Who am I? Technical academic? Academic technologist? Yes!
25+ years in technology (hardware and software) including Apple/3dfx/IBM/SAP
20+ years in development and design
18+ years in research for companies such as JCPenney, SAP, IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat, Motorola, General Motors, SoftLayer, and The Planet
Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Information Science focusing on the intersection of technology & people through human-computer interaction and social informatics
M.S. in Applied Anthropology focusing on computer-mediated experiences and technological organizations
I am a tech leader, thinker, tinkerer, strategist, architect, designer, innovator, and researcher. I have also had the great honor to be a mentor and a teacher. Building, growing, and leading successful teams is my current great adventure.
As a leader, I believe in leadership, ownership, mentorship, transparency, trust, and collaboration at all levels. As a team, we are only as good as our least experienced team members and thus I strive to provide an enriching environment where we can all learn and grow together. Whether it is an external focus on our products and services, or an internal one on our team, people always come first.
As an individual contributor, my specialty is researching the needs for and designing the interactions of highly functional data-driven innovative solutions. I enjoy finding creative ways to solve gnarly problems while making complex high tech systems usable and understandable. I specialize in generative research, design thinking facilitation, information architecture, interaction design, human-computer interaction, and human information behavior. I also have experience in distance learning and teaching higher education online.
My background is in enterprise applications, systems administration, and web development with extensive knowledge of infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, and software as a service. I also have experience in working with edge technologies such as blockchain, IoT, machine learning, and AI. This breadth of knowledge and experience leads to deeper insights in researching, designing, and developing internal, customer facing, and business-to-business solutions. Technology and new learning opportunities excite me and I thrive in environments where these are key drivers.
My superpower is listening to and translating information between users, developers, designers, architects, product owners, and administrators.
I am a weaver of might and magic, and I love what I do.
If you would like to know more about my career, check out this lengthy (but fun!) writeup of my work history.
What have I done? Over the last 16 years
What do I do?
How do I do it?
Figma
Wireframes, Site Maps, Workflows, IA
OmniOutliner
Heuristic Reviews, Data Analysis
Miro
Research Planning, Design, Analysis, and Synthesis.
OmniGraffle
Workflows, Information Architecture
Adobe Photoshop
Icons, Visual Design, Photo Editing
Adobe Illustrator
Icons, Vector Graphics
Where can you find me? Publications
Dissertation
Harrelson, D. (2016). Rated m for monkey: An ethnographic study of parental information behavior when assessing video game content for their children. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of North Texas, Denton, Texas.
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Hubbard, D. (2013). Collaboration beyond the game: How gamers work together beyond gaming environments to make their shared gaming experiences better. The Phoenix Papers,1(1). Retrieved from http://fansconf.a-kon.com/dRuZ33A/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Collaboration-beyond-the-Game-by-Diana-Hubbard.pdf
Peer Reviewed Conference Papers
Harrelson Hubbard, D. (2013, July). An Exploration of Fedora’s Online Open Source Development Community. Paper presented at the Free Software Workshop, FISL, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Retrieved from http://softwarelivre.org/wsl/blog/wsl-2013-schedule
Other Articles
Harrelson, D. (2006). Minions of the night: Ethnography of a world of warcraft guild. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/495889/Minions_of_the_Night_Ethnography_of_a_World_of_Warcraft_guild
Why do I do it?
Because people come first and I can make a difference. It’s really as simple as that. I know what power research and design can have and I make it my purpose to wield my powers for good.