Mini Case Studies

Redesigning digital information, automating financial compliance reporting, and crafting international trade market intelligence start-up.

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Responsive Web and UX Design

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Product Strategy & Business Analysis

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Spatial and Technical Process Design

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UX Research & Strategic Design

PROJECT: Redesign of HCD Website

Organization: California Housing and Community Development (HCD) – Asset Management Department

Goal: Increase customer service and asset management efficiency by improving the usability of the HCD-AMC Branch website.

Role: Co-designed the HCD-AMC webpage by conducting UX research, usability testing, stakeholder interviews, contextual inquiry, survey, and usability testing. I gathered user feedback, prioritized features, specified requirements, and redesigned web app. I developed the information architecture and organization, content strategy, wireframe, and prototype.

Outcome: The webpage was transformed into a user-friendly and Program-driven format with easier navigation, increased findability, improved discoverability, and faster information retrieval while reducing program-related calls and email requests by over 30%. Calls from Sponsors inquiring about general information for the various HCD-AMC programs have tremendously dropped.

PROJECT: Development of Financial Reporting System and Compliance Monitoring Platform

Organization: California Housing and Community Development (HCD) – Asset Management

Goal: Increase accuracy in financial reporting and boost efficiency in asset management compliance monitoring.

Role: Co-designed, co-developed, and implemented a Financial Reporting System and Asset Management Compliance Monitoring System for three major affordable programs – Rental Housing Construction Program (RHCP-B), MPROP, and FHDP programs. Conducted UX research, usability testing, stakeholder interviews, research, testing, functional testings, content strategy, information architecture, diagramming, wireframing, and prototyping of the Asset Management Schedule of Rental Income (SRI) System and Financial Budget/Audit Review System.

Outcome: Our efforts to automate the financial reporting and compliance monitoring led to a transparent, self-compliant, and easy-to-follow financial system workbook. Using a highly efficient macro-based Excel system, the new Schedule of Rental Income workbook tremendously streamlined the monitoring review and immensely increased work process efficiency for the RHCP-Bond and FHDP compliance reporting requirements.

PROJECT: UX research and business design of global trade market intelligence start-up. Co-proponent of Panjiva’s business concept.

Organization: Panjiva.com Global Trade Portal, a leading S&P market intelligence for international trade

Goal: Develop business concept and validate business feasibility.

Role: Panjiva.com (formerly The Global Reference Check) was a team project at the Harvard Business School – Entrepreneurial Marketing course. I worked with a team in the ideation, concept development, pre-development research, user research, market research, data research, and overall concept validation. I conducted stakeholder interviews, user research, surveys, contextual inquiry, business analysis, business modeling, market research, data analysis, quantitative analysis.

Outcome: Today, Panjiva is one of the leading business intelligence platforms for international trade around the world.