Photo by Maykel Loomans

Hello.

My name is Johanna Kollmann and I've been working in User Experience since 2004. After gaining experience in both in-house and agency-side roles, I started Us And The Machines Ltd in May 2014. My clients so far have included publishers, startups, consultancies, and a government department.

Most recently, I helped the Economist shape their digital offering, worked with Pivotal Labs, Grail, UCL and UCLH on a clinical study about early detection and prevention of lung cancer, and with BBC R&D on future news formats. Previously, I was Head of Product at developer-tooling startup Snyk.

As a product leader, my background in UX and my experience of working embedded in design and engineering teams enables me to collaborate effectively, choosing the best processes for the organisation-specific context. I’m passionate about insights-driven product strategy, and believe in self-organised teams, empowered by clear goals and rationales.

I have deep experience with quantitative and qualitative user research techniques, and have been responsible for leading research programmes, including research operations and procurement. As an experienced UX designer, I’m familiar with all stages of design and delivery, from workshop facilitation and prototyping to supporting development.

I’m passionate about digital/agile transformation, and enjoy working with clients to establish and improve their UX and product processes. I’m particularly interested in data- and content-heavy projects, digital/agile transformation, and have expertise in the public sector and in healthcare.

Work

My most recent CV including a list of clients can be found on Linkedin.

  • I focus on helping clients launch new products, and setting up new teams and processes.

  • I've worked on a lot of 'transformation' projects: designing new web experiences in the context of changing platforms, business processes and channels.

  • I've enjoy collaborating closely with engineers, and have a deep understanding of development workflows.

  • I bring an agile and lean mindset to my work.

  • I've designed websites, web products, multi-platform products, mobile apps, offline services, bespoke touchscreens, and command-line interfaces.

Email me if you have an interesting project that would benefit from my skills.

Public Speaking

I'm an experienced public speaker and workshop facilitator, and have spoken at over 40 events in 15 countries over the past few years. Personal highlights include Mind The Product Engage, IA Summit, and the Lean Event. I have mentored at several events aimed at startups, including Lean UX Machine Tel Aviv, Lean Startup Machine, and taught workshops organised by UCL Advances, Mozilla, and at the London School of Economics.
You can find many of my presentations are up on Slideshare.

I'm happy to discuss new speaking engagements. The topics I'm interested in and have expertise in are:

  • Systems thinking, sense-making and complexity (and how it is relevant to making digital products)

  • Agile and lean, and how to practice UX in these contexts

  • Information Architecture

  • Strategic research

  • Product strategy

  • Change management

  • Collaboration and teamwork

Event curation and organisation

I co-chaired the 2014 IA Summit conference, held in San Diego. I co-founded the Design Jam workshop format, and co-organised the first Balanced Team conference in San Francisco. Most recently, I've been co-chairing World IA Day London.

I've also been involved in setting up and organising a range of community events, including UX Camp London, the Agile UX Meetup, the London UPA chapter, and local Balanced Team retreats.

While I'm currently not involved in organising a conference or event, I'm happy to give advice. And if you have an event format that really excites me, I might get involved - drop me a line!