Sunday, June 12, 2016

General Dynamics Information Technology

The purpose of this page is to describe projects and my role while employed at General Dynamics (GDIT).

Overview

I am a senior UI designer at GDIT. General Dynamics is a leading large-scale IT contractor for defense, intelligence, civilian government & private business. When I first started with the company, I worked on a small team for a company called Buccaneer (yes the office was full of pirate memorabilia until recently and it was awesome). Shortly after being hired onto the position Buccaneer was bought by Vangent who was almost immediately purchased by General Dynamics. If you've never heard of GD, you may recognize some of the company's various sectors' work like Gulf Stream airplanes, military tanks, bombs, government fraud and waste prevention systems, military training programs, or big data sites that have recently won numerous (positive) recognition/awards. I do not work on defense contracts or in aviation (though I love aviation). I'm in the Health and Civilian Solutions Division our sector provides software development support for extremely large information systems. Basically we improve processes/applications, analyze big data, and provide the backbone (infrastructure).

In this position, I've gained experience working with military and government agencies. Government work comes with it's own unique set of challenges and rewards. This includes working with a variety of technologies and development paradigms that are unique to government and enterprise software development, such as CMMI, UK accessibility standards (BSI), and Section 508 compliance.

Goals and Mission Statement

The goal of my role, as a user experience(UX) designer is to advocate for stakeholders and end-users in areas like usability, accessibility, and strategic development that improve processes while increasing efficiency. In my role as a user interface (UI) designer, I aim to create aesthetically pleasing designs that push the boundaries of innovative technology.

In Pursuit of Excellence

At GDIT, I've spent over four years creating designs, documents and collaborating on strategies for multiple applications. I create wireframes, prototypes, and provide front-end design/development for multiple applications concurrently across multiple foreign/domestic divisions. The team I work on is matrix based meaning we often share talent and resources within the division. My role working with teams outside of my division is a unique one, but it has given me the opportunity to mentor other teams while advocating for the role of user-centered design in the overall software development lifecycle.

Examples

Click on any 'example' image to zoom in

The following are links to articles about projects I redesigned, reviewed, or did other work for. NONE of the links in the following bullet points are the actual project I worked on.

Presentation

Skills and Tools

Role

  • Create designs and layouts
  • Mock-up new functionality in low or high fidelity wireframes or prototypes
  • Mentor
  • Strategic software development planning
  • 508 compliance and accessibility compliance testing/integration
  • Assist on capture management teams including writing responses to requests for information (RFI), requests for proposals (RFP), and proposal writing
  • Usability testing
  • Case studies
  • Business requirements
  • Ongoing application maintenance including stakeholder interface to resolve technical issues involving design, development and ux testing
  • Public speaking and recruitment
  • Analyze and synthesize website traffic data in detailed reports or presentations
  • Create and track behavioral flows, user story flows, case studies and audience demographics
  • Document site styles, patterns, and workflows as pattern libraries, style guides, and information architecture documentation
  • Experience working on applications for health analytics claims data analyzing Medicare and Medicaid data
  • Applications generating reports related to big data through services like OBIEE and SAS
  • Data entry, filing, and claims data experience with warehouse data
  • Design and task lead for high profile international projects
  • Accountable for development front-end code, wireframes, prototypes, and ongoing design strategy for provider reports
  • Design lead for transitioning data mining projects and the analysis of claims data for provider profiles which involved summarizing diagnoses, procedures, drugs, type of claims and providers, demographic information, and calculation of HEDIS measures
  • Co-lead for design workgroup, provided leadership and UI/UX support
  • Evaluation consultant for overall UI/UX/accessibility including beta testing GDIT.com and GovTechWorks

Mentions

  • Featured on Teamworks (internal company board) for Distinguished Performance Award
  • Featured on Teamworks for participating in Ragbrai and Tour de Cure (with other colleagues)
  • Featured on Teamworks for planning various local activities via the activities commitee (Dunk your boss, multiple fundraisers for charity, volunteering at Women of Innovation (WOI) and Hyperstream (a club that helps teach high school students about technology)
  • GovTechWorks
My Photo
Senior UI/UX web designer. Adventurist and certified Yoga / Barre Instructor. Love aviation, books, and travel. More: References About

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