TARA MULLANEY • DESIGN RESEARCH

I have a vested interest in helping design better user experiences.

Over the past nine years, I have worked within the design industry and academia as a design researcher and UX designer for healthcare clients. I have worked with a wide range of MedTech, PharmaCo, and Health Services clients, leading user experience research throughout all phases of the design process.

I am able to quickly immerse myself into my research context to generate valuable findings.

I draw on a wide range of human-centered design research methods to study human behaviors, emotions, systems, and processes. My arsenal of research approaches for gathering rich and multi-faceted insights during the discovery phase of the design process includes:

• Ethnographic fieldwork
• Semi-structured and informal interviews
• Contextual inquiry
• Design probes
• Quantitative questionnaires

I am comfortable collaborating with individuals across multiple disciplines.

In my current role as Senior Design Researcher, I work closely with hardware and software designers, and collaborate directly with client stakeholders to ensure the success of the project. Additionally, I often work in cross-functional teams involving business consultants and data analysts where we integrate our work streams to provide stronger offerings to our clients.

I believe it is important to consider the potential impact on all individuals involved, not just primary users or clients, when developing design concepts.

I employ a variety of approaches to analyze and translate my research findings into design directions. I work with visual mapping techniques used within Service Design, as well as standard UX design processes, and I specialize in storytelling.

I am fluent in the following methods:
• Personas
• Scenarios
• Journey/experience maps
• Service blueprints
• User stories and use cases

I quickly dive into creating low-level functional prototypes to understand the user experience we are designing.

Prototypes (from low to high fidelity) are at the core of the user research I conduct during the development phase of the design process. I work closely with designers to ensure that the prototypes align with the research questions we want to ask.

I am comfortable prototyping both physical and digital models, from making paper mock-ups and foam core models, to wireframe sketching and building simple, clickable prototypes with Sketch, Balsamiq and InVision.

I believe in early and frequent testing of design concepts to ensure that I reach my intended audience.

I have experience evaluating testable prototypes in the field and in dialogue with the intended users and disciplinary experts. I use many of the same methods that I employ when conducting initial field research to understand how the audience engages with the designs. I am also comfortable with more structured research formats for the development and delivery phases of the design process, i.e. focus groups, cognitive walkthroughs, and usability testing.

I am a skilled communicator, teacher, and project manager.

I am comfortable with public speaking and have given talks on my research at international design and healthcare conferences. I also frequently provide Masterclasses in user centered design to clients for their internal competence development.

I have experience teaching Interaction Design and Service Design, and have organized and led a team of design students working on one of my research projects. I am also a fluent scientific writer and have published articles in both design and medical journals (see publications).