Julie Young

User experience Consultant

Julie
Young

Solving complex problems for your product with ingenuity and keen insights into user behavior.

 
Picture of Julie Young

 

Product Strategy and User Research

You need to make a thing happen—maybe a website, an app, or a new feature. You think you know what your users need, but when’s the last time you really talked with your customers or people in your target market?

I’ve helped clients from health care and manufacturing to the performing arts better understand their user’s needs, behaviors, and thought processes. These insights, paired with your business goals, enable me to create informed strategies for websites and apps that will set your effort up for success.

 

Research Skills

  • User interviews and observations

  • Formative usability testing

  • Web analytics analysis

  • Surveys

  • Personas

  • Journey maps

 
 
Julie has the rare ability to bring chaos to order. She tackles the challenges of complex large scale websites and less complex but more nuanced websites with ease.
— Michelle Leonette, VP Experience Design
 

User Experience Consulting

User Experience shouldn’t be throwing together some wireframes or making something look good. Done well, it’s pragmatic problem solving that gives your visual designers and developers blueprints for the build that they can rely on. From the big picture to the tiniest interaction, I’ll help you capture functionality and requirements in service of the optimal user experience. In addition, I’ll collaborate with your development team so that the solution is technically feasible and fits your budget. Throughout this process, I’ll run usability tests with your users to make sure it’s the best.

 

UX Skills

  • Requirements gathering

  • Information architecture

  • Content strategy

  • Sitemaps

  • Wireframes and prototypes

  • Usability testing

 

Product and Project Management

Do you have a person on your team who magically knows how to slice and dice features so that the most value is delivered with every single release? Who is able to make decisions on what stays or what goes, and can back it up with data and research—not just their gut? If you don’t, I’m here for you. For years, I’ve been getting design and development efforts unstuck with scrappy problem solving paired with strategic thinking.

In addition to years of project management and product lead experience, I’m also a Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and SAFe Agilist (Scaled Agile Framework), but I promise I won’t be dogmatic about it.

 
Commitment to excellence, drive to solution, creativity, and strategic mindset are qualities that distinguish Julie as a leader and role model.
— Trisha Starett, Vice President, Principal Project/Program Manager

About

Prior to my freelance consulting business, I worked in user experience and project management at Sparkbox, Highmark/enGen, Elliance, and BarkleyREI. In 2015, I completed my MBA with highest honors from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In nearly two decades of working at digital agencies and at large IT organizations, I’ve tackled problems big and small and I’m ready to solve yours.

 

Education

Master of Business Administration
Duquesne University

B.A. English Literature and Creative Writing
Seton Hill University


 

Get in Touch

Let’s work together. Drop me a note about your project and I’ll be in touch!

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