Linda Eskin

Current

Senior Experience Planner at Red Door Interactive

Past

Director of User Experience at Tilana Systems Corporation
Documentation Manager at Miva Corporation
Documentation Manager at MIVA Small Business

Owner / Designer / Writer at Granite Hills Design (Sole Proprietorship)
Usabilty Engineer at IntelliCAD

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Education

Cuyamaca College
San Diego State University-California State University
La Jolla High School

Muirlands Junior High School
Martha Farnum Elementary

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2 more...

Recommended

2 people have recommended Linda

Connections

134 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

Linda Eskin’s Summary

Usability engineer, software/Web site designer, and technical communicator with coding and management experience.

+ Designing easy-to-use consumer software and Web sites at entrepreneurial companies.
+ Program management, clarifying requirements, designing features, controlling scope creep.
+ End user and developer documentation, Web site content, and marketing materials, from concept to publication.
+ Liaison between development and the marketing, test/QA, and documentation groups, and corporate management.

I am technically inclined, marketing savvy, and happiest when I’m learning and contributing in a motivated team environment. My experience has mostly been with small entrepreneurial companies where I was responsible for a broad range of tasks, from the initial vision through product/site launch.

My professional goal is to help companies be more successful by making things easier and more fun for their customers.

Linda Eskin’s Specialties:

Usability, cognitive psychology, human factors, user interface design, visual design, interaction design, technical communication, technical writing, marketing communications, graphic design, web site design, information achitecture, knowledge base development, help system development, operations management.

Linda Eskin’s Experience

Senior Experience Planner

Red Door Interactive

(Privately Held; Internet industry)

June 2007 — Present (2 years 6 months)

Here is an excerpt from my actual job description. (How cool, that I work with a company that's got it together enough to have real, meaningful job descriptions.):

+ Discover and refine project requirements through client interviews and market research, including: Web analytics, voice of customer, personas, contextual observation, surveys and competitive analysis.

+ Document functional decisions and content strategy in specifications, wireframes, site maps, flowcharts, and/or interactive prototypes.

+ Present planning deliverables and defend design decisions as they relate to project goals, research and usability best practices.

+ Collaborate with Web analyst to develop insights and recommendations for site optimization through continuous improvement process.

+ Keep informed of the latest interactive trends and technology.

+ Understand company values and goals. Use them to help prioritize and guide day-to-day work.
Director of User Experience

Tilana Systems Corporation

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Computer Software industry)

March 2006 — March 2007 (1 year 1 month)

Product: Continuous off-site data protection (CDP), sync, and versioning service/software. Runs under Windows XP/Vista, and Web interface.
Company: Small startup. Agile/extreme development environment.

Designed interface for Windows application from the ground up in Microsoft Visual Studio. Created mockups of ASP.NET Web interface in Adobe Photoshop.

Responsible for all UI and documentation design standards, templates, and style sheets. Wrote all on-screen text, messages, single-task step-by-step instruction sheets, online help (HTML Help), and Web-based context-sensitive help.

Performed usability surveys and interviews during beta program and revised software according to user feedback.

Designed Microsoft CRM 3.0 Knowledge Base structure (subject tree) for entire operation. Created article templates, and wrote articles on customer care issues and internal processes.
Documentation Manager

Miva Corporation

(Public Company; Computer Software industry)

2004 — 2006 (2 years )
Documentation Manager

MIVA Small Business

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; MIVA; Computer Software industry)

June 2004 — January 2006 (1 year 8 months)

Product: Easy-to-use e-commerce (online store) software, offered directly and by many large Web hosting companies.

Responsible for all product and service documentation for four audiences: online merchants, third-party developers, e-commerce hosts, and store designers.
+ A large (over 100-topic) online help system. Developed in HTML, using style sheets (CSS) and server-side included content (SSI).
+ "Getting Started Guides" for merchants. Provisioning guides for hosts.
+ API documentation and compiler guides for third-party developers.
+ Database diagram wall-chart in Microsoft Visio.

Performed usability reviews of pay-per-click advertising software from prospective partner companies. Provided detailed design input for future service.

Contributed to a third-party book and magazine articles. Hired and trained a technical writer for new product line. Earned "Extra Mile" award for work on MIVA Merchant 5 release. Presented educational sessions at annual conference.
Owner / Designer / Writer
Granite Hills Design (Sole Proprietorship)

(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Computer Software industry)

October 1999 — May 2004 (4 years 8 months)

Software design consulting, technical writing, graphic design, and web design.

Designed Web sites, brochures, and flyers for small businesses and non-profits. Developed branding graphics. Wrote informational and marketing copy.

Created a "Quick Start Guide" for Linux backup software. Developed GUI icons for a digital television (DTV) stream analyzer. Produced 28-page program for annual Backcountry Horsemen of California "Rendezvous", and provided templates and tools still in use.

Provided pro bono services to clubs and community service organizations.
Usabilty Engineer

IntelliCAD

(Computer Software industry)

1993 — 1997 (4 years )

Linda Eskin’s Education

Cuyamaca College

2003 — 2003
San Diego State University-California State University

BA , Psychology (industrial & organizational) , 1980 — 1986
La Jolla High School

1977 — 1980
Muirlands Junior High School

1974 — 1977
Martha Farnum Elementary

1970 — 1974

Additional Information

Linda Eskin’s Websites:

Linda Eskin’s Interests:

User experience, usability, design, Web 2.0, software development, human factors engineering, writing (non-fiction), horses, donkeys, dressage, Aikido, music, photography, community service, organic gardening, rural living,

Linda Eskin’s Groups:

Society for Technical Communications (STC),
SIG-CHI (ACM SIG for Computer-Human Interface),
UX SIG (User Experience),
Project Management Institute (PMI),
Toastmasters, Progressive Speakers Club – “Competent Toastmaster” (CTM),
Backcountry Horsemen of California, Caballeros del Sol Unit,
Cuyamaca Equestrian Association, IXDA San Diego Chapter, UIE08 Web App Summit