Stacy Merrill Surla
User Experience Strategist
I help teams and organizations solve big problems by integrating design thinking into the ways they work.
The goal is to create and deliver products and services seamlessly across digital and traditional channels - and be able to do that consistently, and with excellence.
My approach is to leverage design thinking, Lean UX, and user experience methods that put people at the heart of each effort.
METHODS
User Experience
My human-centered, participatory approach puts people at the heart of each project.
The pillars of this approach are user engagement, information architecture, content strategy, customer journey mapping, and design thinking.
Workshop Facilitation
Workshops are a rapid, effective way to explore options, analyze alternatives, and come to consensus on project and product direction.
I use design thinking to develop and conduct workshops tailored to team and project needs.
Team Building
I follow a servant-leader model in building teams.
This has emerged through my support of UX communities of practice across the world, taking part in corporate digital strategy transformation, and championing Lean UX approaches to project challenges.
CASE STUDIES
Customer Experience Center of Excellence
I led the 6-person project team that stood up the pilot Customer Experience Center of Excellence for USDA in 2018. Its success led to the rollout of CX Centers of Excellence now being contracted across multiple federal departments.
GSA/White House Office of American Innovation
Lean Volte Bootcamp
I championed the development of an in-house process for rapid design and launch of products, systems, and services. This included a bootcamp-style training for building innovative teams. Using Lean UX, design thinking, and Agile methods, I engaged project staff and clients in using this method in more than a dozen projects.
ICF
Integrating UX into Agile
I supported IT transformation for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through user-centered design coaching and user research delivery. For the MACPro project, we focused on integrating UX into the team's SAFe Agile framework in support of turning around a large-scale deployment for States to submit Medicaid State Plan Amendments.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Smokefree.gov
Smokefree is a multi-channel behavior change initiative whose purpose is to help people quit smoking. I designed and led workshops, evaluations, and design efforts to support the program as it evolved and extended its reach over time.
​
National Cancer Institute
Presentations
Stacy Merrill Surla
Vice President, MetaMetrics Inc.
Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland iSchool
Editorial Board, Journal of IA
M.A., Literature, The American University
