Executive MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT at the iSchool, University of Washington, where I am a candidate for the MSIM 2008.

Self-funded I entered the University of Alaska, Anchorage, at age 16. My undergrad degree is from the private college Cornish. Also studied at the Sacramento State University, California.

Currently I serve as a member of the University of Washington's Architectural Commission, and as a representative to the UW's Educational Technology Faculty Council.

Recently I taught UI and Privacy classes in Web Tools and Development at the iSchool, University of Washington's Informatics undergraduate program (TA).

To produce functional docs I use Word, Project, Visio, Graphics, RAID (product studio), and other product management applications. Frequently a graphic showing flows can render needs much more clearly than tables can alone.

Generally I conduct research discussing the product with managers and developers who have already worked on the project (sometimes also networking and support staff). I use existing records in product studio (RAID) and read the existing documentation, case studies, and user interface and security audits. Traffic records and support totals can all be gleaned for information. In the future I hope to also have the opportunity to review child and personal safety documentation as it becomes available.

Many companies, just like Microsoft's Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) have changed -- due to regulations, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which requires traceability through financial functions which will help to standarize development documentation.

Working on launching MSN Spaces, I worked more on the end of a product lifecycle, I documented the support process for MSN worldwide, researched policies and procedures and re-wrote the policy (with the Microsoft Policy unit), wrote go to market (GTM) documentation and marketed Spaces to a local radio station going live with streaming media (107.7 The End - Entercom). That was fun!

When I assisted in creating the functional specification for Microsoft's Order Management 5.0 product, it was based in part on two reports I wrote, one a study on user interfaces and one recommending adding an admin / dashboard interface, and on discussions about how successful user interface design works, and the knowledge it is based upon.

In the beginning I drew wireframes and layouts on paper and eventually did full page layouts and integrated them with the functional specification, including Visio data flows.

While there I designed product logos for three product groups at Microsoft, in quick succession - one proposal had 25 varations on a theme (just for fun!)

Worked on building the first ever web application used at the 2 billion dollar a year medical insurance firm Premera, with a team of developers and development managers I supervised the entire software development lifecycle for RapidRate, including functional specifications. BlinkIA performed the usability testing, and a security firm from Kirkland did the security audit for me and the eBusiness teams.

Reviewed a number of end-to-end enterprise software lifecycle solutions covering requirements definition and management, code and content development, and change and configuration management, with a focus on administration tracking and functionality over the web. My pick for the winning application was Starbase, purchased shortly after by Borland.

Mapped business processes for larger firms, and developed complete end-to-end processes for the eCommerce ASP Pandesic, which we used to release all subsequent large ecommerce sites.

Also studied writing effective use cases class while at Microsoft, as well as writing them.

The MSIM (Masters of Science in Information Management) requires a great deal of writing along these same lines.

A well designed product is one which seamlessly performs as the customer thinks it should, and expects it to, and is easy to use.

An example is a product which gets fewer support calls.

Another definition is a product that is reliable, and doesn't cause systems or the OS to fail in the worse case, or leaks memory. On the web you don't want to over burden the client or make too many trips to the server.

A well designed product is one that in a way you don't notice, because nothing bugs you. A poorly designed product, for example is one that you can't even authenticate (in otherwords you can't use your userid and password to get into or there are severe complications.)

For an example of a good platform design; within the .Net framework, code is compiled rather than interpreted as ASP script is; this aids in early binding of objects directly resulting in performance gains. Since state management is handled within .Net, lines of code can be eliminated and this reduces the time required to load functionality.

Less processing time between pages contributes to an improved end user experience. A cleaner code set makes upfront development costs per feature less expensive, Web applications quicker to test and deploy, and as a bonus are easier to maintain and update.

I think a great product should be fun to use.

Developing good design intiality can be instant, but then refined iteraratively. If working with other people agreeing on a style of working together, process, and communication are very important.

It's really all about the end user, finding out who they are and what they want. That's the first step; sometimes the end users are 'already known' as a group, but it is great if you have time to validate the assumptions.

Depends on what I am designing but generally I start on paper and work through wireframes and the relationship to other products, flesh out the design and maybe do a high end first pass.

I like to gather other people's opinions and datapoints so I will show it around and ask for input. Make some changes and go to the next step.

Sometimes a project also requires advising people what they need to learn or to understand in order to accomplish a very flexible interface. Elements like using the proportion of the golden rectangle (also called the "golden mean") makes user interface design beautiful.

Visio plans often help in visualization for everyone involved.

When we have something we are somewhat happy with I like to run it through user interface studies, even if they are informal using volunteers or paying to do a brief study. Oftentimes this will back up what you already believe about a design but what is really great is when you learn something totally unexpected and you can use it.

With my experience in fine art and design, I enjoy the critical review cycle, but it's always nice to give some positive feedback.

Most of my work is in product or program management so in this way I work interactively with lots of very smart people to design a composite of what we need, using the best ideas and best practices in a cooperative manner.

When designing a small business website, after meeting with the client I begin by structuring the information, and visualizing the look and feel of their site design. Then I follow my iterative process as time and their budget permits.

The most common factor in a product slipping is scope creep but it can also occur for a variety of reasons such as lack of resources, which includes information about other products that yours interacts with. This is both the strong suit and the potential weakness of .NET.

For example MS Messenger Service can solve a lot of security issues, when you know how it functions and can test it.

Doing more project planning with dependencies worked in, and resource planning helps.

Letting management know what the limitations are especially when you can not effect needed changes directly from your own level helps safeguard things over time. In this way you are asking for resources before it becomes too late, or making it clear what the results will be if the resources are not available, or if you don't get the information you need on time, raising any issues that can potentially cause product release slipage.

It is important to put this kind of information into written, not just verbal, reports.

Sometimes completely unexpected limitations appear, like when a team member can no longer work, and those too are resolved better when you are simply paying attention.

Prioritizing features is specific to each company but in general it is done in consideration of customer's needs or by the willingness of a client to pay for the feature, or with an eye to competitors feature sets, or the need to grow the feature set to attract and retain customers.

You balance what the business needs are against the amount of time they require and determine which features are the most likely to be completed and add any 2-for-1 features where adding one thing will also cure another.

In a worst case you have to prioritize a fix for something that is costing too much to support, or is truly broken or causes damage to data such as corruption.

Please view my complete presentation on my experience with software development project lifecycles and deliverables.

I use this presentation to educate team members on the process and plan. In my most recent work with Microsoft I used the Microsoft SDLC light waterfall method, to comply with the SOX act, a framework outlining transparent tracing for financial audits.

Yes, please view some recommendations for me at: http://www.wonderlane.com/recommendations.html

Most of my design and PM work is covered under non-disclosure clauses in contracts, so I can not display it in detail on my website.

Some of my portfolio is available at: http://www.wonderlane.com/websites.html

More samples of my work are available upon request for an in-person interview.

9 - Designing with end users in mind!

9 - My strongest skills are analytical and business related with an understanding of the meta data stack from top to bottom, which is growing ever more broad due to the Masters of Science in Information Management program I attend Friday evenings and Saturdays.

HTML - 9
DHTML - 8
CSS - 6

Javascript - edit
Fonts - 10
Photoshop and Graphics apps- 10
Streaming media - 8
Animation - 3
VB - 3
ASP - 2

Plugging other technologies into webpages through Dreamweaver or Frontpage

Work with scripting against OM 4, and Sharepoint, which is to say I quickly develop an understanding with some experience of how an application generates pages.

To me knowing technologies is not as important as knowing how to research and discover what you need quickly and also having resources to rely upon which means asking others for information.

Certificate in VB from California State University at Sacramento. University level training in Fortran, Pascal, and computer science. I have hand coded for many years in HTML, DHTML, but I prefer using the many tools which are available.

My strengths are strategy, rapid collection and assessment of information, adaptability-flexibility, gentle command, and winning others over.

By nature I am an inventive catalyst personality, creative, enthusiastic and entrepreneurial, with an attention to detail in envisioning, creating, and carrying projects to completion.

To learn new technologies I use search and technorati, read blogs to research new stuff and ask my developer and designer friends as resources.

I subscribe to publications in networking and IT and related fields, just to have some idea of what is going on industry wide. Often times stuff is already out of date by the time it is printed.

"Familiarity breeds functionality." is one of my mottos.

I have enjoyed several neato accomplishments in my career.

Product/ Program Managing Microsoft Product Activation Geo.Map anti-piracy application
an integral part of the Microsoft Starter Edition product line (Windows XP & Vista) in 2006. My dev and test team was so delighted they gave me a gold watch!

Launching MSN Spaces, Child & Personal Safety
Recently helped a global virtual team launch MSN Spaces and work with Microsoft to update their child and personal safety viewpoint and develop apps and enhance their safety process activities worldwide was a wonderful experience. (Thank You Linda Criddle!) It will be a great advancement that will affect millions of people's lives worldwide The team gave me a magnificent going away party when the project ended.

Microsoft's eCommerce App Order Management
The single largest application I worked on was designing Microsoft's UI and helping to develop the specifications for Order Management 5.0 in 2003. I believe the advise I gave helped the redesign of the entire application including the onboarding of new products.

Pandesic to RareMedium eCommerce
My great team being responsible for releasing nearly 50 ecommerce sites to the world in 2000, because it was a lot of fun at an exciting time. Silicon valley was hopping in 2000. Helping my staff & team members to grow both personally and professionally-- because it's great to see them take off and grow. Having them accompany me to the next firm we worked for was very personally rewarding.

In 1992 I recieved the Microsoft Excellence Award for technical mentoring in the Graphics Business Unit.

Thank you!