This website was for the global launch of Hololens - Microsoft's holographic and mixed realit offering. This was a high profile and secretive project with much press behind it at launch. We were tasked with creating a website that introduced the Hololens device to the world, explained all the amazing technology behind it, and demonstrated the power of holograms and mixed reality. The goal was to generate global interest in the device, all while adhering to Microsoft design equity.
The Solution
We delivered a robust website which included a WebGL rendition of a hologram to show to users the capabilities of the Hololens device. We used parallax to narrate the story of the device, and also added a section for technical details and specifications. I setup the A/B testing for the device news signup, and shipped the variant that delivered a 130% variance to the conversion goal.
My Role
As the Technical Lead for the project, I was responsible for the technical spec, leading a team of 4 developers, and managing the launch. I was also in charge of defining the site stucture and managing the adherance of the Microsoft design equity. It was the most high profile deployment I have participated in.
This website was for the global launch of Windows 10. Microsoft wanted to do this unlike any other product release – with a focus on the Upgrade Your World campaign, rather than the Windows 10 product. At the center of it was a voting process featuring 10 charitable organizations - to see which ones would get $50000 in support from Microsoft. Timeline from brief to launch - 1 week.
The Solution
We integrated the new Windows 10 equity in the site design. Using Microsoft's internal responsive framework, we got the basic site up. The biggest piece - the voting mechanism - was to be handled through social media. Facebook, Twitter and Weibo (China) - pre-populated with the #UpgradeYourWorld hashtag. We integrated the shares with Microsoft's vote aggregation backend to track all shares. The launch was an overwhelming success with #UpgradeYourWorld dominating social conversation for that week.
My Role
As the Technical Program Manager for the campaign, I was responsible for the technical spec, leading a team of 4 developers, and managing the launch. I was also in charge of the Weibo integration - working with Microsoft translators and regional team to launch the Mandarin version of the site. The launch was synced across 5 timezones. It was the biggest deployment I have participated in.
This was the first mobile app that Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) released. Having never dabbled in this space, their ask was two-fold:
– for POSSIBLE to find a way for Dreft to organically be a part of the story of moms and their newborns, and;
– to develop an app they could use as a case study for developing more apps for their brands
The Solution
We conceived the Dreft Amazing Baby iOS app to be the tool for would-be moms to record every meaningful milestone of their pregnancy - and continuing after the baby's birth. Featuring a simple, intuitive UI, the app aggregates all of the memories, and even has a feature for moms to turn these into a physical photo album.
My Role
As the Technical Lead for the project, I guided the UX and design team through the UI and story boarding, using XCode. I managed the offshore development team based in Munich, and oversaw the build process, including functional specs, acceptance criteria and QA. On completion of production, I worked with the Dreft brand manager to submit the app in the App Store.
BECU needed a new digital identity to match their reformed brand positioning. The creative ask was to create a best in class digital execution that featured all of their great offerings for members, but also serve as an educational resource. The technical ask was to migrate them to a more robust CMS, and deliver a scalable responsive website.
The Process & Solution
This was almost a year long project from ideation to launch. Here is how we approached it –
User Interviews: BECU’s audience spanned across millennials opening their first bank account to older folks wanting to manage their retirement account. I conducted extensive user research and interviews to understand their requirements of a new website experience, which fed into the larger requirements
CMS analysis and selection: After a SWOT analysis and comparison of 3 CMS solutions – Sitecore, Episerver, and Adobe AEM, we decided on Sitecore because of its scalability and ease of use for end-user
Design: As the Sitecore SME, I helped guide design feasibility from a technical perspective. All design followed Atomic Design principles of components and page types.
Functional & technical spec: I wrote comprehensive functional and technical spec docs detailing how to build each facet, including acceptance criteria for QA
Development & QA: Managed the Agile sprints for development, building components to page types, QA, and planning for launch
Launch: We used Azure as the cloud platform for deployment, including load balancing
Training: I wrote a extensive training guide for BECU content authors, and conducted training on who to use the Sitecore interface
Service:
Technical Solutions Architect/Sitecore SME
Surface.com - Redesign
The Ask
With the launch of the new marketing campaign for the Surface device line, Microsoft needed new website that reinforced the "The tablet that can replace your laptop" message and also helped users easily identify the right Surface device for their needs. The new website also had to be modular & adaptable enough to handle Microsoft's new device rollout schedule across multiple markets.
The Solution
A new, responsive website for Surface, bringing the device options front-and-center, and yielding itself to easy localization across markets. Another major feature delivery included a new customized algorithm for "Help Me Choose" - for helping users understand which device fits their needs best.
My Role
I worked closely with the creative team to come up with the new site design, one that followed responsive web design principles and also met rigorous web standards. I was responsible for coming up with the new algorithm and rating scale for the 'Help Me Choose' section. For the development, I managed the relationship with Microsoft's offshore development vendor and provided them with detailed functional specifications and technical consultation for the grid, viewport breakpoints and optimization for page load.
