May 2019 to May 2024

One of my proudest achievements is building user research functions from the ground up at organisations such as Vodafone and Saint‑Gobain. I created the frameworks for user testing across key projects and existing journeys, uncovering previously unrecognised personas that reshaped product and experience strategy.

• Digital Transformation: I played a central role in the digital transformation of Saint‑Gobain’s 24 UK brands—particularly Jewson, with 500+ branches—moving from a brochureware site with no pricing or stock visibility to a full e‑commerce platform. With limited prior insight into trade customers, the Product and UX/UI teams needed a clear understanding of behaviours, motivations, and segments to design effective purchase journeys.
• With Research Leadership: I set up and led the User Research function, supporting Product, UX/UI, and the Chief Digital Officer with customer‑driven insight. This included implementing UserZoom, managing specialist recruitment for B2B trade participants, and embedding research into delivery workflows.
• Delivery & Budget Management: I prioritised and managed the research roadmap and budget, running branch interviews, moderated and unmoderated studies, focus groups, usability testing, and diary studies.
• Insight & communication: I planned, executed, and communicated research that revealed new personas, behaviours, and motivations, producing clear, executive‑ready reports and actionable recommendations.
• Digital Personas: I created and evolved a suite of digital personas used across Product, Marketing, and Senior Leadership, including identifying a previously overlooked but commercially critical persona: the admin.

Testimonials

Working with Liz in my first design role out of university, I was lucky to learn so much about UX, research and User Testing in the real world. I recall in my first week in the role, Liz spent an afternoon with myself and a fellow junior teaching us all about UX research, and how to understand user testing results without misinterpreting. That tutoring and support continued throughout our time working together, whether within design projects or in broader professional development.

Liz has always encouraged (and led by example) real, hands-on user research. During our time together, Liz built relationships and helped connect the whole team with our branch colleagues who were on the front line of customer interactions, and could always help us design with our real users at the forefront.

I highly recommend Liz for her knowledge, attention to detail and wonderful personality, which shines both within the team and with clients or users.

George Wyeth Product Designer at Bauer Media Group (Saint-Gobain/Stark Building Materials)

Branch drivers using Mobile Terminal Data (MDT’s) devices

With a workforce of more than 800 lorry drivers across Saint‑Gobain/Stark delivering for brands such as Jewson, Minster, and Frazer, understanding the day‑to‑day driver experience is essential. The Branch Customer & Colleague Product Owner wanted deeper insight into how confident drivers feel in their roles and how well the tools and processes—particularly the MDTs—supported their work.

To achieve this, I created a survey designed to capture drivers’ real experiences. The aim was to identify where confidence remains low, where tools or processes are still causing friction, and where recent improvements have actually helped. The results would also provide a clear baseline for measuring future enhancements, including upcoming developments like the Smartworker workflow, ensuring decisions are based on real user experience rather than assumptions.

The survey focused on several key areas: general MDT usage, any technical issues drivers encounter, the impact these issues have on their working day, whether the device has improved since the June 2023 updates, and open feedback on how the MDT, IQ Smart Worker, and CoPilot could be improved.

The survey ran for one week and received 233 completed responses, giving us a strong foundation to understand ongoing challenges, measure the impact of recent changes, and guide evidence‑based improvements moving forward.

Summary of findings included:

• There were a mix of comments left explaining the impact on their when they face an issue with the MDT. Nearly all comments indicated a negative impact to getting their job done. The majority mentioned it made them slow, slow to respond, delayed deliveries, time lost, takes longer getting to ’drops’, work is delayed. There were a further 40 comments made of being able to work quicker without using it.
• Most comments left about the challenges they face using the device said the process is too long winded, there are too many questions asked. They want changes made so it’s easier to get to the point.
• Again, when asked about IQ Smart Worker in particular, there were more mentions of the process being long winded and at least 49 mentions to make it more streamlined with less steps to confirm a delivery. A further 36 comments mentioned that by not having it would make it better. There were comments made about using CoPilot and how it showed them ‘poor routes’, they asked for a better Sat Nav, quicker access to the camera and once logged in to stay logged in.
• 31% felt that CoPilot helped them and 18% said that CoPilot doesn’t help them while 17% said they don’t use it. Most comments left about CoPilot were negative saying it either sends them on the longest route and/or it sends them on routes unsuitable for lorries. Some have found a work around and others don’t use it. The suggestions for making it better were to not have to log in, update the routes more often and have live traffic reports.
• 42% of those surveyed felt that the MDT devices were better since the updates were made in June 2023, 50% said it’s no different.
• The overall NPS score given when asked how likely is it that you would recommend using MDT to a fellow driver was -54 (The creators of the NPS metric, Bain & Company, say that although an NPS score above 0 is good, above 20 is great and above 50 is amazing. – 100-0 = The majority of people interacting with your product or brand are having a bad experience).

In January 2024, a new version of Cognito IQ Smartworker was released in an attempt to improve the experience, from feedback of the survey. We surveyed again and question 4 asked if it had made a difference, 86% said it's better.

WACOM Screens in Branch

The Chief Digital Officer had been advised by IT that the WACOM screens used in branches were reaching end of life, and the recommendation was to remove them rather than reinvest. Before making that decision, he asked me to assess whether these screens still added meaningful value to the in‑branch customer experience.

WACOM screens are used by colleagues at the sales counter to mirror what they see on their own terminals, allowing customers to view information directly and sign for materials on their credit accounts. When they’re not being used for transactions, the screens display rotating marketing messages. They are typically positioned beside a sales terminal at the counter, though some branches also place them on the customer side of sales managers’ desks.

I set up a series of branch visits—eight in total—and involved the entire UX/UI team, including my manager. Each of us visited a branch local to where we live and interviewed colleagues to understand how the WACOM screens are actually used day to day, when they add value, and whether they meaningfully contribute to the customer experience in branch.

These conversations helped us build a clearer picture of their practical role, how often they’re relied on, and whether they still justify investment.

Observations from branch conversations

• The WACOM screens are seen in all branches and were inconsistent in either working or not working
• There was a sense of the branch staff being left with the problem, something that they can’t fix themselves and needed support from IT
• Customers don’t have an opinion on how they add items to their accounts or sign to collect what they’ve ordered online, they just want to be served quickly and get out to do their work, as long as they have firm evidence of collection
• There are opportunities in using the WACOM screens for advertising using personalisation. The screen moved quickly and showed products that some branches don’t stock
• Some branch’s mentioned that they’ve seen an increase in technical issues since the software upgrade in February 2023

• Even when some branches did/do call IT they only help so much, they’re told to plug in and then out again as a fix

Summary of findings

• Customers generally want to come and go quickly when visiting a branch, but they also need to be able to see proof of collection. They are quick to complain when things take a long time and expect staff to find a different way if the WACOM screens are not working
• Some regular customers make sarcastic remarks about the screens, about whether they’re working or not
• There was a mix of customers preferring to get a paper copy of their receipt or an email and some were happy to have both
• Some customers like to see the adverts while others don’t take too much, if any, notice of them. It can depend on what they’re in for on the day and what their trade is. Some branch staff felt that the adverts would be better if they were more relevant to the customer as they were serving them
• They all felt that if the WACOM screens were removed they’d go back to manual signing and more paperwork, with a potential risk of the paperwork getting lost by both branch staff and the customer
  

Recommendations

• Improve the reliability and user experience of the screens rather than removing them. Consistent functionality would make the customer journey smoother and reduce staff frustration.

• Strengthen IT support so branch colleagues can resolve issues quickly and keep serving customers efficiently.

• Introduce a clearer, more secure signing method that helps both staff and customers easily verify who signed for an order and ensures only authorised individuals can do so.

• Enhance the signing interaction itself, as many customers instinctively try to sign with their finger rather than the pen, suggesting usability improvements are needed.

Testimonials

I’ve been fortunate to work with Liz firstly at Vodafone and again at Saint-Gobain, where I was delighted to hire her into the UX team I was building. Liz brought a wealth of user research best practice from her time at Vodafone and was instrumental in establishing and embedding our user research function across the business. Liz has a strong understanding of analytical tools and how to use them effectively to drive insight, and consistently managed multiple research projects whilst maintaining high standards of output. Liz draws on her experience to select the most appropriate methodologies for each piece of work, while also being keen to experiment with new approaches, such as successfully running an in-depth series of diary studies. Liz has a natural ability to put customers at ease and is equally confident and effective communicating insights to employees and senior executives at every level of the organisation. Liz is a pleasure to work with, and I would welcome the opportunity to work with her again.

Julie Kennedy - Design Leader & speaker (Saint-Gobain)