Resume

Email: <anitra at anitrapavka dot com>
Twitter: @apavka
Current Location: Omaha, NE

Past Events

SXSW Interactive 2008 (Austin, TX)
Targeting Your Web Site: Accessibility Litigation Update panel:
Mike Wasylik and I discussed how recent court decisions expose Web site owners to liability for lack of accessibility and ways to protect yourself.

SXSW Interactive 2004 (Austin, TX)
Accessing Multimedia: The Object of My Perception panel:
Panel of experts that discussed alternative methods to deliver media content to those with disabilities or using mobile device browsers. My presentation covered multimedia on handheld mobile devices.

SXSW Interactive 2003 (Austin, TX)
Website Demo (Review) panel:
Panel of experts that reviewed audience-submitted Web sites. I evaluated site usability and accessibility.

• Technical editor for "Universal Design for Web Applications", O'Reilly Books, 1^st edition (2009).
• Authored "Practical Usability: what is usability?", a column about Web usability I wrote in 2003 for WOW (World Organization of Webmasters). The column targeted readers who had an introductory to intermediate level knowledge about usability.
• Authored "Accountability of Accessibility and Usability", feature article for the November 2002 edition of Digital Web magazine. I provided an overview of current legal cases for and against requiring a minimum level of accessibility for private company Web sites and presented ways to improve site accessibility.
• Authored "Accessible By Design", feature article for the April 2002 edition of Digital Web magazine. I provided basic design and layout principles so that someone with a limited knowledge of HTML could understand and create more accessible Web pages.

Systems Analyst Consultant at ES&S (Election Systems and Software)

Project: March 2010 - August 2010
Short-term contract to write formal use cases and develop data entry forms in Java for election software.

• Wrote formal UML use cases of proposed system functionality using Enterprise Architect.
• Designed a custom template using Enterprise Architect to automatically generate use case and requirements documentation:
  • The template eliminated 100% of the previously required manual edits and standardized the documentation provided to the Development team.
• Developed Java data entry forms using NetBeans.

eCommerce Project Manager Contractor

Projects: May 2008 - October 2009
Orchard Brands (Hillsboro, OR)
Long-term contract covered 2 consecutive projects and the re-launch of 7 retail eCommerce sites.

• Managed the relationships and Web site integrations for 7 different sites with 14 vendors, including:
  • Fry, Omniture / Mercado, Bazaarvoice, ShopLocal, Commision Junction, Rimm-Kaufman, Channel Intelligence, Yesmail, Fluid, Certona, Encore, Foresee Results and Bizrate (ShopZilla)
• Managed scope, milestones, and risks to keep the integrations on schedule.
• Provided design input on the custom eCommerce platform functionality and integrations.
• Interviewed on-site and off-site business stakeholders on existing processes to reveal system gaps.
• Designed test cases for third-party integrations and assisted with QA testing.
• Managed a series of 4 load tests conducted on 10 Production eCommerce sites and identified specific changes to improve site performance and stability.
• Trained support staff on troubleshooting the third-party integrations.
• Mentored another project manager.

Usability / Information Architect Contractor

Project: May 2008 - July 2008
Daimler Trucks North America (Freightliner) (Portland, OR)
Short-term contract to analyze and improve the usability of the IT department's Intranet.

• Delivered a creative brief that defined the project scope, audience, goals, and deliverables.
• Interviewed key IT department users to assess their goals, common tasks, and information regularly referenced on the Intranet.
• Conducted online card sorting exercises to assess and refine the effectiveness of navigational labels.
• Compiled a site content inventory, highlighting the site structure and orphaned or outdated content.
• Reviewed the findings from each deliverable with key project stakeholders.
• Submitted a final written report summarizing major findings and recommended changes to improve the Intranet over the short- and long-term.

Project Analyst - Sourcing Operations

11/2006 - 02/2008
H&R Block (Kansas City, MO)

• Spearheaded electronic strategic sourcing process improvement projects, including:
  • Collaborated with groups of internal and external stakeholders to define user needs.
  • Defined and documented project requirements, timeline, and resources.
  • Performed user acceptance testing on Web-based PeopleSoft/Oracle and Ariba system customizations.
  • Integrated results and stakeholder feedback from past projects into future projects.
• Managed the vendor relationship with Perfect Commerce, resulting in a 40% average improvement in response time on support issues.
• Administered the Ariba Sourcing suite (Sourcing, Contract, Category, and Supplier Performance Management).
• Provided operations support for the PeopleSoft/Oracle corporate financials system:
  • Managed relationships with four vendors to resolve over $1M in electronic payment (A/P) issues.

Project Manager / Business Analyst

07/2006 - 11/2006
LaGarde (Olathe, KS)

• Managed Web software projects to meet performance benchmarks for budget, timeline, and customer satisfaction.
• Consulted with over 15 clients to gather functional requirements and design screen mockups.
• Proactively managed client expectations and changes in project scope and requirements.
• Directed three to five team members per project.
• Up-sold additional, out-of-scope project functionality.
• Trained clients to use their software deliverables.

Product Development Analyst

08/2004 - 06/2006
Perfect Commerce (Kansas City, MO)

• Translated internal and customer requests into detailed functional requirements documentation, screen mockups, and use cases for development and QA/QC testing.
• Designed product enhancements for five supplier relationship management (SRM) Web applications.
• Contract Manager project, a 1-year $1M software re-write and integration initiative:
  • Collaborated with offshore and US remote development and business teams to gather requirements.
  • Conducted stakeholder interviews to deliver a project gap analysis.
  • Documented the functional requirements and coordinated with Development and QA/QC to ensure proper implementation.
  • Presented weekly project status updates to senior management.
• Led internal product training on the PerfectSource software suite.

Store Manager

04/2004 - 07/2004
AuctionPlus (Overland Park, KS)

• Managed listing operations for over 100 eBay auctions per month, including photography, auction descriptions, bidder inquiries, bidder payments, and shipping.
• Developed listing optimization procedures that resulted in an average 15% increase in final selling price over competitive auctions for similar items.
• Hired, supervised, and trained three store employees.
• Managed all store operations, including merchandising, inventory, purchasing, customer service, and scheduling.

Senior Interaction Architect

01/2001 - 04/2004
Kansas Information Consortium (Topeka, KS)

• Collaborated with more than 20 state agencies to manage and design usable, accessible Web sites and applications that meet the agencies' and citizens' needs, including:
• WebFile, the E-Gov 2003 Trail Blazer award-winning Kansas Income Tax online filing application:
  • Gathered client requirements and wrote functional specs.
  • Conducted and analyzed the usability tests.
  • Designed the layout and graphics. Created the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Ensured the generated Web pages complied with US Section 508 and state Web accessibility guidelines.
• Sedgwick County District Court Search online application:
  • Gathered and analyzed project requirements. Wrote task analysis and functional specs. Designed the layout and application flow.
  • Coded XSL to sort, format, and display court case information that is stored as XML in an Oracle 9i database.
  • Ensured the generated Web pages complied with US Section 508 and state Web accessibility guidelines.
• Introduced CSS-based design techniques and trained four co-workers on how to implement it. These techniques reduced development time, created modular designs, and made future redesigns easier and faster to implement.
• Represented the company as an expert speaker on Web accessibility and usability at the 2003 and 2004 SXSW Interactive conferences in Austin, TX.
• Led the State subcommittee that annually revises the Kansas Web Content Accessibility Guidelines so it would better reflect current technology and W3C WAI and Section 508 recommendations (2 years).

Wireless Web Consultant

Project: Multiple-Platform Mobile Style Guide
Completed: Spring 2002
Little Springs Design (Lawrence, KS)

• Researched and wrote usability and design guidelines for the usage of XHTML Basic, XHTML MP, and CSS MP for "3G" (WAP 2.0) mobile device browsers.
• Marked up the Style Guide content in XML, adhering to a custom DTD.
• Helped edit the Style Guide.

Web/Graphics Designer

06/1999 - 11/2000
Auction Management Solutions (Tampa, FL)

• Consulted with customers and designed promotional Web sites that fit their marketing needs.
• Designed a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database and implemented it using mySQL.