Problems I Like To Solve

I like solving problems that require a different kind of framing.  Problems that hold contradictions or for which brute force has become an unworkable way to get at them.  While recognizing patterns is my strength, I am also good at staying flexible because sometimes breaking away from established patterns can lead us all to great discoveries.

Experience

StraightLine Innovation

StraightLine is a consultancy that I started with a friend to help existing innovation teams regain their relevancy in the post-pandemic era.  My insights, processes and practices help renew organizations who need to remain competitive in environments were flexibility and experimentation are now key success factors

This is where I transitioned into “Innovation” from “improvement” having spent my first dozen years building software. I played nearly every role in the IT RACI chart (except developer … creds to people who write code) which meant I came to innovation with a concrete language and a discipline that tethers my innovation practice to seeking tangible impacts and outcomes. 

Innovation

As an innovator I was tasked with solving the challenge of knowledge loss in an aging workforce. Our focus became an AI driven, knowledge platform designed to replicate creative problem solving skills of expert IT professionals. 

  • I performed generative/evaluative research that surfaced a set of mental models used by expert technologists engaged in creative problem solving.

  • We chose a K-means clustering/unsupervised approach to training an AI model using a body of software delivery artifacts as our data.  The results were validated using domain and institutional taxonomies and the mental models surfaced in user centered research resulting in a high-fidelity prototype, a knowledge sharing platform.

  • The resulting pilot demonstrated corrective resource allocations with inexperienced developers getting support / “wisdom” held by senior developers thru the system and experienced developers able to focus on novel problem-solving activities.

  • As an aside, we modified the standard portfolio and change management processes to move high-fidelity prototypes into a working production environment that resulted in a 35% increase in efficiency from traditional build, buy or partner methodologies

  • I championed the process and practices of culture change with leadership to accelerate the adoption of the knowledge sharing platform with an eye on expanding the knowledge base company wide to in effect, create an internal/proprietary “Google”-like resource to increase the innovative capacity in the organization as a whole.

Nationwide Insurance

I came to Nationwide to get more experience in the front end of innovation where opportunities are identified, and concepts developed before entering a formal product development process.  As Technical Ethnographer I both contributed feasibility insight to the design thinking process and fostered a community of practice with the aim of maturing feasibility experts in the ways that they contributed to how innovative ideas are developed, cultivated and scaled.    Because of my technical background, I applied Technology Lifecycle Management methods to the discovery of emerging technologies, specifically with AR/VR building near term business use cases and snagging a speaking engagement.

Improvement

  • Business Architect: Responsible for the value steam, standard operating procedures and technical assets associated with the organization’s distribution capability. Seamlessly blended project level changes with enterprise level infrastructure.

    Established governance, strategic road map and engagement process for SharePoint as an enterprise content management system as well as a back-end resource for emerging AI use cases.

  • Product Owner: Access & Identity Management: Accountable for how individuals authenticated to the portal and authorized to content and downstream apps. Increased site speed, reduced pressure on the infrastructure and improved the user experience.

  • Team Lead: Producer Portal: Owned the operational team responsible for the care and feeding of the infrastructure supporting the producer portal. Ensured uptime and availability targets were met, responded to incidents and service requests, provided troubleshooting of issues and resolutions that minimized downtime.

  • Test Manager / Engineer: Introduced identity-based user testing for the producer portal. Developed the test id/data sets in the DEV and QA environments, oversaw go-live events.

  • Business Analyst: Performed analysis for the development and installation of a compensation system and many of the SoP in business units that contributed within the Distribution business unit.

And Then Some …

  • • Ohio University McClure School of Emerging Technologies Event OCT 2020: Speaker: Ethnographic insights illustrating how people imagine and use augmented reality in an insurance adjacent domain.

    • FEI: Front End of Innovation Conference SEPT 2021: Panel Member: Grounded Innovation Strategy || Internal Innovation Strategy and Stakeholder Alignment.

    • MIT Innovation Leader Executive Roundtable SEPT 2021: Participant. How Are Conscious Consumers Driving Innovative Organizations?

  • • Girls STEM Summit: A one-day exploration serving high school girls in grades 8–12 interested in pursuing STEM careers. Jr. Tech (2016)

    • HackHolyoke: The first marathon coding event with the aim of achieving 50:50 gender parity. Mt. Holyoke College (2015)

  • • Subject Object Interview Technique. Minds At Work. (2019)

    • Mastering Business Models: How to design and Assess Winning Business Models. Strategyzer (2019)

  • Stonehil College || BA || Psychology / Philosophy