Hi there! I’m Alana.
Senior CX and UX Research Professional
Marrying strategic research (informing high-impact decisions) with research strategy (doing the right research).
Born and raised Canadian, who now calls Arizona “home”.
Mom to twin boys in Kindergarten.
Relentlessly curious, hardworking, unapologetically passionate and genuinely hopeful.
What am I like to work with?
Personal
To be successful in the roles I’ve held, I’ve had to be a good listener. This is wonderful because I like to really know people, regardless of the context. My work is characterized by helping people feel at ease and comfortable enough to share their experience of the world with me, whether that’s a research participant or a colleague. I consider it a privilege to be allowed to see into that world. In all of my work, I want others to trust that they’ve been truly heard and that what they have to say is important and valid.
Cheerful
I like to have fun and enjoy a good laugh with my friends at work when appropriate to do so. I’m from Newfoundland, a small province on the East coast of Canada. The saying goes “There are no strangers in Newfoundland, only friends you haven’t met”, and this has really been my personal ethos for most of my life. Cheerful, friendly, down-to-earth. If I’m not showing up this way, there’s something really wrong! =)
What kind of researcher am I ?
Strategic
I do get excited about tactical, granular research that gets at those immediate and clear answers to specific questions. Like tree testing a menu’s navigation options in one day, and drafting prototypes and testing the next. Amazing stuff. But I’d be remiss to not say that what makes me feel truly accomplished as a research professional are those high-impact strategic studies. The ones that can generate an insight with a shelf-life of several years that can transform how an organization sees itself and/or the people it is serving. That’s when we make meaning!
Tenacious
A quality that crosses over into all aspects of my life but never more true than as a researcher. In terms of intrinsic qualities, there may be no better descriptor for how I approach a research objective. I am so genuinely grateful to have found a profession where this quality can be the hallmark of my craft. I don’t back down easily when there is more to uncover, more to explore and more to learn. Stubborn? Maybe…but in the best way possible!
A few of my professional goals
People Leadership
I’ve reached a point in my professional life where I aspire to be more generative. I’d like more responsibility for guiding and growing people and teams. The roles I’ve held have required extensive leadership in terms of performance and contribution; not so much in leading teams.
Having been so fortunate to have had great people leaders throughout my career, I know what it takes and am confident in my skillset to make my own contribution. Now that I am so much further along in my career and have seen a thing or two, I feel passionately about, and am intrigued by, the way people see themselves through the eyes of the organization, and vice versa. I really believe that a leader has the ability to enrich and inspire the human experience by creating an environment where people intrinsically want to do their best work. This has been my experience with the leaders I have had and I want to be able to give that to someone else.
Thought Leadership
At this stage in my career as a professional researcher, I’ve become extremely grounded in my ability to surface insights that can be transformative to organizations. I’ve also gained wisdom and knowledge that can be imparted to others...responsibly. Doing that is a careful balance of self-awareness and self-confidence. I want to be self-aware enough to realize when my thoughts/opinions are laden with bias or misinformed judgement, and self-confident enough to express a thought/opinion when it can be of service to others and advance the purpose of something greater than my own ego.
So what exactly am I trying to say (TL;DR)? I want to nurture and refine the trust my peers have in me as an informed opinion leader in my field of expertise. I want to EARN that trust by being and doing more than just regurgitating someone else’s ideas. And through the wisdom of a growth mindset, I know this goal is a journey, not a destination.
Tree Testing
Information architecture
An information architecture study for digital business banking
A few samples of my work
Mixed Methods
Proof of Concept
Mixed methods study to evaluate the feasibility and viability of voice enabled technology in retail banking.
Usability Testing and In-Depth Interviews
Discovery
A business banking discovery and validation for Global ACH Transfers