Kesha Marie Watson

Design Leadership, User Experience and Project Management

MY OBJECTIVE: To create design solutions and lead teams developing technology that improves the life of the user and adds value to the organization.

As the Creative Director of Bennumedia, I am the essential Renaissance woman. I have an incredibly diverse background spanning art, retail, finance, and technology. Life is a gift, and I use every hour, minute and second to learn something new, assist others and inspire excellence.

Job titles change from organization to organization, but my core skill set and passion is User Experience and Project Management. I focus on understanding user needs and marrying them to the objectives of the overall organization which leads to the creation of compelling digital experiences. I try to work with you to manufacture concepts that are the best value for your organization’s budget, improve digital relationships with your designated audience, and organize the creative process so that you can meet your organizational goals.

Agile Project Management

Design Thinking

User Experience Research

Product Management

Graphic Design

Motivational Speaking

DESIGN LEADERSHIP

As a design leader, my goal is to provide effective leadership, so that over time, those partnering with me will reach their highest level of performance. Through situational leadership, I develop teams that are creative, work in sync, efficient, and are high-performing. I attempt to create an environment/workflow where a good laugh is embraced, and the stress is kept to a minimum. It is my belief that this improves the overall creativity and productivity of any effort. Successes are celebrated, and failures are used as learning lessons/opportunities for improvement.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

As a project manager, I understand that successful projects take planning, leadership, collaboration and structure. I am knowledgeable and experienced with standard SDLC, Waterfall and Agile practices with a strong background in solutions implementation and enterprise-level deployment. As a Certified ScrumMaster, I utilize Agile methodology and blend traditional Waterfall methods into an organization’s existing culture, when appropriate, to achieve project success. I try to communicate in a manner that engages both key executives, stakeholders, product owners, UX professionals and technical teams, so all parties feel informed and involved in the project’s success. I have a strong belief that projects can be run on-time, on-budget and that there is more than one way to do so.

USER EXPERIENCE

“If the user can’t use it, it doesn’t work.” – Susan Dray

As a user experience professional, this quote reflects the reason I work in this field. I began my career working on large corporate loan systems. I observed users struggling daily with the interfaces of the systems used for processing corporate loans. These were the very same enterprise level, expensive, resource heavy systems I worked on for months to update and deploy only to have a user struggle when using it. As a result, I began to focus on developing interfaces and systems that reflect the voice of the user. As a UX professional, I have experience leveraging user experience methodologies, specializing in User Research and User Experience Strategy. My user research methods include: Contextual inquiry, Exploratory field studies, Ethnography, Facilitation, Heuristic Evaluation, Personas, Scenarios, Use Cases, Specifications, Surveying, Task Flows, Usability Testing, Workshops, Interviewing (remote and on-site) and Strategy Development. My design deliverables include: Sketches, Wireframes, Mockups, Interactive-low and high fidelity prototypes created using Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver), Axure RP, and Sketch.

My love and passion for all things artistic have led me in many directions and left me with many outstanding accomplishments. I have worked in landscape design, and I am a published artist. I have traveled the globe, working in various technology-oriented environments and seeking inspiration around every corner. My commitment to life-long learning has allowed me to gain several degrees and certifications.

When I’m not “preaching the word of UX,” I share my life experiences with others as a motivational speaker. By sharing the details of my humble beginnings and many experiences, my goal is to inspire the youth to reach for their dreams and to encourage young women to carry themselves with high standards and embrace the STEM fields.

OPEN TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES!! I am seeking REMOTE/CONTRACT/DIRECT HIRE positions that will allow me to utilize further and grow my existing UX skill set. Currently seeking titles and roles such as UX Manager, UX Researcher, UX Analyst, Project Manager, Scrum Master, Product Manager, Creative Director

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