Habañero User Experience Group

Barbara Richards

As an information architect, Barbara ensures that intuitive information architecture and navigation are a fundamental part of Habañero solutions. She has extensive experience in improving the findability of information through the development of large-scale taxonomies and navigation systems. Utilizing her usability analysis knowledge, Barbara also conducts heuristic evaluations and usability tests for Habañero’s wide range of clients.

Prior to joining Habañero, Barbara worked in numerous information management positions with international research and development organizations. Most recently, Barbara spent over four years as an information architect and information management specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN in Rome, Italy, which hosts one of the largest websites in the UN system. Barbara has conducted usability testing and user research in both developing and developed countries, and has been responsible for creating user experiences for international audiences. She has also managed data quality control for large database systems.

Barbara holds a Bachelor of Sociology from UBC and a Master of Archival Studies from the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at UBC.

Ben Skelton

One of Canada’s foremost user experience leaders, Ben Skelton directs Habañero’s Websites and eCommerce practice. Ben is responsible for all aspects of the practice including business development, innovation and excellence, and ultimately the final product Habañero delivers. He has extensive knowledge and experience in corporate visioning and strategy, information and interaction design, user interface design, usability engineering, and back-end technology. A member of Habañero’s team since 1999 and the former Director of User Experience, Ben works with many of the company’s high-profile clients. His primary goal for all projects is to deliver real business value to clients and deepen their relationships with customers.

In addition to client work, Ben teaches a two-day seminar entitled “Designing a Better Web User Experience” for the Software Productivity Centre. He is a co-founder of the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE), presents regularly to numerous groups including the International Internet Marketing Association, COMDEX, and the Calgary Portal User’s Group, and maintains a popular personal blog. In his spare time, Ben is an avid air miles collector, travelling around the world and sampling libations as he goes, and enjoys watching bad movies.

Caterina Sanders

With Habañero since 2000, Caterina Sanders, Director, User Experience, acts on behalf of end-users to ensure Habañero solutions exceed their needs and expectations. Drawing on her wide variety of business and technical experience, Caterina manages the User Experience team, provides UE leadership for all projects, and conducts project business analysis and project management. Caterina believes Habañero’s strong commitment to user experience in combination with its solid technical abilities ensure clients will receive exceptional business value from any Habañero deliverable.

Caterina has taught classes in website design and development at Bodwell Internet School and is co-founder of the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE). She holds an Advanced Internet Development Diploma from the Bodwell Internet School along with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia. In her spare time, Caterina enjoys spending time with her family and travelling.

Hilla Avidan-Shavit

An information architect and a member of Habañero’s user experience team, Hilla Avidan-Shavit develops architectures that ensure user-friendly, intuitive solutions. Her extensive knowledge of user-centred design methods and information and interaction design allow her to stay focused on the tasks and requirements of end users while creating diverse, high-quality, and innovative user experiences.

Prior to working at Habañero, Hilla held senior usability and user interface design positions at several companies in Israel. She also worked as the interaction/creative director at ExpertCall and the art director at Doublespace, both in New York City. Hilla holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York and a Masters from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University. A trained jeweller, Hilla explores her artistic side creating jewellery in her home studio. She has her black belt in karate, which she earned after six years of vigorous training; however, her training and competitions are currently on hold, so she can enjoy quality time with her husband and two sons.

Jasvir Shukla

Jasvir Shukla applies her keen business analysis and information architecture expertise to a variety of Habañero projects. Bringing considerable problem solving and design skills, she also assists with the usability tests, functional specifications, and implementation of some custom application, SharePoint, and external website projects.

Prior to joining Habañero, Jasvir worked at Microsoft as Program Manager on the SharePoint Portal Server team. During her three years at Microsoft, she managed development and test teams, developed functional specifications, and was responsible for the final feature deliverables. Jasvir graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor in Systems Design Engineering, with options in Management Science and Cognitive Science. She enjoys running with her dog and writing short stories in her free time.

Joni Rustulka

Designer extraordinaire, Joni comes to Habañero with a plethora of experience and a passion for crafting rich online experiences. Skilled at XHTML and CSS development, Joni backs up her exquisite design aesthetic with a wealth of technical proficiency. Joni is an expert at developing page layouts, logos, and icons, but is also well informed on issues such as colour, accessibility, and usability.

Since joining Habañero, Joni has had the pleasure of working for a variety of clients including, Rawlings Group, CGA Canada, Intrawest’s Storied Places, and the North Shore Credit Union.

Prior to working at Habañero, Joni worked at ResponseTek. She has also had various positions at companies such as GrowthWorks and the Emergency Communication Centre.

Joni has a Bachelor Degree in Communication from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. She has also accumulated multiple continuing studies credits from The Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. In addition she is well travelled, visiting many Europe and South East Asian destinations. When not hard at work Joni can be found riding her retro cruiser around Stanley Park, at the hair-dresser, or cooking some adventurous cuisine she can’t pronounce.

Kathleen Moynahan

Kathleen Moynahan designs and develops creative user interfaces for websites, web applications, and intranets with Habañero’s user experience group. Bringing a passion for form and function, Kathleen has studied and practiced design in a variety of media for over eight years. She approaches each design project as a discovery process to determine how best to apply key principles such as colour, line, shape, and proximity to create visually appealing and user-friendly designs.

Kathleen started her creative career with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Visual Arts, from Simon Fraser University. She also holds a Publishing diploma from Langara College and has augmented her studies with several courses from the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design. When not at the office, Kathleen enjoys her yoga practice or can be found hiking or skiing in the mountains.

Mallory O´Connor

Senior Information Architect Mallory O´Connor works with clients´ internal teams, end-users, and stakeholders to determine the best possible structure for websites and applications. Part of Habañero´s growing four-member IA team, Mallory conducts interviews, facilitates workshops, and analyzes requirements in order to develop both navigation and interaction design. She also coordinates usability testing and prototyping exercises to ensure end-users can accomplish their desired tasks.

Mallory has a diverse background that includes working with government and public companies, large business-to-business organizations, marketing agencies, and software start-ups. Prior to working at Habañero, Mallory was General Manager and Director of User Experience at McMillan, an integrated marketing agency, for three years. Before that, she was an independent contractor specializing in strategy and user experience, and a Project Manager and Business Analyst at Karo Design Resources. Mallory was instrumental in forming the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE) and was an active member of Wired Woman in its early years. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and was a student in UBC´s Internet Publishing program. Outside of work, Mallory enjoys skiing, playing tennis, indulging an addiction to good restaurants, and spending time with family and friends.

Mark Bice

User Experience Developer Mark Bice is responsible for the front-end development of Habañero solutions, which includes creating interfaces, establishing look and feel, and ensuring usability. Mark has both a design and programming background and experience in all stages of application development, from planning to testing. As a result, Mark provides a valuable bridge between the design and development components of Habañero projects.

Before working at Habañero, Mark was a Software Engineer at ResponseTek for four years. There he was involved with both front- and back-end development of customer experience management web applications that allowed clients to collect and analyze valuable data and spot consumer trends. Mark has a computer science degree with a minor in business from Simon Fraser University. While at university, he completed two internships, one at Telus and the other at Health Canada in Ottawa. When not working, Mark enjoys music, playing and watching hockey, and spending time with friends.

Nick Bouton

User Experience Developer Nick Bouton is responsible for the front-end development of Habañero solutions, which involves creating interfaces, establishing look and feel, and ensuring usability. A dynamic developer, Nick has extensive experience developing rich internet applications using AJAX, Web 2.0, and client scripting and also works with the .NET Framework and MOSS 2007.

In addition to his position at Habañero, Nick is the founder of Taunt Media, a company that sponsors, develops, and nurtures several community-driven collaborative website properties including Protagonize, a collaborative fiction-writing site. Prior to beginning work at Habañero, he held a variety of positions including Product Manager at ThoughtFarmer, Software Developer at OpenRoad Communications, and Software Engineer at Versatile Mobile Systems. Nick majored in Computer Science at the University of British Columbia; holds an Associate’s Certificate, Java Programming from the British Columbia Institute of Technology; and earned certifications in ColdFusion and XML technologies. He is an active member of several professional associations including the Interaction Design Association and the Vancouver User Experience Group.

Scott Baldwin

User Experience Consultant Scott Baldwin ensures that projects fully leverage Habañero’s extensive expertise in information architecture, user interface design, and usability engineering. An experienced Internet strategist and web analyst, Scott helps clients maximize the user experience of solutions in order to increase sales, brand loyalty, and productivity.

Prior to working at Habañero, Scott was Manager, Web Services at North Shore Credit (NSCU) , where he helped redesign NSCU.com and was responsible for concept development for MemberDirect Integrated — an online banking platform now used by hundreds of Canadian credit unions. Prior to NSCU Scott worked at the Vancouver Film School; Inovera Solutions (a credit union ecommerce joint venture); Citizens Bank of Canada and Blue Zone Entertainment. A well-known participant in the user experience community, Scott is an active member of the following organizations: Web Analytics Association, BC Association of Integrated Marketers, Usability Professional’s Association, Vancouver User Experience Group, Association of Internet Marketing and Sales, and International Internet Marketing Association. Scott also earned an Award of Achievement Web Analytics from the University of British Columbia. Outside of work, Scott can be found playing drums, running, cycling, and enjoying time with family.

Sing Chan

Sing is a veteran of interactive media and web application development. With over 8 years of experience, Sing is an expert Flash, JavaScript, XML, XHTML, and CSS developer who keeps a watchful eye on user experience and accessibility.

Prior to joining Habañero, Sing worked at Grey Worldwide Northwest and produced websites for clients such as Starbucks Coffee, BC Liquor Stores and ADT Security.

When not coding at work, Sing continues to tinker with his roast recipe and can be found dining at the various izakayas in the downtown Vancouver area.

Tracey Shaw

With Habañero since 2000, Senior Designer Tracey Shaw is responsible for designing and developing engaging user interfaces and navigation schemes that support the end-user experience. With expertise in usability testing, typography, colour theory, and design aesthetics, she applies her creative talents and skills on a wide range of website, intranet, and web-based application projects.

Tracey holds an Advanced Internet Development Diploma from Bodwell Internet School along with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in biology (genetics), from the University of British Columbia. In addition to being a member of Habañero’s corporate giving committee, and green team, Tracey is a co-founder of the Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE). Outside of work, Tracey enjoys creating stained glass windows, advocating for green building practices, biking, and sailing.