Fireside Chats
Interview questions #
Are you a hiring manager or recruiter looking for a consultant or software engineer? Look no more. I answer your common questions in this post. Please contact me to discuss what I can do for your project.
So, tell me about yourself #
I’m Claire Annan, otherwise known as @cannandev on the interwebs. I’m an Atlanta-based UX/UI consultant specializing in user research and experience design. I have a strong background in software development. My top UX skills are interviewing, usability testing, wireframes, prototypes, and design systems.
I love helping others, removing technical obstacles that stand in their way. I get excited about open source technology, especially content management systems used to give back to the community. In my next role, I would like to work with a distributed team that builds genuinely user-centered applications.
What companies have you worked for? #
I’ve worked for a wide range of companies. Fortune 500 to small digital agencies. B2C, B2B. Financial industry to entertainment.
List of clients
Now, as a consultant, my clients are local businesses that want to create a product. They are willing to invest in user-centered research before any interactive design or code begins.
Are you still a developer? #
I still code. I’m just focused on the other end of the software development life cycle. I use my development skills to build prototypes and optimize performance. I was a software developer for 20 years, both backend and frontend.
I grew tired of receiving designs that were just “thrown over the fence” from a designer to a developer. I had to quickly build features that had not been tested by the user until they went live. To me, that’s just too late.
Once, when I brought up the fact that a carousel slider was not accessible to users, the designer said “Well we don’t expect users with disabilities to visit our site.” That’s not the type of attitude I want to work with.
Many times while coding, I would question the design. “Is this feature usable?” or “How will the user know this interaction?” But the response was always, “We’ll change it in the next sprint.”
Oh, how many lines of code were commented out! How many and hours of work were wasted. Once the feature went to production, the user found the feature either confusing, unnecessary or undesirable.
I love building things that help people. Applications that are truly user-centered. In my next project, I want to be involved in user research and experience design long before it sees a line of code.
What are your strengths? #
According to Myers Briggs, my personality type is ISFJ - The “Defender”. Introverted (I), Sensing (S), Feeling (F) and Judging (J). I can attest that the following strengths are spot-on:
Good at listening
Eager to serve
Warm and affirming
Great organizational skills
Impeccable attention to detail
The ISFJ personality is the most likely to see beautiful things within the simplicity of life. They seek to create perfect moments in time that become lifelong memories for others.
futureofworking.com
What are your weaknesses? #
According to Personalitymax.com, only 7% of the population share my personality, which means I’ve spent most of my life adapting to others and learning common behavior.
I can attest that the following weaknesses listed on their site are also true:
Tend to be perfectionists
Can neglect their own needs
Dislikes change
Takes criticism personally
Tend to repress their feelings
I had to identify and analyze my weaknesses to understand why I was unhappy as a developer. As a perfectionist, I was devastated when months of work (working late hours and getting to know the nightly cleaning staff by name) were discarded because the stakeholder’s interests were put before the user. I definitely took it personally.
As a researcher, I can focus on listening to users, one-by-one, to build personas. I organize their feedback into detailed wireframes and prototypes that will serve their needs.
[ISFJs] work well when they know what is expected of them. They often enjoy working alone and do best without distractions. Defenders have a hard time stopping until the job is done.
Personalitymax.com
How do you learn? #
I’ve always prefered a practical approach to learning. I don’t learn theory very well; it’s hard for my brain to conceptualize. I’m a hands-on learner, building real-life projects. This site is an example. I try to implement new technologies into this site. It’s a playground for practice learning.
What do you like to do outside of work? #
I am effective and knowledgeable in working with cultures worldwide gained from years of international travel. I’ve been to 20 countries and once went around the world in 30 days! I love helping people and giving back to the community through my volunteer work. In Atlanta, I’m very involved in the Brazilian community. Did I mention that I speak, read and write Portuguese in addition to English?
What are your top skills? #
Prototyping · Wireframes · UserTesting.com · BrowserStack · Sketch · Responsive Web Design · Modular Architecture · Drupal · HTML5 · CSS3 · BEM · SASS · JavaScript · Node.js · ES6 and ReactJS ·.
Why would you be a good fit for this role?
Let me help you communicate and advocate user needs between product, business, and technology leaders. I can articulate UX Research findings and UX design decisions to frontend and backend developers. Working from concept to prototype allows me to work closely with Quality Assurance testers — ensuring an accessible, usable and performant product.