My Work
The following artifacts include presentations, proposals, reports, guides, and excerpts of course content developed for various sectors (education, business, information technology, healthcare, etc.) that I developed over the last several years that I have permission to share. Detailed client-specific outcomes, proprietary tools, or internal metrics cannot be shared here in detail.
My approach blends creative interactivity with relevant content, that consistently engages and captivates target audiences. Additional work and scope of projects can be explained via a virtual meeting. Thank you for the opportunity to display what I love to do!
-T. Frees
Case Studies: Creative Solutions to Complex Challenges
Following are solutions showcasing recent innovative strategies I’ve spearheaded to boost institutional efficiency, foster collaboration, and drive innovation. These examples highlight scalable approaches to address a wide array of needs.
Effective communication was paramount throughout all these initiatives, enabling seamless collaboration across diverse teams, stakeholders, and language barriers to ensure successful implementation and alignment with institutional goals.
Project
Redesigned the Asana workflow for 80+ field technicians at an IT installation company serving HOAs and multi-dwelling units (MDUs).
Problem
Techs hated the project management tool, too many fields, clunky mobile view, endless scrolling. Not recording important key data sets while installing tech equipment. They skipped entries or guessed data, leading to 40% incomplete records. Office staff chased missing info; installs delayed 2–3 days; clients complained.
Discovery:
Observed 10 techs on-site (real jobs): saw them fumble on phones, abandon forms mid-entry.
Pulled Asana logs: 62% fields left blank.
NPS from techs: 2.9/10 (“This app makes me want to quit”).
Client feedback: “Installs take forever—where’s the data?”
Approach
Mapped the real flow: “Arrive → install → document → leave.”
Built mobile-first prototype in Figma: one-screen dashboard—big buttons, 2-click entry for key fields (e.g., “Unit Done,” “Issue Fixed”).
Tested with 5 techs in parking lots and video calls.
Implementation
Rolled out via 10-minute mobile sessions—no PowerPoint, just “try this.”
Integrated with office dashboard: real-time updates, no manual follow-up.
Results
Recording time: Down 60% (from 12 minutes to 5).
Complete records: Up from 58% to 94%.
Tech NPS: 8.2/10 (“Finally, something that works”).
Install delays: Cut 2 days—clients happier.
Office efficiency: 70% less chasing data.
Takeaway
Tools fail when they ignore the user. Make it fast, obvious, mobile, people use it. Data flows. Everyone wins.
Scope
Designed and rolled out a 3D interactive training template for 200+ faculty across a university’s online programs. Goal was to stop student dropouts caused by disengaged instructors.
Problem
After a full audit, we found 42% of students dropped out in weeks 3–6. Faculty were lecturing via video—read slides, post quizzes, vanish. No check-ins, no feedback, no “are you stuck?”
Discovery Phase (Metrics We Used)
Dropout rates by week: spiked at 3–6.
Forum activity: <5 posts per course—students ghosted.
NPS from students: 3.8/10 (“instructor never responded”).
Faculty self-reports: 68% said “I don’t know how to engage online.”
Support tickets: 1,200+ “where’s my grade?” or “I feel ignored.”
Time-on-task data: Faculty averaged 2 hours/course/week—mostly grading, not interacting.
Approach
Mapped faculty journeys: “prep → teach → grade → repeat.” Found the gap: faculty did not understand expectations for course facilitation. Not trained on tools for real-time engagement.
Built a 3D template in no-code (ThingLink + Canva 3D): virtual “classroom” where faculty drag/drop interaction points—poll here, chat there, nudge at 48 hours. How to use Canvas LMS and engage student lessons/guides/resources.
Required onboarding training
Tested: 15 faculty in 30-minute sessions. Watched them fumble, iterated: added one-click “student check-in” button.
Implementation
Rolled out mandatory 2-hour workshop: faculty built their own 3D template.
Added AI prompts: “If no reply in 24h, send: ‘Hey, saw you logged in. Need help?'”
Made it mobile-first: faculty could preview on phone, realistic for adjuncts.
Results (Tracked Ongoing)
Dropout rate: Down 31% (from 42% to 11%).
Forum posts: Up 300% (average 15/course).
Student NPS: 7.9/10 (“Instructor actually cares”).
Faculty engagement time: 7 hours/week—now includes live chats.
Ticket drop: 88% less “ignored” complaints.
Retention metric: 89% course completion (up from 58%).
Faculty weren’t lazy, they were lost. Give them a tool that feels like a classroom, not a checklist, and they engage. Students stay because someone sees them.
Scope of Project
Redesigned a 2,000-employee onboarding platform for a mid-size logistics firm (remote-heavy, multi-role users).
Pain Points
New hires dropped out at 35%, they got lost in 40-page PDFs, confusing dashboards, and no clear “next step.” HR blamed “lazy users.”
My Role
UX Director (hired as “training lead,” but I owned the redesign).
Approach
Mixed methods. Watched 12 new hires in real-time (screen shares), ran 5-minute usability tests, pulled data from LMS logs (drop-off points).
Mapped journeys. Found 80% of pain at “choose role” screen—too many options, no preview.
Prototyped fast: Paper sketches → Figma wireframes → no-code test in Bubble (drag-and-drop roles, visual previews).Simplified flow. 3-click onboarding (role → goals → first task).
Added AI nudge: “You’re 70% done—finish this to unlock your schedule.”
Plain language. Swapped title “compliance module” for “What you need to know before day one.”
Results
Completion rate 87% (up from 65%).
Support tickets Down 92% (no more “I can’t find my badge”).
Training isn’t content, it’s experience. When you stop forcing people to learn and start letting them do, they stay.
My Role. UX Research & Design Lead
Scope. Platform serving 20,000+ global users across higher ed, corporate, and public sectors
The Challenge. Users faced inconsistent navigation, overwhelming content density, and poor personalization, leading to low engagement and high drop-off during onboarding and course progression.
My Approach & Steps
Step 1: Discovery & Research
Conducted 45+ user interviews and 30 usability sessions with diverse learners (students, professionals, admins).
Created user personas and journey maps to visualize pain points across lifecycles.
Performed heuristic evaluation against WCAG 2.2 and Nielsen’s usability principles.
Step 2: Synthesis & Prioritization
Analyzed qualitative/quantitative data to identify top friction areas (e.g., search, dashboard clutter, mobile responsiveness).
Prioritized issues using impact-effort matrix; aligned findings with business goals (adoption, satisfaction).
Step 3: Design & Iteration
Developed low-fidelity wireframes and prototypes in Figma/Canva.
Ran A/B tests on navigation patterns and personalized dashboard layouts.
Incorporated micro-interactions and gamification elements for engagement.
Step 4: Validation & Refinement
Facilitated iterative testing rounds with 15–20 users per cycle.
Used feedback to refine interfaces, ensuring WCAG compliance and cross-device consistency.
Step 5: Implementation & Measurement
Collaborated with dev and product teams to launch redesigned experience.
Tracked post-launch metrics via analytics and follow-up surveys.
Step 6: Measured Outcomes
25% increase in user satisfaction scores
Faster task completion (reduced onboarding time by ~30%)
Improved retention through clearer, more intuitive pathways
Partnered with chairs across programs to design and implement a Canvas LMS course serving as a multi-program professional development training hub for students across various degree programs. Coordinating with department chairs from multiple disciplines, I developed the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Hub, which integrated Zoom-based meetings with a comprehensive Canvas course compendium.
This initiative automated the previously biannual training sessions, transitioning them to a paperless format with automated signups, while incorporating digital credentials to recognize participant achievements.
The result fostered interdisciplinary collaboration, streamlined administrative processes, and provided a centralized resource for ongoing professional growth and skill-building.
Asana HR Automation: The Dashboard That Solved Time Off Issues
The riddle. They had PTO requests, manager approvals, anniversary tracking, paid vs unpaid hours—and one cranky spreadsheet that nobody trusted.
The rule. No new tools. No budget. Use what we already pay for.
The fix. In four days, I built a closed-loop system inside Asana.
Custom fields for balance, type, hours.
Rules for automations.
A single intake form that routes to the right approver based on role.
Automated status boards—pending, approved, rejected—visible to Managers
Dashboard tiles that pull real-time totals so no one ever asks, “How many days do I have?” again.
Rules engine that flags expired requests, birthday extensions, and FMLA overlaps before they happen.
Result. Zero emails. Zero missed approvals. Zero IT tickets.
Side-effect. Managers now see the ‘Time Off Calendar’ tile on the same board. One glance: who’s out, who’s half-day, who’s in. Project leads stopped double-booking. Installations now ship on time instead of ‘someone called in sick.’
At a west coast university, I spearheaded a large-scale initiative to develop a comprehensive online, asynchronous Spanish-language program for the Master of Divinity degree in the School of Theology.
This project addressed accreditation mandates and the university’s strategic goal to engage the Hispanic community by creating an innovative online curriculum (15 courses) from scratch, overcoming the lack of existing Spanish courses through collaborative templates (Design Docs) to develop the course content offline (learning materials, media, assessments, rubrics, and faculty training), creating a Canvas LMS template for course consistency, AI-assisted tools, and structured project management to ensure timely launches and cultural sensitivity.
To overcome significant language barriers, where I did not speak Spanish and some faculty were not fluent in English.
I helped create a mediated process leveraging the department chair as a facilitator for clear communication and content exchange, enabling seamless collaboration; this allowed me to build and deploy the courses using Canvas LMS while leveraging AI tools to develop rubrics aligned with course assignments and to translate Spanish syllabi and content, ensuring accurate implementation and high-quality builds.
This large-scale initiative successfully bridged cultural and linguistic gaps, resulting in a fully operational program that enhanced accessibility to online degree programs.
In a major university setting, I played a pivotal role in developing an efficient course revision process that leveraged Asana as the project management tool and Canvas LMS to optimize workflows from initial request to final launch. By centralizing submissions through a single automated form integrated into the LMS, I partnered with key stakeholders to streamline operations, reducing redundancy and accelerating turnaround times.
The goal was to improve Quality, Productivity, and Transparency in course development and revisions for both academic and professional development online courses.
I designed scalable processes and training materials for course development in partnership with instructional designers, ensuring consistency and quality control.
I coordinated closely with the registrar’s office and Canvas administrators to facilitate seamless approvals, integrations, and deployments, resulting in a more agile system that supported ongoing academic enhancements and improved institutional efficiency.
Worked with stakeholders to develop Google Site for Department
Built Orange Beach RSO site from zero—safe, simple hub for public shooting range & women’s training.
My Role
Listened to range users’ pain points, researched needs, designed & launched a zero-to-live site that cuts confusion and keeps safety first.
Problems
No central spot for rules, schedules, volunteer shoutouts, people showed up confused.
My Role
Designed & coded everything (layout, content, links). Kept it mobile-friendly, readable.
Choices
Big headers, bullet lists, direct links, no fluff. Focused on safety first. Back end dashboard for registration metrics, RSO stats, and women’s training class registrations.
Result
Live site, updates like weather cancels, team bios—users find info fast.
Worked closely with Dean of School of Business and Management to streamline curriculum development operations by consolidating five disparate documents and lists scattered across Google Drive into a single, centralized repository.
This unified system empowered department chairs, program managers, and instructional designers to efficiently track course developments, textbook iterations, integration of external media tools for faith-based content (such as RightNowMedia), and the implementation of digital badges.
By creating this cohesive tracking mechanism, we enhanced collaboration, reduced administrative silos, and ensured real-time visibility into ongoing academic enhancements, ultimately supporting more agile and informed decision-making across the school.
Created video using AI voice over for instructional design department at Azusa Pacific University. Worked with instructional designers and key stakeholders to rebrand services of department to improve: Quality, Transparency, Productivity.
Partnered with School of Nursing at a university by partnering with faculty and advisory group to develop a professional development training course for healthcare workers in nursing homes. This course was part of a grant for Age Friendly Health Systems.
Focused around 4Ms of Health care of older adults:
What Matters
Medication
Mentation
Mobility
Used Canvas LMS, Accredible certificates/badges, and free to community.
Took 120 hours of development with subject matter expert (SMEs). Included multi-media, content, facutly white papers, additional resources, synchronous meeting, and asynchronous discussions, knowledge checks, and journalism.
Mapped learning outcomes to performance measures on key assessments.
Conducted pre and post surveys on participants and workplaces to gather training metrics and determine effectiveness of training.
Revamped a messy old site into a dark, logo-true hub, used their yellow/brown scheme for trust & clarity. Added seamless VoIP call routing automations so phones ring smart, not random.
- Listened to pain: “Site felt cheap, calls got lost—users frustrated.”
- Researched: Matched logo colors/fonts, tested darker tones for readability.
- Designed: Full layout overhaul—clean nav, hero, service grids.
- Engineered: Built VoIP flows (SIP/PBX routing, forwarding)—cut misdirected calls, boosted response time.
- Outcome: Site launched, phone system runs smooth, no complaints, clients happy.
Website: Yellowhammerit.com
Full Project Management Overhaul – UX/UI + Systems Migration
Unified scattered tools (Zoho, Airtable, spreadsheets) into Asana—streamlined workflows, cut admin time by half.
- Listened: Teams drowning in three apps, projects lost, time-off fights, no visibility.
- Researched: Audited every process, found Asana fit best (tasks, calendars, integrations).
- Designed: Custom dashboards—time-off form, project boards, auto-notifications.
- Executed: Migrated everything clean, no data loss, no downtime.
- Outcome: One login, real-time updates, everyone knows who’s out, what’s next.
Professional Presentations & Proposals & Resources
The two proposal presentations below were developed for organizations to integrate trainings for internal and external clients into a customized, professional development program.
The solutions were scalable, utilized current and new trainings, would be offered on the internal LMS, included all levels of employee development from onboarding to leadership development, and incorporated cutting edge App development.
This sample includes two pages of content I created for a course that I’m allowed to share. Additional pages and use cases provided in full Designers Guidebook.
I combined established UX models (Double Diamond, Design Thinking, UCD, Lean UX, 5 Elements, UX Honeycomb, BASIC) into one streamlined, practical framework for students. This makes complex theory easy to understand and apply by merging overlapping steps into a clear, linear process focused on real deliverables and outcomes.
It simplifies learning while preserving professional rigor, ideal for beginners who need actionable guidance rather than separate, abstract models. Shows my ability to distill years of industry experience into teachable, efficient content.
Developed this Design-to-Release Readiness Framework as core teaching material for my UX/UI Design Master Class (university level). It equips students with a repeatable, industry-standard process covering research through post-launch iteration, emphasizing user-centered design, accessibility, collaboration, and measurable outcomes. Reflects my applied practice in leading UX initiatives that delivered results.
This resource is a slide deck of a proposal for a university to improve online course quality in a way that would align with their culture and budget. It targeted pain points and areas that aligned with the university mission and vision.
Website & Professional Development for Corporate Sector
These projects are testament to my strategic vision and my capability to execute significant digital transformations, aiming to foster an agile environment of continuous learning and adaptability.
I worked with the instructional design team, deans, chairs, and office of the Provost to conduct a needs assessment, gather all resources/materials, and outline a process for course developments from one-off courses to full program developments.
I partnered with the IT team to create a form that feeds into the Asana Project Management System to provide a seamless way for academic leadership, faculty, and staff to request course developments and revisions for academic credit and professional development courses in Canvas LMS.
I was tasked to create some trainings on remote work and created this! I imagined the concept, oversaw development, worked with SMEs, and launched an online organization composed of website and embedded LMS platform dedicated to professional training solutions, education, certifications for remote and hybrid workers, and consultation.
I started out developing websites and this role transitioned into spearheading the strategic overhaul of our corporate website, marketing approach, and created Uni-Learn, introducing innovative digital marketing strategies and products that significantly enhanced our market presence and customer engagement, and provided an opportunity for me to consult with universities and organizations.
Interest Generators & Infographics
Following are examples of artifacts I created for clients demonstrating ability to organize ideas and design on brand.
The two infographics in the top right were created for a professional development training course on sales techniques and using similar design techniques, there is an infographic for marketing students in an online course I teach at a university.
The last four examples were developed for instructional designer trainings to reinforce how and why to use infographics, how to create a video, and the overall design process when developing a digital library, course developments, and other resources.
Survey Results Pictographs
Below are two samples pictographs I created to display results from a faculty survey for a university. After collaborating with department heads on survey questions, I sent the survey and extrapolated results into this format to communicate to faculty. The first is heavier on text, the second is lighter.
LMS Program Redesign
I worked with a university client within the School of Business and Management to redesign the course layout to improve accessibility, engagement, user experience based on analytics/feedback from faculty, students, and collaboration meetings with department leadership.
Automated Outcomes Assessment
Developed process to automate outcomes assessment for a university using their Canvas LMS. This process included training administrators, faculty, and establishing a process for revision. This is an example of fully using what you already have.
Created the guide to help faculty to understand how to use the new system. Shared it with faculty in a creative way.
Interest Igniter Video
Here are two examples of videos that I created to introduce students to modules in an online Marketing Principles course that I developed and taught at a university.
Guides
Here are a few guides created to assist instructors facilitating online courses and for information delivery.
The guides demonstrate my ability to research, compile information relevant to the target audience, and design the output according to branding standards.
You will notice that the guides are very different in layout and design. I followed the goals and preferences of the organizations/departments in which I served.
More… Creative Solutions
This is a solution created for the School of Business and Management and a Wellness Training to meet General Education initiatives for a university . The Instructors Only and Getting Started resources were developed as solution to embed in all online courses within a program.
This allowed for scalable adjustments to links, content, or images, and provided a clear communication channel to students and faculty of important policies with one location to update and push out to all courses where these resources were embedded.
The Wellness Guide demonstrates how I took a plain text doc and designed it for more effective delivery and learning. The design used the branding and color pallet of the university to create a downloadable resource/handout.
Conference Presentation
This presentation was delivered at a SAIR Conference to demonstrate how to enhance elements of online instruction with the specific goal of improving engagement and retention efforts. I partnered with my husband, who also worked the university to explain how IT and Academics can work together and can indeed be friends!
Online Course Data Analytics
This is a sample data analytics report using measures from the Canvas LMS and manual calculations. Analytics is an important component to help us improve eLearning opportunities by providing stakeholders specific information on instructor interactions, student engagement, and course effectiveness so decision makers can intervene, predict, and make data driven decisions that will enhance learning pathways.
Data Analytics Guide
This is a sample explanation to the AspireEDU data analytics dashboard integrated into a Canvas LMS. The dashboard provided an auto-generated report. However, in one situation a guide needed to be created to correspond with the actual dashboard report downloaded from Canvas.
The guide was developed to provide a foundation based on various research in online learning for stakeholders not familiar with factors affecting overall course effectiveness learn more about what each measure is important.
Data Analytics Report
This is a sample data analytics report using measures from the Canvas LMS and manual calculations. Analytics is an important component to help us improve eLearning opportunities by providing stakeholders specific information on instructor interactions, student engagement, and course effectiveness so decision makers can intervene, predict, and make data driven decisions that will enhance learning pathways.
Following is a sample, and not a report on a real instructor.
Canvas LMS Course Development and Digital Credentials
Developed process for creating digital credentials for programs across a university using Canvas Badges and Accredible. Each program and university will have specific needs and infrastructure in place to support digital credentials. I help leadership navigate what will work for their institution and budget. To the right is a sample.
Change Management Projects
I chaired several committees/task forces to propose new projects and initiatives for a 100% online university. Here are a few examples of my output of these team collaborations.
Academic Program Review
This is a new process I was tasked to develop and the presentation developed for a Provost Council Meeting outlining a process I was tasked with creating.
The APR was created to help academic administrators and faculty to review the soundness of academic programs at a university. This was also an extensive collaboration effort as well as process implementation and ongoing evaluation. Excerpts of sample process documents and forms provided.
Academic Travel Program Task Force
This is an example of an artifact from a task force designed to propose a new program launch that would affect many departments within a university.
This is an example of a large scale multi-department collaboration. I chaired this task force and submitted the proposal to the board of directors for consideration.
Course Name Change Initiative
This is an example of a new process I spearheaded to update the prefix of a course name at a university. The concept was simple but the process was detailed. I worked with multiple departments to make this change and created the attached document to outline the action items.
Course Proposals
This project is an example of extensive collaboration efforts to get faculty involved in curriculum improvements. This initiative inspired faculty to dream big when the university sought input on building courses that would interest students. The document was a compilation of faculty member course proposals. I was serving as
Program Director of General Studies for this project.
Student Orientation Course
Years ago, I created a student orientation course from conception to delivery. At the time, it was cutting edge! Here are excerpts of resources I can share. I was tasked with developing a 6 Unit course for a university needing an introductory course for students enrolled in a Bachelor’s in Business Administration degree program.
The target audience was incoming students new to online learning. I had access to the term course as well as the master course to make changes during the pilot phase as well as the final debriefing. I used student evaluations and course analytics to make updates for the revision.
I was given a tight deadline of three weeks to analyze the audience and learning resources available at the university and fill in gaps; design the documents and learning aids as well as organize the course by topics; develop the course by creating content without a textbook, designing logo and name, and assembling it in Moodle, launch and facilitate the course pilot, and evaluate the effectiveness from the standpoint of a facilitator and designer.
Small Talk Multi-Delivery Training
Examples of screencasts I created (knowledge gap analysis, script, and media creation) to orient instructors on various resources available to help them facilitate their online courses. This is an example of a training module developed for call center employees. When developing content for instruction I use Malcom Knowles’ Andragogy principles for adult learning. Lifelong learners can benefit from instructional content that is self-directed, relevant, goal oriented, utilizes life experiences, and inspires critical thinking. When developing a course for any target audience the ADDIE model should be followed which includes five phases: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.
Course Content
- Small Talk Interactive Lesson (PPTX)
- Small Talk Slide Deck (PDF)
- Facilitator Guide (PDF)
- Participant Journal (fold out journal to print off in Microsoft Publisher) – not shown
SME Academic Writing Sample
This is a sample written lecture and course components I developed when when creating a Business Communication course.
This serves as evidence of creating unit outcomes, a research based lecture, and building assessment questions/assignments to measure level of outcome mastery.
This version of the course is no longer active, so I can share it here.
Displaying Data Analytics in Creative Ways
This is an example of a pre-survey results display I created for a presentation for users learning how to teach and build courses in their LMS.
There are a variety of ways to display info from a survey or analytics to stakeholders, this is just one example of teaching users how to display results form a course survey WHILE using information from their own survey for maximum engagement.
Thank you for viewing!
