Why Your Team Isn't Innovating—and How This Workshop Changes Everything!

Ryan is a dynamic and highly-skilled design leader. I appreciate his clear communication, his personable workshop facilitation style, and the way others can rely on him for practical mentorship in design and product work.

I worked with Ryan for 4+ years both as a direct teammate and as his manager. Ryan is such a cool and confident teammate — super down to earth, easy to talk to, and an excellent problem solver who can both zoom in and zoom way out. He is amazing at using design strategy techniques to lead product discussions — it’s inspiring to watch his brain work as he comes up with workshop ideas. I've loved watching him become a truly incredible manager and mentor, and an especially inspiring coach and advocate for junior designers. He’s a gem and I can’t wait to see all the great things he achieves in his career!

I had  the pleasure of working with Ryan as a peer and then his manager at Truss. He  is one of the most curious people I know, constantly reading books, taking  courses, and drawing connections to his work and how to make it better. As he  moved into project leadership and management roles himself, he settled into a  specific niche of workshop and activity design, using his skills to help  teams surface research insights, prioritize needs, and make decisions. He was  regularly praised by peers for his ability to apply design thinking to  everything from client problems to organizational issues. Ryan is a fantastic  leader and coach, makes everyone around him better, and I can’t recommend him  enough.

Ryan  was my manager, peer, and friend while we worked together at Truss. He is  someone who I can always count on to ask thought-provoking, interesting  questions that truly push his teams and reports further. I always know that  by logging onto a call with Ryan, we will have meaningful conversations,  usually discussing how my work can better benefit my users and teams. His way  of framing problems and walking you through how actually to solve those  problems is expert-level, and he is an asset to any team he is put on.

I  worked with Ryan for the past four years at Truss, both as his direct  manager, a peer, and as the Director of the Design Research practice. From  day one, Ryan showed a desire and strength for strategic system design,  collaborative problem solving, and coaching and mentorship. It has been my  pleasure to see him progress in his career by leading a design team on a  large product team, to becoming a people manager, to leading multiple new  business efforts. It’s been my pleasure to partner with him on growing our  internal practice and design management efforts and I would work with him any  time!

Ryan  was my manager at Truss, where we worked on several projects together. He’s  both a leader and mentor for the team while also building a strong  relationship with the client, asking questions, and understanding the user's  needs and motivations. Never afraid to speak his mind, Ryan provides a  superior business understanding and a clarity of thought that I’ve found  invaluable. His strategic direction enabled our team to focus on high-impact  areas that delivered the most value to the business and the users.

I  worked very closely with Ryan--he in Design, me in Product--on several major  projects at Truss. Each time he always impressed me with his unique  combination of skill: pushing me to do my best; empathy: helping me out when  I was having a bad day; and professionalism: "wow"ing the client in  every interaction.

‍

What stands out to me the most, though, are the number of times that I  walked away having learned something useful, even from a casual conversation.  One example: Ryan helped me see a deeper value in discovery work. When I and  the rest of the team were rushing to "just make the website!" he  slowed me down to point out that maybe the same result could be obtained with  a simple text message interface.

‍

A lot of projects have failed, rushing to a solution that "everyone  knows is what we need." I will forever remember Ryan's advocacy for  patience and creative thinking as an antidote to this.

I  worked closely with Ryan as a Senior UI Designer, and he was an excellent  partner in leading user research, product strategy, and design  sprints/workshops.

‍

Ryan played a pivotal role in our product development process, seamlessly  integrating user insights, gained by working closely with our users, into our  design process. His ability to conduct thorough user research not only  informed our design overhaul decisions but also ensured that our solutions  were user-centric and impactful.

‍

In addition, Ryan was instrumental in facilitating design sprints and  workshops, guiding cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Leadership,  SMEs) through ideation, prototyping, and validation stages. His partnership  in shaping product strategy ensured that our designs were aligned with  business goals and user needs, resulting in innovative and effective  solutions.

‍

Overall, Ryan is an invaluable asset to any product team, bringing a unique  blend of user-centric design, strategic thinking, and collaborative  leadership to the table. I highly recommend him for roles that require a  strong focus on user research, product strategy, and design facilitation.

I have  had the pleasure of working closely with Ryan as leads on several projects.  Ryan is proactive and consistently delivers with enthusiasm and reliability.  He is a fantastic collaborator, always open to discussing ideas and offering  fresh perspectives. His deep experience in user-centered research  methodologies greatly enhances our deliverables with each iteration. Ryan's  willingness to explore new approaches to problem-solving leads to innovative  and effective solutions. He is a key part of our team's success.

Ryan  contributes significantly to the success of the team. He is well respected in  our department and everyone enjoys working with him. He has proved to be one  of the most dedicated professionals through his work at Blue Chip Marketing.    

Ryan is dedicated, self-motivated, methodical, and very capable. He is not  only a reliable and forward thinking User Experience Architect but also an  inspiring team player. He is always able to successfully complete any tasks  with favorable results despite deadline pressure. No matter how complex the  problem is, he will always come up with a brilliant, elegant, and  cost-effective solution.

Besides being a joy to work with, Ryan is a take-charge person who is able  to present creative solutions to complex problems and communicate the  benefits to the company. Definitely worth recommending.

During  my tenure at Blue Chip, Ryan had the well-deserved reputation of being the  most reliable, digital-savvy member of the project leadership / management  team. His technical curiosity, deep knowledge of UX, design and development,  critical thinking skills, and serious work ethic were all well known within  the agency. I found particularly remarkable how quickly he picked up on the  most complex client business models while also pushing for meaningful design  and development process improvements from week one.

‍

Ryan's product design skillset helped him to be a Swiss Army knife for the  Digital team, allowing him to easily jump in and effectively support multiple  digital practice areas. Several examples come to mind:

• Ryan often facilitated effective and efficient code troubleshooting with  agency Web developers by diving into browser code inspector and providing  crucial technical hypotheses within support tickets.
• Ryan utilized his product design background to generate new Web graphics  and suggest prototype / UX improvements during client reviews.
• Ryan frequently immersed himself (unprompted) in product analytics to  better understand project KPIs, drive product success, and gain influence with  agency stakeholders.

‍

In addition to the skills mentioned above, Ryan consistency acted as an  ambassador between agency teams, building positive working relationships with  both stakeholders (client and account team) and execution team (developers  and designers). While tensions could run high, particularly with the agency  restructuring in 2016, Ryan could be counted on to be a calm voice of reason  to keep everyone focused on product milestones, business goals, and realistic  delivery, rather than interpersonal drama.

‍

In summary, Ryan was a dream to supervise. He made it his job to help  alleviate pain points and contribute to process and digital product design  solutions, instead of just complaining about how things could be better. He  was always mentally present and actively engaged in meetings, always taking  notes, and asking thoughtful questions. His product design background made  him a ideal liaison between technical and non-technical teams, while his  project management skills made him an excellent leader, driving forward  progress while consistently meeting delivery dates.

Ryan  can manage details while seeing the big picture. He understands we need to  have an effective, collaborative approach with our clients throughout the  entirety of a project. He's comfortable encouraging the product team to  respond to the brief, getting any details to ramp up for MVP. During our  agile project lifecycle, he works collaboratively with the UX designers and  development team to prioritize the product development backlog. He helps with  transparency and ensures that no key elements have been missed from the  process. Ryan has a 'can do' attitude that finds the way around roadblocks so  the team reaches their end goals. Not only does Ryan's projects show a  dramatic difference in the productivity level of our team but he gives  everyone, including me, the sense of shared success right at the start. A  shout of thanks, Ryan!

Ryan is  an outstanding colleague and a powerhouse in any collaborative setting. I had  the pleasure of working closely with him on numerous sales proposals and was  consistently impressed by his ability to dive in with energy and  intelligence, driving tangible results. Ryan swiftly moved us from analysis  paralysis to an exciting and actionable plan that garnered unanimous support.  He excels at asking the right questions, synthesizing large amounts of  information, and quickly formulating strategic approaches. His openness and  curiosity made him an invaluable resource for strategizing and workshop  development. Additionally, we bonded over our shared passion for supporting  entrepreneurs in rapid prototyping and testing. Ryan has a unique talent for  supercharging any project, making it more fun, effective, and successful. Any  team would be lucky to have him.

Ryan is  an outstanding colleague and a powerhouse in any collaborative setting. I had  the pleasure of working closely with him on numerous sales proposals and was  consistently impressed by his ability to dive in with energy and  intelligence, driving tangible results. Ryan swiftly moved us from analysis  paralysis to an exciting and actionable plan that garnered unanimous support.  He excels at asking the right questions, synthesizing large amounts of  information, and quickly formulating strategic approaches. His openness and  curiosity made him an invaluable resource for strategizing and workshop  development. Additionally, we bonded over our shared passion for supporting  entrepreneurs in rapid prototyping and testing. Ryan has a unique talent for  supercharging any project, making it more fun, effective, and successful. Any  team would be lucky to have him.

Ryan  can manage details while seeing the big picture. He understands we need to  have an effective, collaborative approach with our clients throughout the  entirety of a project. He's comfortable encouraging the product team to  respond to the brief, getting any details to ramp up for MVP. During our  agile project lifecycle, he works collaboratively with the UX designers and  development team to prioritize the product development backlog. He helps with  transparency and ensures that no key elements have been missed from the  process. Ryan has a 'can do' attitude that finds the way around roadblocks so  the team reaches their end goals. Not only does Ryan's projects show a  dramatic difference in the productivity level of our team but he gives  everyone, including me, the sense of shared success right at the start. A  shout of thanks, Ryan!

During  my tenure at Blue Chip, Ryan had the well-deserved reputation of being the  most reliable, digital-savvy member of the project leadership / management  team. His technical curiosity, deep knowledge of UX, design and development,  critical thinking skills, and serious work ethic were all well known within  the agency. I found particularly remarkable how quickly he picked up on the  most complex client business models while also pushing for meaningful design  and development process improvements from week one.

‍

Ryan's product design skillset helped him to be a Swiss Army knife for the  Digital team, allowing him to easily jump in and effectively support multiple  digital practice areas. Several examples come to mind:

• Ryan often facilitated effective and efficient code troubleshooting with  agency Web developers by diving into browser code inspector and providing  crucial technical hypotheses within support tickets.
• Ryan utilized his product design background to generate new Web graphics  and suggest prototype / UX improvements during client reviews.
• Ryan frequently immersed himself (unprompted) in product analytics to  better understand project KPIs, drive product success, and gain influence with  agency stakeholders.

‍

In addition to the skills mentioned above, Ryan consistency acted as an  ambassador between agency teams, building positive working relationships with  both stakeholders (client and account team) and execution team (developers  and designers). While tensions could run high, particularly with the agency  restructuring in 2016, Ryan could be counted on to be a calm voice of reason  to keep everyone focused on product milestones, business goals, and realistic  delivery, rather than interpersonal drama.

‍

In summary, Ryan was a dream to supervise. He made it his job to help  alleviate pain points and contribute to process and digital product design  solutions, instead of just complaining about how things could be better. He  was always mentally present and actively engaged in meetings, always taking  notes, and asking thoughtful questions. His product design background made  him a ideal liaison between technical and non-technical teams, while his  project management skills made him an excellent leader, driving forward  progress while consistently meeting delivery dates.

Ryan  contributes significantly to the success of the team. He is well respected in  our department and everyone enjoys working with him. He has proved to be one  of the most dedicated professionals through his work at Blue Chip Marketing.    

Ryan is dedicated, self-motivated, methodical, and very capable. He is not  only a reliable and forward thinking User Experience Architect but also an  inspiring team player. He is always able to successfully complete any tasks  with favorable results despite deadline pressure. No matter how complex the  problem is, he will always come up with a brilliant, elegant, and  cost-effective solution.

Besides being a joy to work with, Ryan is a take-charge person who is able  to present creative solutions to complex problems and communicate the  benefits to the company. Definitely worth recommending.

I have  had the pleasure of working closely with Ryan as leads on several projects.  Ryan is proactive and consistently delivers with enthusiasm and reliability.  He is a fantastic collaborator, always open to discussing ideas and offering  fresh perspectives. His deep experience in user-centered research  methodologies greatly enhances our deliverables with each iteration. Ryan's  willingness to explore new approaches to problem-solving leads to innovative  and effective solutions. He is a key part of our team's success.

I  worked closely with Ryan as a Senior UI Designer, and he was an excellent  partner in leading user research, product strategy, and design  sprints/workshops.

‍

Ryan played a pivotal role in our product development process, seamlessly  integrating user insights, gained by working closely with our users, into our  design process. His ability to conduct thorough user research not only  informed our design overhaul decisions but also ensured that our solutions  were user-centric and impactful.

‍

In addition, Ryan was instrumental in facilitating design sprints and  workshops, guiding cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Leadership,  SMEs) through ideation, prototyping, and validation stages. His partnership  in shaping product strategy ensured that our designs were aligned with  business goals and user needs, resulting in innovative and effective  solutions.

‍

Overall, Ryan is an invaluable asset to any product team, bringing a unique  blend of user-centric design, strategic thinking, and collaborative  leadership to the table. I highly recommend him for roles that require a  strong focus on user research, product strategy, and design facilitation.

I  worked very closely with Ryan--he in Design, me in Product--on several major  projects at Truss. Each time he always impressed me with his unique  combination of skill: pushing me to do my best; empathy: helping me out when  I was having a bad day; and professionalism: "wow"ing the client in  every interaction.

‍

What stands out to me the most, though, are the number of times that I  walked away having learned something useful, even from a casual conversation.  One example: Ryan helped me see a deeper value in discovery work. When I and  the rest of the team were rushing to "just make the website!" he  slowed me down to point out that maybe the same result could be obtained with  a simple text message interface.

‍

A lot of projects have failed, rushing to a solution that "everyone  knows is what we need." I will forever remember Ryan's advocacy for  patience and creative thinking as an antidote to this.

Ryan  was my manager at Truss, where we worked on several projects together. He’s  both a leader and mentor for the team while also building a strong  relationship with the client, asking questions, and understanding the user's  needs and motivations. Never afraid to speak his mind, Ryan provides a  superior business understanding and a clarity of thought that I’ve found  invaluable. His strategic direction enabled our team to focus on high-impact  areas that delivered the most value to the business and the users.

I  worked with Ryan for the past four years at Truss, both as his direct  manager, a peer, and as the Director of the Design Research practice. From  day one, Ryan showed a desire and strength for strategic system design,  collaborative problem solving, and coaching and mentorship. It has been my  pleasure to see him progress in his career by leading a design team on a  large product team, to becoming a people manager, to leading multiple new  business efforts. It’s been my pleasure to partner with him on growing our  internal practice and design management efforts and I would work with him any  time!

Ryan  was my manager, peer, and friend while we worked together at Truss. He is  someone who I can always count on to ask thought-provoking, interesting  questions that truly push his teams and reports further. I always know that  by logging onto a call with Ryan, we will have meaningful conversations,  usually discussing how my work can better benefit my users and teams. His way  of framing problems and walking you through how actually to solve those  problems is expert-level, and he is an asset to any team he is put on.

I had  the pleasure of working with Ryan as a peer and then his manager at Truss. He  is one of the most curious people I know, constantly reading books, taking  courses, and drawing connections to his work and how to make it better. As he  moved into project leadership and management roles himself, he settled into a  specific niche of workshop and activity design, using his skills to help  teams surface research insights, prioritize needs, and make decisions. He was  regularly praised by peers for his ability to apply design thinking to  everything from client problems to organizational issues. Ryan is a fantastic  leader and coach, makes everyone around him better, and I can’t recommend him  enough.

I worked with Ryan for 4+ years both as a direct teammate and as his manager. Ryan is such a cool and confident teammate — super down to earth, easy to talk to, and an excellent problem solver who can both zoom in and zoom way out. He is amazing at using design strategy techniques to lead product discussions — it’s inspiring to watch his brain work as he comes up with workshop ideas. I've loved watching him become a truly incredible manager and mentor, and an especially inspiring coach and advocate for junior designers. He’s a gem and I can’t wait to see all the great things he achieves in his career!

Ryan is a dynamic and highly-skilled design leader. I appreciate his clear communication, his personable workshop facilitation style, and the way others can rely on him for practical mentorship in design and product work.