UserZoom
Hi, I’m
Maggie Morgan-Smith, PhD
Memphis,TN
Overview
16
years of professional experience
Work History
AutoZone
Manager, UX Research
09.2021 - Current
Job overview
- Drive development of a UX Research Center of Excellence and advocate for user-centered approaches to product development across the organization
- Build user research roadmap and strategy to support omni-channel commerce experiences of both customers and employees
- Triangulate findings with analytics and survey results to report data-driven recommendations for product and UX design teams supporting retail, B2B, and store systems products to develop enterprise synergies and digital strategies
- Manage, delegate, and prioritize research tasks and projects among UX Research team, and communicate results to various product and design teams, leadership, and Marketing researchers
- Manage hiring and training of internal UX Researchers as well as digital research-adjacent vendors
AutoZone
Senior UX Researcher
03.2020 - 09.2021
Job overview
- Expanded influence of UX Research to employee-facing store systems
- Defined research operations protocols and laid foundation for expanding team
- Grew toolkit and team expertise to incorporate more quantitative approaches to research
AutoZone
UX Researcher
08.2019 - 03.2020
Job overview
- Joined newly-minted UX team as organization's first UX Researcher to introduce VoC insights into product development and set UXR processes
- Led mixed-methods research across B2C website and mobile app, refining research roadmaps and providing actionable recommendations to product owners and designers
Three Group
Digital Ethnographer
05.2019 - 08.2019
Job overview
- Contributed qualitative research insights in development of syndicated sport research platform and global survey
- Collaborated with strategists, analysts, and creatives to produce data-driven story content for subscriber audiences in blog, infographic, report, and video formats
- Represented 'the voice of the fan' through qualitative data analysis of sport-adjacent social media activity and news.
UNC
Doctoral Researcher
08.2008 - 05.2019
Job overview
- Secured over $100K in research funding from Fulbright Program, NSM, and UNC Chapel Hill to support multi-year, international research project
- Conducted survey, ethnography, and stakeholder consults to craft narratives and support insights about study population and research sites
- Translated complex research findings into digestible reports and presentations for stakeholder, governmental, and professional audiences in U.S and Mexico
- Budgeted for, hired, and managed international field teams of 20+ staff and researchers to meet yearly program and project goals, while taking on mentoring and managerial roles with increasing responsibility
Education
The University of North CarolinaChapel Hill
Ph.D. from Anthropology
05.2019
Millsaps CollegeJackson, MS
Bachelor of Arts from Sociology And Anthropology
05.2007
Skills
- Program Management
- Mixed-Methods UX Research
- Research Strategy
- Survey Design
- Reporting
- Budgeting
- Vendor Negotiation
- Team Leadership
- Complex Problem-Solving
- Team Development
- Persona Development
- Design thinking
Work Preference
Work Type
Full TimeLocation Preference
RemoteHybridSummary
Skilled researcher enthusiastic about enhancing omni-channel digital experiences, and passionate about building teams that deliver timely and actionable insights.
Software
Dscout
Figma
Microsoft Office Suite
Qualtrics
Timeline
Manager, UX Research
AutoZone
09.2021 - Current
Senior UX Researcher
AutoZone
03.2020 - 09.2021
UX Researcher
AutoZone
08.2019 - 03.2020
Digital Ethnographer
Three Group
05.2019 - 08.2019
Doctoral Researcher
UNC
08.2008 - 05.2019
The University of North Carolina
Ph.D. from Anthropology
Millsaps College
Bachelor of Arts from Sociology And Anthropology