This is the second of two guest blog posts from CodeScience alums. We love hearing from our family! (Here’s the first.)
I would bet good money that most people don’t look back after they leave a company. I’ve been there – as I suspect you have, too. I’m sure that you, like me, were ready to escape as quickly as possible (maybe even cursing under your breath as you run out the door). Contrary to other experiences, I loved my time at CodeScience – and they make leaving awesome. It’s a thing they mention when they hire you! And I can tell you from experience, they mean every word. So when I left CodeScience in June of last year, I knew I would be back. I just didn’t know exactly when or how.
Bill slaying the harmonica solo at C|S All Hands 2016.
In July I went to work for my next employer, C.A. Short, where I took ownership of their employee engagement platform, People Are Everything. From the outset, I saw an opportunity to leverage CodeScience for their incredible UX experience and product design expertise. I knew what we needed, and I knew who to call. There was no other choice in my mind – it was CodeScience. I knew their people, their methodology, the quality of their work, and most of all, their passion for building fantastic products. Yeah – I wanted those guys. So I was patient for several months, and towards the end of the year, I made the call.
My Surreal Moment
When we kicked-off our engagement earlier this year, I had a very surreal moment while eating pork belly and drinking rye (as one does when eating fancy bacon and drinking whiskey). There I was sitting at the head of a long dining table surrounded by former and current colleagues. It was a very proud moment for me, and certainly a memorable highlight of my career. It was a reminder to me that good, talented people could come together to do something amazing. And “amazing” is exactly what we would get just a few weeks later!
Family dinner
The CodeScience Process
The CodeScience process started with our team meeting in their Chattanooga office to do a two-day workshop which focused on CodeScience getting to know our business. The design team walked us through exercises that helped our team express our biggest needs. As the workshop went on the design team started to attach to our product and sketch a vision of where the platform could go. While going through the workshop, the team also unveiled new product logo designs for our People Are Everything platform. The team presented us with a few ideas, and we landed on this design:
The new People Are Everything logo
This new logo allowed for People Are Everything to be a true product that could stand on its own and still fall within the C.A. Short overall brand and vision.
After the workshop was complete, we continued our work together remotely. Their detailed personas, information flows, and interface designs far-surpassed even what I had envisioned in my head. I thought it would be incredible stuff – they have great people and do outstanding work – that’s why I hired them. But the CodeScience team was able to craft an almost flawless, fluid experience taking even small, seemingly insignificant things and make them grand, purposeful and, yes, loveable. We were asking ourselves: “Why didn’t we think of that!?” The sophisticated interface designs they delivered were elevated by themes that complimented our new brand, the deliberate application of nuanced web controls, the thoughtful use of every aspect of each page, and innovative features and sensible flows specific to each persona.
The CodeScience Design Team’s process
Final Thoughts
As proud as I was to have once worked for CodeScience, I can tell you that I have an even greater sense of pride now being a customer. When you hire a former employer, you put your credibility and judgment on the line. I never sweated my decision – not once – but I did want it to go really, really well. Let’s just say the CodeScience UX and design team crushed it from the very first meeting. They also engaged several of our customers and worked through the many flows and design iterations rapidly. We were never left guessing – every deliverable was thorough and meaningful – every meeting constructive. There is no doubt that their work will help shape our product’s future and be the foundation of an even better experience for our customers.
Business relationships don’t have to end when you move on. They can evolve and grow into something even better. Thank you, my fellow Minions!
