Hi, I'm Miles

Senior User Researcher & Designer

I lead research & design onRaft's Raft's project partnering with the US Department of Health and Human Services. We're redesigning and modernizing TANF¹ Data Reporting tools used by every US state, tribe, and territory.

Before my move to the world of GovTech, I spent three years working with early-stage b2b startups in hybrid UX & Product Management roles. I built user research practices from the ground up, led cross-functional teams in data-backed decision making, and aimed strategy at positive outcomes—not just outputs.

Partners

Approach

User Research

User Research is the backbone of human-centric work. It's how we know what we're designing and building the right solution. It's how we ensure that it's the absolute best it can be. I've built research practices from the ground up and can run with methods ranging from collaborative design workshops and ethnographic studies to card sorts and usability tests.

⌨️ UX Design

Thoughtful UX Design isn't just important for each distinct design problem, but also for ensuring every UX win gets us mileage toward higher level product goals. I run with ideas from task-flows and wireframes, through testable prototypes, and see them through to implemented solutions that move the needle.

♿ Accessibility

Everybody deserves not just access to the tools and products we create, but a truly equitable experience when it comes to using them. I leverage the heuristics offered by WCAG 2.1 (and newer standards) but set achieving great Universal Design as the target. I ensure that research is run inclusively and takes the time to hear from people with disabilities. When auditing experiences, I deliver both detailed breakdowns of areas for improvement and actionable guidance on how those can be improved.

📈 Product Strategy

I've implemented and executed on roadmaps that target outcomes rather than only outputs, collaborated with Sales to develop value-based pricing strategies, and engaged in market analyses to ensure that new product efforts always kept us competitive alongside driving value for our users.

✏️ UX Writing

Whether in release notes, microcopy, survey questions, or technical documentation, effective writing is a critical part of any experience. Thoughtfulness and iteration on this front is every bit as much a part of my process as it is when it comes to prototyping new interactions or polishing an interface.

My Work

Articles

Shifting Left on Accessibility

Accessibility

Training

Beyond a11y Compliance

Accessibility

Design

Case Studies

Transforming a Roadmap

Bolstra had no shared, reliable source of truth for what we were actively pursuing or what we would pursue later down the road. We had expectations concerning the product to spare, but no single reference of priority or direction.

Product Management

Agile

Feature Adoption & Dashboard Design

Development at Bolstra had slowed for quite a while due to feature creep within a waterfall development process, the transitioning away from an external product team to an in-house one, and the time required to onboard a new development team. Regaining the trust of our users that we still cared about solving their problems was a necessity.

User Research

Product Management

Agile

Delivering the MVP of a Learning Management System

Codelicious was signing on schools left and right, but the in-house team tasked with packaging and maintaining their curriculum content were hard pressed to keep pace with demand.

Project Management

Product Management

Design

Beyond a11y Compliance

No matter how great a toolset supporting accessibility, manual testing that takes the time to consider the diversity of ways in which something will be experienced is critical. Access to an experience is not always the same thing as equity of experience.