Kenya Oduor, Ph.D.

Biography

ABOUT ME

I follow a human-centered approach to solution research, strategy, and design. After nearly 18 years in enterprise software development organizations, I formed Lean Geeks. Lean Geeks, a consulting and staffing firm, helps organizations discover market opportunities and define the most effective solutions for their market.

Leading business strategy and org change in human-centered solution definition and design (Design Thinking) is my strength. I enjoy working with others across organizations from the top-down and bottom-up on defining and implementing processes that lead to better problem definition and improved solution outcomes. I coach cross-functional teams on collaborative discovery, definition, and design processes that are complimentary to Agile methods.

I hold a doctorate in Human Factors Psychology from North Carolina State University. I am an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Computer Science at N.C. State. I am also Pragmatic Marketing Certified and have Agile Scrummaster and Product Owner training.

I help cultivate the strengths and capabilities of user experience research and design talent embedded within teams. Supporting their ability to successfully work with product management and development is important to a cross-functional product team’s ability to collaborate and create successful outcomes.

EXPERIENCES

Managing Partner

Lean Geeks – April 2017 to Present

Identify solution opportunities and requirements utilizing various qualitative and quantitative methods to understand target markets
Design and validate solution experiences that may include complex software applications, tools, and processes
Lead organizational development activities to identify and implement improvements to processes and tools that lead to more user- or customer-centric outcomes

Director, User Experience

LexisNexis – 2014 to 2017

Report to the managing director and responsible for leading the team of user experience architects, researchers, and designers for the enterprise software solutions division
Led the design of the LexisNexis Experience Innovation Studio’s physical space and its contents, as well as, the operational aspects in partnership with NC State. The studio supports collaboration and facilitated engagements with product teams, customers and university faculty, students, and staff
Successfully facilitated the org-wide implementation of Design Thinking over a 12-month period. Required an evaluation of the end-to-end software development lifecycle (SDLC) to identify opportunities for improvement
Responsible for working with cross-functional executive leadership to ensure the timely engagement of UX in defining and executing on user research, wireframe creation, and validation
Coached team members through Six Sigma projects that improved the development team’s UI defect mitigation and UI pattern reuse. Also responsible for evangelizing and supporting the implementation of these improvements

Manager, User Experience

LexisNexis – 2009 to 2014

Began my tenure at LN as the “UX team of one” responsible for the research, design, and validation of 3 practice management application. Promoted to manager nine months into the role
Grew and managed global UX, Tech Writing, and Business Analysis Team for Business of Law Software Solutions division
Defined and managed 9-month user research project to identify market opportunity and create concepts for new market segment. Involved recruitment and scheduling of 23 site visits across 5 major US cities. Engagement required oversight of user research/design firm team and collaboration with 4 LexisNexis product managers and stakeholders

User Experience Engineer and Project Manager

IBM – 2006 to 2008

Captured, managed, and reported the research, design, and validation activities of the 10 person UX team
Assisted in the migration of a Java client to browser-based app by creating prototypes of a completely new product experience
Led the creation of an installation and configuration roadmap for the application server install
Performed usability testing of the application server components utilizing internal/external participants

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy, Human Factors (Ergonomics/Experimental Psychology)
North Carolina State University

Master of Science, Human Factors (Ergonomics/Experimental Psychology)
North Carolina State University

Bacherlors of Science, Pscyhology
University of Maryland College Park

Captured, managed, and reported the research, design, and validation activities of the 10 person UX team
Assisted in the migration of a Java client to browser-based app by creating prototypes of a completely new product experience
Led the creation of an installation and configuration roadmap for the application server install
Performed usability testing of the application server components utilizing internal/external participants

SKILLS

Experience Design and Requirements Definition

Contextual observation & inquiry
Task analysis
Information architecture
End-to-end solution design
Requirements gathering and elicitiation

Leadership

Strategic Thinking
Idea Generation
Collaborative Leadership
Group facilitation
Change Management
Organizational Development

Process and Development Methodologies

Pragmatic Marketing Certified
Design Thinking
Certified Agile Product Owner
Certified Agile Scrummaster

Reviewer and Evaluation Leadership

Responsible for review and input on publication submissions and idea viability

INTERESTS

Volunteer and Give-back Opps

Provide feedback and consulting to start-up entities on strategies to improve their understanding of users and application of these insights
Volunteer with non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity, Shepard’s Table Soup Kitchen, Food Bank of Eastern and Central NC, Housing for New Hope, among others
Mentor/mentee relationships with several women in tech and entrepreneurship
Planned and led 5-day STEM camp for 25 middle-school girls that included 50+ corporate volunteers and presenters
Partner in agricultural venture that strives to support economic development in Western Kenya by providing business education and individual empowerment to be self-sustaining