Tara N. Bazler

Resume

Education

Master of Science, Human Computer Interaction
School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University

Bachelor of Science, Psychology
Minor in Computer Science
College of Arts and Sciences Indiana University

Experience

The Experience Design & Development team works in collaboration with University Information Technology Services (UITS) and IU Studios to create well-designed, efficient, and accessible online sites and services for IU constituents. The team focuses on high-profile sites and services that serve students, faculty, and staff across all of IU's campuses and learning centers.

Responsibilities Include:

• Lead a team comprised of developers, UX/UI designers, and a content specialist.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across the university to maintain, improve, and set goals for high-profile/high traffic websites and services, including IU's top-level gateway sites.
• Lead and facilitate the UX/UI Community of Practice and work with designers across departments to promote good standards and consistency throughout the university's digital campus.
• Work with leaders to set strategic goals that align and support the department's mission.
• Establish quarterly roadmaps to outline expectations and set the team up for success in meeting stakeholders' needs.   
•  Collaborate with colleagues who possess a wide range of expertise including design, marketing, accessibility, information architecture, content, and development to promote best practices for our online services. 
• Provide a variety of UX services to teams across the university including research, usability evaluations, and interaction and interface design.
• Supervisory responsibilities including hiring, promotions, sponsorship for international staff, time and project management, mentoring and assisting staff with both work and interpersonal challenges, etc.  

The Core Properties User Experience Team works in collaboration with University Information Technology Services (UITS) and IU Studios to create well-designed, efficient, and accessible online sites and services for IU constituents. Core Properties focuses on high-profile sites and services that serve students, faculty, and staff across all of IU's campuses and learning centers.

Responsibilities Include:

• Led and mentored a small group of UX/UI designers and content specialists.
• Led and participated in the Design Partner Program for mentoring UX/UI staff.
• Led and facilitated the UX/UI Community of Practice.
• Project management, IA, and interface design for the IU Bulletins redesign.
• Provided user research, recommendations, and site maintenance for IU's top-level gateway sites.
• Promoted, contributed to, and provided UX guidance and reviews for Rivet, the university's design system.
• Provided a variety of UX services to teams across the university including research, usability evaluations, and interaction and interface design.
• User research with university students, faculty, and staff to improve services and inform development directions and priorities.

As the pandemic began in spring of 2020, Indiana University's students, faculty, and staff were sent home. IU had to adapt quickly to provide access to all classes, services, and tasks for a now fully remote audience. As part of that work, Digital Campus established a temporary team to research and design tools to assist constituents in accomplishing their goals and finding crucial information.

During this time, I also led an initiative to research, understand, and promote better diversity and inclusion practices within our hiring processes and the workplace.  

Responsibilities Include:

• Led UX for research, design, and use testing of informational chatbots to assist users in finding general information as well as Covid 19 updates.
• Chatbot prototype design and development.
• Research, design, user testing, and development of a downloadable desktop tool to consolidate frequently used services for IU constituents.
• Reporting:  Analyze and summarize findings and provide recommendations for future consideration and development.
• Research issues and solutions associated with workplace culture, inclusion, the effects of bias (both conscious and subconscious)  on decision making, and diversity at IU.
• Create recommendations for procedural and cultural changes. 
• Promote the benefits of an inclusive workplace and diverse teams within our organization.  

The User Experience Office (UXO) was established to oversee the design of Indiana University’s vast number of digital services. Overarching goals include improving the user experience, establishing a design system as a foundation for consistent user interface development, and identifying and leading work on high profile projects for the university.

Responsibilities Include:

• Established, lead, and participate in the Design Partner Program for mentoring UX/UI staff.
• Organize and promote weekly UXO Collaborative Design sessions.
• Lead and facilitate the UX/UI Community of Practice.
• Promote, contribute to, and provide UX guidance and reviews for Rivet, the university's design system.
• Provide a variety of UX services to teams across the university including research, usability evaluations, and interaction and interface design.
• User research with university students, faculty, and staff to improve services and inform development directions and priorities.
• Established and contribute weekly posts for a UX mailing list.

Provided ongoing leadership and mentoring for UX staff, as development teams switched to the Agile Scrum framework. I also served as the user experience designer for two agile teams within the student services department.

Responsibilities Included:

• Provided UX vision and direction for student services at Indiana University.
• Initiated work on a style guide and component library for use across agile teams developing student services.
• Provided ongoing support and mentoring for UX staff.
• Established and facilitated the user experience Community of Practice.
• Developed designs and created wireframes and documentation for student service projects within an agile framework.

Managed a team of user experience and user interface designers that served the University Information Technology Services (UITS) department at Indiana University.

Responsibilities Included:

• Managed and mentored a team of UX/UI designers.
• Spearheaded the UX vision for UITS and promoted user-centered design and development through networking, IT conferences and events, and work processes.
• Collaborated with development teams, providing a broad array of UX/UI deliverables based on improved IA, user research, and UX/UI standards.

Kuali was dedicated to developing community source software for higher education through the collaborative effort of partnering institutions. The Kuali Student modules were focused on systems for managing all aspects of student data, as well as course and curriculum data.

Responsibilities Included:

• Led the UX initiatives for the Kuali Student Project.
• Provided support and direction for UX/UI designers across multiple, remote agile development teams across the US, South Africa, and Europe.
• Researched and evaluated new web technologies and interactions and collaborated on proof-of-concept projects illustrating new development directions.
• Promoted mobile/progressive enhancement design and development strategies.
• Contributed to the establishment and development of a design system.
• Led the UX/UI Community of Practice.
• Collaborated with core project teams to coordinate new module development, plan new functionality, identify and promote design vision, and document standards and guidelines.
• Organized and led bi-annual, face-to-face workshops for UX team members.

Managed a team of software developers and UX designers. My team was responsible for a number of enterprise services (see below) and also assisted with UX design, evaluation, and direction for other teams’ enterprise-wide and campus/department specific services.

Responsibilities Included:

• HR manager for a team of nine staff members.
• Project manager for multiple high profile, enterprise services including:
• OneStart - Indiana University portal for students, faculty, and staff
• Promoted the use of the OneStart portal, recruiting new service providers across teams, departments, and campuses.
• Worked with service providers to display their content in OneStart. Encourage the display of active, meaningful content that would be valuable to the user, providing a variety of information within the portal before requiring the user to launch into an external system.
• Calendar - fully functional enterprise calendar system
• Refactoring of the OneStart calendar to meet requirements of the IU Events Calendar.
• Promoted the use of the new system across departments and campuses and work with departments to set up and maintain their event calendars.
• Ongoing work to add features and functionality that would provide valuable data to the end user, especially students.
• IU Mobile - Mobile gateway to IU services
• Played an instrumental role in the interface and user interaction design of IU Mobile Web and the IU Mobile iPhone App.
• Managed the initial release of IU Mobile Web, Aug. 2009 and the release of the IU Mobile iPhone app, available through the App Store in Aug. 2010.
• Worked with teams throughout the university to provide both enterprise wide and campus/department specific services through IU Mobile.
• User Experience Group
• Promoted user-centered design and development through networking, information technology conferences and events, as well as within my daily work routine.
• Worked in collaboration with development teams to determine efficient workflow processes, user requirements, and display options for system content.
• Evaluated services and systems using a variety of user-centered design methods including: user testing, focus groups, design critiques, workflow process evaluations, expert reviews, heuristic reviews, interviews, information architecture review and design, and user surveys.
• Interaction and interface design.
• Budget planning and account management.

Lead consultant for a small team of UX designers, providing full UX consulting services to both Indiana University and south central Indiana clients. Services included all aspects of user needs and system analyses, information architecture, user interface and interaction design, and user research. Examples of clients external to IU include Bloomington Hospital & Healthcare Services, Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, Indianapolis Marion County Public Library, Clarian Health, and Hirons Advertising & Web Design.

Responsibilities Included:

• Supervising UX staff including; hiring, mentoring, firing, project assignments.
• Usability reviews including: user testing (lab based and in the field), focus groups, design critiques, expert reviews, heuristic reviews, interviews, contextual inquiry, and user surveys.
• User needs analyses, task analyses, and system requirements.
• Development of user testing plans and estimated charges documents, based on client goals and objectives.
• Compilation and reporting of test results.
• Interaction and interface design development in various formats including HTML and OmniGraffle.
• Client billing and account management.

In this project-based position, I was brought onto the team to provide a full spectrum of UX services for a new online travel authorization and reimbursement request system for faculty, staff, and students at Indiana University.

Responsibilities Included:

• UX services including: system requirements, user needs analyses, persona development, interaction design, user interface design, and user testing.
• Prototype development in HTML and OmniGraffle.
• Java development.
• Help content development and presentation.
• Travel Department website development and maintenance.
• System testing and quality assurance.
• User training.

Usability Consulting Services was a small team that provided UX services to Indiana University and clients within the central to southern Indiana locale.

Responsibilities Included:

• Usability analyses including: user testing (lab based and in the field), focus groups, design critiques, expert reviews, heuristic reviews, interviews, and user surveys.
• Development of user testing plans based on client goals and objectives.
• Compilation and reporting of test results.
• Interaction and interface design development in formats including HTML and OmniGraffle.
• User needs analyses, task analyses, and system requirements.

Assisted in the development, testing, and user training of a series of computerized psychological tests. The tests were being developed to help predict the occurrence of Huntington’s Disease (HD) in those with risk factors for HD who were not yet exhibiting identifiable symptoms of the disease.

Responsibilities Included:

• Creation of specification documents for the psychological tests.
• Usability evaluation of software, hardware, and configuration of the participants’ workstation used during testing.
• Creation of the user’s manual for the software system.
• User training via conference presentations and demos.

520 N. Cabot Ct. Bloomington, IN 47408   •   Phone: 812.361.1810   •   Email: tnbazler@mac.com