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Senior Usability Manager, Staples Inc.
Aug 27 05
Source: CHI-Jobs
(Position is located in Framingham, MA which is about 25 minutes west of Boston)
You've heard our company tagline: "That was easy." Now come join one of the key teams that is making that statement a reality.
About Our Team
The Staples Usability team continues to be one of the thought leaders in usability and is growing to meet company demand for our services. We are comprised of researchers, information architects and analytics experts. Our mission is to cut costs and increase sales by using science to analyze behavior and optimize design. No easy task, but one that is achievable with a focused, all-star team of experts all driving to the same goal.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
Team Leadership
Lead usability team in all customer-facing projects for North American Delivery and corporate-wide initiatives. Areas of responsibility include:
-Web Sites. Focus on Staples.com, Quill.com, StaplesLink.com and BusinessDepot.com. Responsibilities also include satellite sites such as StaplesEasyRebates.com, StaplesRewardsCenter.com, Online Circular and others currently in development.
-Catalogs. Primary focus on main catalogs of Staples, Contract, Quill and Business Depot. Also includes seasonal catalogs and individual product line catalogs.
-Marketing Materials. Physical materials with a focus on pieces with calls to action or complex interaction interfaces (e.g., private label affinity card statements).
-Taxonomy Refinement. Indexes, nomenclature and hierarchies across web sites, catalogs, retail store signage.
In the context of the above, perform the following tasks:
Lead usability resources on large-scale, multiple client projects by effectively managing time and budget. Ensure that user needs are represented in the functional definition of each project.
Establish and apply best practices via primary and secondary research. Keep a pulse on competitive forces and industry trends. Ensure that best practices are actively shared across business groups to create efficiencies and consistency for user.
Research Execution
Usability study creation and execution: Work closely with business partners to create research protocols for high-visibility, strategic projects. Identify segmentation as well as user and business goals. Also create qualitative and quantitative success criteria definition. Conduct testing with participants. Aggregate insights and structure into findings document. Present findings to cross-functional group of senior leaders. Work with creative team to redesign pages or flows based on test findings.
Staff Management
Internal: Supervise an initial staff of four usability associates. Establish day-to-day and long-range objectives for each associate. Monitor associates against goals and address performance issues. Motivate each to question convention, execute flawlessly, maintain entrepreneurial flair and strive for excellence.
External: Manage agency and independent consultant relationships. When contract workers are necessary, manage the overall agency relationship including the budget, contracts, and performance issues.
Requirements
Minimum of an MS degree in Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology or related discipline required.
Minimum of 8 years of usability experience in a corporate or consulting environment required.
Experience managing a user experience or usability group. Must understand how to navigate a matrixed organization. Skilled in assertive diplomacy.
Must be a strong leader with deep user experience background across multi-mediums.
Keen ability to help define strategic goals of a customer-facing interfaces and the affect of user experience on business metrics.
Extensive experience in usability testing with demonstrated skill in conducting large-scale usability testing of ecommerce web sites. Experience in print materials and retail catalogs a big plus.
Deep understanding of human behavior as demonstrated through professional and educational study
Understanding of information architecture principles.
Approximately 10%-15% travel required.
Please direct all correspondence to Jason Dietz at jason.dietz@staples.com.