user research to satisfy the organization's quantitative needs because it was such a high profile change that impacts all areas of the organization. Take a look at llbean.com before and after the redesign.

I also established a practice of prototyping and early research with users. Before I arrived, they only tested designs with users after they were built. Now, they test designs early and often using Axure prototypes.

L.L.Bean Responsive Site

Modification of existing llbean.com site to make it responsive down to 600 px and optimized for tablet users.

Tasks: Content Analysis, Responsive Web Design, Interaction Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers and Vendors, Prototyping

Deliverables: Content Inventory, Wireframes, Responsive Prototype

L.L.Bean Customization Tool

Responsive redesign of customizable product page to allow use on tablets and better integrate the feature with the rest of the site.

Tasks: Interaction Design, Responsive Web Design, Prototyping

Deliverables: Wireframes, Responsive Prototype

L.L.Bean Responsive Email

Redesign of L.L.Bean's transactional emails to make them responsive.

Tasks: Responsive Email Design, Interaction Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers, Prototyping

Deliverables: Wireframes, Responsive Prototype

L.L.Bean Account Redesign

Redesign of My Account section to make it easier to use and usable across devices.

Tasks: Interaction Design, Responsive Web Design, Mobile Design, Adaptive Design, Detailed Design, Prototyping

Deliverables: Wireframes, Flow Diagrams, Responsive Prototype

H&R Block

I was an integral part of H&R Block's UX team, both as a UX designer and researcher, for 10 years. I learned how to collaborate with tax attorneys and accountants to streamline regulations, resulting in a design that meets stringent requirements, yet is easy for users to understand. UXPA's magazine published an article, Visualizing Tax Returns: Showing the Impact in Design, which discussed a strategic project I lead for Block's office clients. I played a key role in the transition from waterfall to agile development processes and led the effort to figure out how UX should fit into agile projects and established a pattern library.

Tax Data Visualization

New screens to visually explain tax situations to H&R Block office clients.

Tasks: Conceptual Design, Information Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers, Prototyping

Deliverables: Wireframes, High Fidelity Prototype

iPad Tax Prep

Design an iPad tax preparation app as part of the H&R Block At Home suite of tax preparation products.

Tasks: Conceptual Design, Interaction Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers and Vendors

Deliverables: Wireframes, Workflow Diagrams

1040-EZ Mobile

Design a mobile tax preparation app as part of the H&R Block At Home suite of tax preparation products.

Tasks: Conceptual Design, Interaction Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers and Vendors

Deliverables: Wireframes

Block Mobile

Redesign of H&R Block's mobile retail office customer management app to allow for logging into an account, uploading documents, and viewing tax returns.

Tasks: Conceptual Design, Interaction Design, Service Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers and Vendors, Prototyping

Deliverables: Wireframes, Workflow Diagrams, Mobile Prototype

Block Mobile iPad App

Optimize the redesigned mobile app for iPad.

Tasks: Conceptual Design, Interaction Design, Adaptive Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers and Vendors, Prototyping

Deliverables: Wireframes, Workflow Diagrams, Mobile Prototype

Block Live

New product to enable tax prep from home with a live tax professional.

Tasks: Conceptual Design, Interaction Design, Service Design, Collaboration with Visual Designers and Vendors, Prototyping

Deliverables: Wireframes, Workflow Diagrams, High Fidelity Prototype

TaxCut Support Site

Project to reduce call volume to the support center.

Tasks: Information Architecture, Series of Card Sorts, Content Inventory, Usability Studies

Deliverables: Content Inventory, Sitemap, Wireframes

TaxCut Welcome Sequence

Project to reduce confusion around creating multiple tax returns.

Tasks: Data Analysis, Interaction Design, Usability Study

Deliverables: Functional Requirements, Workflow Diagram, Wireframes, Functional Specification

TaxCut Support Reports

Redesign of support reports to make it easier to track issues, find new user requirements, and evaluate implemented designs.

Tasks: Data Analysis, Information Architecture, Card Sorting

Deliverables: Report Templates, Reporting Structure

DeductionPro Donations

Project to clear up user issues with data entry workflow in H&R Block's deduction tracking software.

Tasks: Data Analysis, Interaction Design, Usability Study, Usability Walkthrough

Deliverables: Functional Requirements, Workflow Diagram, Wireframes, Functional Specification

Publications

Re-evaluating how we work: Bringing the whole team along. Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, June 2020

Slowing down agile to government speed: Bringing the whole team along. Code for America Summit presentation, April 2020

Remote work: What about design studios? Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, March 2020

On being tool agnostic: Picking a design toolkit based on goals, constraints, and access. Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Feburary 2020

How to effectively champion a government product. Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, November 2019

Making open data useful. Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, June 2019

Journey maps as communication tools. Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, May 2019

Teaching digital skills: learning usability testing by peer training. Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, February 2019

How we rebuilt our open-data homepage part one: design. Open data design at the U.S. Department of the Interior, December 2018

Fostering Trust to Build Community. UX Matters, April 2018

Recipe for Productivity: A Haiku. Human in the Machine, August 2017

Remote Friendly User Experience: How to Keep and Hire Top Talent. User Experience Magazine, 17(1). February 2017

Engaging Citizens: A Review of Eight Approaches to Civic Engagement. User Experience Magazine, 15(5). November 2015

Visualizing Tax Returns: Showing the Impact in Design. User Experience Magazine, 15(3). July 2015

If Congress Went Agile. UX Matters. May 2015