Hi and welcome to my site. If you're here you probably received this link from my CV so I wont need to reiterate my qualifications here.
I have a strong interest in technology and how people interact with software. My aim is to help in the development of software and enable users to effectively navigate the software in question to attain their desired goal, as quickly, efficiently and enjoyably as possible.
My interest in this started in high school where I had a PlayStation Portable that had a customer firmware to enable homebrew (that is community created content). I helped a developer bug test initially, but then also help contribute to the UX of the program. This program was a shell replacement for the PSP called NervOS. I designed, with my limited drawing ability wireframes and descriptions of how the UI could work. I inspired 2 GUI implementations utilised by the shell which were met with positive reviews. Thus starting me down a trail of merging my love of psychology with technology.
After university I eventually started my own computer repair company. There I learned the value of dedication and stamina it takes to start up a business. It turned out however that it was not something I wanted to continue on a long term basis. So I decided to go back to university.
After thinking long and hard about what I did want to do, I decided I wanted to conduct research, remembering fondly the reading up and designing of my dissertations experiment I conducted in my final year. This time for my masters I wanted one based in research. Thus I ended up doing a Masters of Research (MRES) in Psychology at Bath University. After completing a gruelling year I managed to succeed and graduated in 2018.
Next was to get experience in my fields. I gained my foothold with the software company Blueberry Consultants that allowed me to get some testing experience while being employed as a copywriter. There I gained experience in how a software company works, and a deeper understanding of the software development cycle.
In between jobs I tried my hand at animal boarding with which was conducted (mostly) through an app (see my Dog Boarding case study) which I found numerous annoyances with. My next break into the world of software occurred a few months after where I gained a position as a full time software tester for Software Enterprises Limited. This company provides rostering software, which is used by all NHS staff within the UK. Here I was the sole tester for their mobile application, and was finally able to offer some meaningful input into the future development of a piece of important software. I came to understand the limitations of the framework that was used with the app and so had to tapper my expectations of what could be done. However working closely with the developer of the mobile app I was able to discuss and bounce around ideas of what could be used to accomplish a goal. I learned a lot from this developer who was well seasoned in mobile development.
Still not reaching my goal of User Experience Research and Development, I am trying to actively provide useful feedback from a user-centric approach. Dear reader so far I can only offer my input as a UX R&D'er in my case studies, and offer them as examples of some of my abilities in this field that are always growing and expanding day by day.