Bryce Johnson
User Experience Designer, Information Architect, Business Analyst
During the past 12 years of my career I have designed, defined and built core web presences and internal software applications for corporations, government and charities. Organizations such as: Microsoft, World Wildlife Fund, Honda, MSN, Sympatico, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Magna Entertainment Inc., the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CIBC, and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Highlights of my career include:
- It was a privilege to be part of the team for Microsoft PowerPivot a new product that will change business intelligence by empowering information workers with the ability to conduct ad-hoc data analysis on massive amounts of data.
- Designing the online library for the Canadian National institute for the Blind was very rewarding. Through ethnographic studies and by user testing iterative prototypes I designed the online library for the CNIB. This project was selected as a winner in the sixth annual Microsoft Certified Partner Awards - Collaborative Solution of the Year.
- I was a member of the Program Advisory committee for the Sheridan College “Communications, Culture and Information Technology” program in 2008. This was a very rewarding experience and Sheridan is a well-respected institution.
- I’m active in the BarCamp community and have helped organize multiple unconference events in Toronto. Those experiences have helped me develop my facilitation skills and given me a greater understanding of a wider software industry.
- 12 years designing and developing websites and applications
- 5+ national and worldwide Microsoft award winning projects
- Over 20 web applications and 6 Windows® applications projects
- Over 52 website and content management projects as a designer/developer
Selected recommendations from Linked In
Quite simply, he's one of the smartest people I know. Information architecture, software requirements, user experience, accessibility, design - he does it all with grace, intelligence and humour. I can't really imagine a web property or software application that wouldn't benefit from Bryce's work. He's really that good.
March 1, 2007
Carsten Knoch
Vice President Strategic Business Development , Navantis
worked directly with Bryce at Navantis
I owe Bryce a huge debt of gratitude for helping me get my experience design career off the ground. A UX practitioner of incredible talent, Bryce is also an excellent mentor and leader. During my tenure with his team at Navantis, Bryce always took the time to show me how to do things properly; his ability to teach and breadth of knowledge were impressive. The best thing about Bryce is that he knows how to get his hands dirty and do real design work. His pragmatic approach to team management has been a huge inspiration in the development of my personal leadership style. If you want to build a great UX team, I can't think of a better leader than Bryce.
January 27, 2009
Matthew Milan
Partner & Director of Design at Normative
reported to Bryce at Navantis
Bryce is a brilliant UX/IA professional. Through every step of a project he was willing to go to bat for users and always managed to find elegant solutions to hard problems. He was always more than happy to engage and work with developers to help them adapt their ideas and expand their knowledge base. Beyond his standard work duties, Bryce was an identifiable and highly respected member of the Toronto technology community.
January 26, 2009
Andre Gaulin
Director, Web Operations at Cineplex Entertainment
worked directly with Bryce at Navantis
Résumé
Areas of Practice
- User Experience Design:
- Interface & interaction design; Contextual enquiry & ethnography; Task analysis and reporting; Defining actors & personae; User scenarios and use cases; Wireframing in participatory design workshops; Usability test planning, recruiting and facilitation; Heuristic evaluation/expert review
- Requirements/Design:
- Business requirements documentation (using Use cases & UML); Domain modeling; Rapid prototyping techniques; Group Facilitation and brainstorming techniques; Versed in Rational Unified Process and Agile SCRUM
- Information Architecture:
- Navigation design; Mental model exercises & affinity diagrams; Controlled vocabularies & taxonomies; Faceted classification & metadata schema design; Content inventories; Search optimization & search log analysis
- Project Management:
- Project planning; budgeting; resource scheduling; risk assessment; issue and change management
- Development & Testing:
- Development team leadership; Accessible web development; testing strategies, plans and test cases
Speaking Engagements
Throughout 2007 I organized three BarCamp events in Toronto EnterpriseCampToronto, BarCampTorontoTechWeek and InteractionCampToronto
In September 2006 I co-organized the 2006 CANUX conference at the Banff Arts Centre and conducted the Design Slam group exercise. http://www.canux2006.com/
At the Information Highways Conference 2006 I co-presented with Carsten Knoch, "The Cart Before The Horse: Rapid Adoption Strategies for SharePoint Portal Server"
On June 28 2005, I gave a presentation called "Practical Prototypes: High fidelity prototypes in use" at the Usability Professional Association Conference - UPA 2005: Bridging Cultures
On June 14, 2000 I was invited by The Art Directors' Club of New York City to speak about my work for photographer Chris Buck at a seminar entitled "Collaboration of Design and Photography on the Web".
Work Experience
User Experience Designer for Microsoft SQL Server
April 2009 - January 2010
Working with the SQL Server User Experience team with my main focus was an Analysis Services product – PowerPivot. PowerPivot is a Microsoft Office Excel add-on that allows information workers to do ad-hoc data analysis on massive amounts of data.
The design challenge is adapting complex data modeling concepts to a familiar set of interaction patterns that information workers use daily in Excel.
In addition I have:
- Optimized the PowerPivot ribbon design to the best practices of Fluent UI
- Designed the PowerPivot product icon
- Created the web Accessibility checklist for Microsoft SQL and tested the accessibility of a number of desktop and web applications across SQL
User Experience Designer for Microsoft Dynamics AX
July 2008 - January 2009
As part of the Microsoft Dynamics User Experience Team, I endeavored to bring the user experience of the AX Enterprise Web Portal closer together with that of the Windows Client while not discarding the best features or interaction patterns from SharePoint and best-of-breed web applications.
I also worked on improving the product's Role Centers, a dashboard that provides simplified access to role-tailored views of data and business processes which give the users an appealing, easy-to-navigate window into their work world.
I collaborated with program managers and developers to design the interfaces and interaction patterns for their features, working to move the product closer to the ideas and goals of the Dynamics UX vision.
Director of User Experience Design at Navantis Inc.
April 2005 - July 2008
As the Director of User Experience Design for Navantis Inc., an award-winning Microsoft Gold Partner in Toronto, ON, I designed and built core web presences and internal software applications for corporations, government and charities. Collaborating with architects and SMEs I was actively involved with the creation of solution strategies that we delivered to our clients. I communicated with clients and vendors to ensure that projects progressed smoothly. My duties also included interface and navigation layout, interaction design, information architecture, usability and accessibility consulting, project management, as well as the design and production of Content Management and Knowledge Management systems, specifically Microsoft SharePoint.
Manager of Interface Development at Navantis Inc.
June 1999 - April 2005
In my role as Manager of Interface Development I managed a team of developers by coordinating their schedules and ensuring that the projects they were assigned to were going well. I also mentored junior developers in the best practices that I have learned throughout my career.
Front End Developer at Karo Inc.
June 1997 - June 1999
I came to Karo to help them transform the work of their graphic designers into working websites for their clients. Karo is the branding firm where I first learned about the importance of defining and maintaining a corporate identity.
Education, Certifications and Affiliations
- Microsoft Certified Professional: Analyzing Requirements and Defining Solution Architectures
- Advanced Principles of Information Design, Usability Evaluation, and Applied XML, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, 1999-2001
- Double Major Interactive Media and Photography, Ryerson University (there for four years but did not receive a degree)
Technical and Software Skills
- Front End Technologies:
- HTML; CSS; DOM; jQuery
- Design Software:
- Adobe Creative Suite; Microsoft Expression Studio and some basic 3D tools
- Multimedia Tools & Formats:
- Windows Media, QuickTime and MP4 encoding expertise; AutoDesk Media Cleaner; Expression Media Encoder
- E-Learning & Observation Applications:
- Techsmith Morae; Techsmith Camtasia; Adobe Captivate
- Productivity Applications:
- Microsoft Visio, Excel, Word, PowerPoint; Microsoft Office SharePoint Server; Adobe Acrobat Pro
Organizations I have consulted for
| Strategy | Business Analysis | Research & Testing | Accessibility | Information Architecture | User Experience Design | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising | Young & Rubican | check | check | ||||
| Automotive | Acura Canada | check | check | ||||
| Honda Canada | check | check | check | ||||
| Consumer & Retail | Bell Mobility | check | check | ||||
| Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | check | check | check | check | check | ||
| Puretracks | check | ||||||
| Toshiba Canada Inc. | check | check | check | ||||
| Education | Nexient Learning | check | check | check | check | ||
| Energy | Direct Energy | check | |||||
| Hydro One | check | check | check | check | |||
| Ontario Power Generation | check | ||||||
| Union Gas | check | ||||||
| Finance | ADP | check | |||||
| BMO Financial Group | check | check | |||||
| CIBC | check | check | check | check | check | ||
| Gluskin + Sheff & Associates | check | ||||||
| Manulife Financial | check | ||||||
| Merx | check | ||||||
| Onex Corporation | check | ||||||
| Scotiabank | check | check | check | ||||
| Toronto Stock Exchange | check | check | check | ||||
| Trade Settlement | check | check | |||||
| Food & Beverage | Aramark | check | check | ||||
| Labatt Brewing | check | ||||||
| Molson | check | ||||||
| Healthcare | Niagara Health System | check | |||||
| Univerisity Health Network | check | ||||||
| Victorian Order of Nurses | check | check | check | check | |||
| World Health Organization | check | ||||||
| Hospitality & Entertainment | Fairmont Hotels & Resorts | check | check | check | check | check | |
| Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts | check | check | check | check | check | ||
| Magna Entertainment | check | check | check | ||||
| Legal | McCarthy Tétrault | check | check | ||||
| Manufacturing | Agfa Canada | check | |||||
| Atomic Energy of Canada | check | check | |||||
| Honda Manufacturing | check | ||||||
| Teknion | check | check | |||||
| Media | CityTV | check | |||||
| MSN Canada | check | check | |||||
| Sympatico Canada | check | check | |||||
| Mining | Barrick Gold | check | check | ||||
| Non Profit | Canada Helps | check | |||||
| Canadian National Institute Blind | check | check | check | ||||
| World Wildlife Fund | check | check | check | check | |||
| Public Sector | Canadian Olympic Commission | check | check | check | |||
| City of Hamilton | check | check | check | check | check | ||
| City of Sudbury | check | ||||||
| Elections Ontario | check | ||||||
| Hamilton Police Services | check | check | |||||
| Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities | check | ||||||
| Town of Richmond Hill | check | check | check | ||||
| Real Estate | Oxford Properties | check | |||||
| Technology | ATI Technologies | check | |||||
| Microsoft | check | check | check | check | check | check | |
| Spar Aerospace Limited | check |
