Profile
Client-focused and results-oriented Usability and Business analyst with 15 of years experience in software usability engineering in diverse business domains including the academia, the United States Postal Services, oil and gas, and commercial sectors. Highly effective in defining and prioritizing clients needs, mapping proposed solutions into intuitive wireframes, and aiding developers to transfer users needs into highly usable software applications and client-ready deliverables. Recognized for conceptual and critical thinking and ability to work effectively with senior management, and business and technical staff. Adept at handling complex systems and ensuring accuracy and integrity at all levels of software development cycle as it pertains to usability aspects.
Native Arabic and Advanced English and Spanish
Professional experience in 7 countries in Europe, Middle East, and North America
Skills
Software Usability and Human Factor Engineering:
Heuristic Evaluation
End-user Advocacy
Complex System Analysis
UI Usability Assessment
User Experience Monitoring
User Interviews & Testing
Usability Enhancement Recommendations
User Behavior Analysis
Business Analysis:
Client Trust / Partnership
Client Collaboration
Business Needs Identification
Requirements Identification
Requirements Documentation
Business groups, Managers and Development Team Collaboration
Process Flow Creation
Business Flow Evaluation
Cultural Diversity:
Middle East, Europe, and Mexico Cultural Awareness
Arabic, English, Spanish
Data Analysis:
Qualitative Analysis Quantitative Analysis
Qualifications
PhD. Computer Science, Multimedia and Education
Sept 2001 The George Washington University, Washington DC.
Dissertation: Empirical Validation of Criteria to Assess the Semantic Efficacy of Interface Metaphors.
M.Sc. Computer Science, Software Engineering
May 1995 The George Washington University, Washington DC.
B.Sc. Computer Science June 1990 American University, Cairo, Egypt.
Magna cum laude
Scholarship
Doctorate of Science program. Educational and Research Funding Organization, Inc. (ERFO).
Selected Accomplishments
Client Relations and End-User Advocacy
▪ Lowered potential cost of error corrections in software development by up to 50% by establishing customer trust and accurately documenting requirements, process flows, functional requirements, and user interfaces (UI).
▪ Proposed user-experience interaction enhancements based on qualitative and quantitative analysis to help create usable and user-friendly systems.
Creative Solutions and Management
▪ Recommended initiatives to increase cross-divisional cooperation which led to stronger efficiency in product development and better morale.
▪ Supervised software developers through a process of developing user-friendly interfaces to increase inter-team productivity and consistency. This reduced ambiguities of resulting software tools and fostered a sense of camaraderie and professionalism.
Training and Teaching
▪ Performed training to software developers on principles of usable software interfaces. Topics covered color harmony, consistency, and simplicity in order to increase developer sensitivity to user needs and limitations.
Publications
“Similarities and Differences Between HCI Academics and Software Designers on the Ranking of Criteria Measuring the Semantic Efficacy of Interface Metaphors ” at The Tenth International Conference on Human Computer Interaction, Greece, June 26-30, 2003.
The Role of Interface Metaphor in User Interface Design” at the Universal Accessibility for Elderly Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, published in conference proceedings of ACM, Sep. 2001.
“A Taxonomy of Metaphors at the Human Computer Interface” in The Second International Conference on Cognitive Science, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, July 27-30, 1999.
A position paper on “Interface Metaphors” for “Innovative Interface Metaphors for Visual Media”, Workshop in CHI98, Los Angeles, CA, April 1998.
