Portfolio
I provide valuable experience for Small Business, Enterprises and Startups. I specialise in Content, Customer Experience and Technology. I create narratives to increase customer engagement and interest.
I make it easier for customers to buy your products and services. I can code, integrate and manage commercial technology. I provide insights and analytics that drive decision making. I increase revenue by improving products and services, often creating new revenue streams.
I’m very proud of the work I've done, helping to deliver these projects.
Please email virgil@virgilreality.com.au or call +61 0405 129 049
Coolkids Innovation & Enterprise
- Situation: Volunteered and provided pro-bono consulting services for Coolkids Innovation. A consultancy founded by Dr. Amanda Keenan.
- Task: Contributing to solving critical challenges. These are for community groups, charities, startups, and non-profit boards.
- Action: Collaborating with a multidisciplinary team. This comprises researchers, service designers, change professionals, business analysts, and marketers. Delivering impactful solutions.
- Result: Developed the Coolkids Innovation’s sales and video script. Assisted in the creation of tailored workshops that have addressed common organisational issues.
EngageTV
- Situation: Tasked with developing EngageTV for Switch Digital. It is a programmatic buying network for CTV, BVOD, DV360, and YouTube advertising.
- Task: To lead the research, customer/user experience and service design efforts. Create an effective programmatic TV product.
- Action: Authored the comprehensive product requirements documentation. Designed ontology, flow diagrams and wireframes. Developed combined reporting metrics and dashboards.
- Result: Successful launch of the product. Integrated data from multiple sources, presenting insights through LookerStudio and Metabase. A new revenue stream for the agency.
Audience Connect
- Situation: Managed and maintained Audience Connect. A reporting and insights product developed by Switch Digital. It consolidates data from various digital sources. These include Google Analytics, Programmatic, DV360 (Video), SA360 (Search), Social, and Display advertising.
- Task: Ensure the product’s continuous improvement and deliver valuable reporting metrics and visualisations. Help clients optimise their digital campaigns.
- Action: I provided strategic advice on user experience, tagging, and digital advertising. Developed and maintained comprehensive reporting metrics and data dashboards. Integrated data from multiple sources in reporting to offer actionable insights.
- Result: Enhanced the effectiveness of digital campaigns. Delivered clear, actionable insights through Audience Connect. Improved client satisfaction and retention.
Cruiseco
- Situation: Led the UX, customer experience, and business analysis efforts for Cruiseco. They are a 200-retail outlet cruise travel group. They integrate all major cruise line APIs.
- Task: Spearhead the ten-month redesign of the service. Provide new front end user interfaces. Integration architecture for a back-end booking system. Enhance the functionality and user experience for both customers and agents.
- Action: Authored product requirements for the project. Guided the decision to implement a headless CMS architecture. Ensured seamless integration with the Odysseus back-end booking system. B2C for customers and B2B for agents.
- Result: Delivered a robust, user-friendly system that improved booking efficiency. Enhanced the user experience, and provided agents with powerful tools and training resources. Contributed to increased customer satisfaction, operations and revenue.
City of Melbourne
- Situation: Engaged as a Senior UX Architect on a five-month contract. Assisting the user experience team at the City of Melbourne. A major redesign of the City's portal.
- Task: Contribute to enhancing the city's digital services by improving user experience. Mapping user journeys and developing prototypes for various interactions and experiences.
- Action: Collaborated with the UX team. Provided expertise in CX/UX, building prototypes of interactions. Actively participating in meetings and presentations. I mapped user journeys for both existing and emerging criteria to align with the city's strategic goals.
- Result: Successfully contributed to the improvement of the City of Melbourne's digital services. Enhancing user experience and ensuring interfaces met the needs of diverse user groups.
Toyota
- Situation: Served as UX Lead and Business Analyst on a 12-month project. Focused on a complete redesign of the Toyota portal. This included the implementation of a new CMS (Sitecore). Also an automated development pipeline for key vehicle hubs e.g. Camry, Corolla, Yaris, and Hilux.
- Task: To lead the UX design and business analysis efforts. Create a modern, user-friendly website with a robust content management system. Streamline the development process.
- Action: Conducted comprehensive research, mapped user journeys, defined requirements. Developed wireframes and UX prototypes. Authored help content and established an approval process. Delivered presentations to clients and internal teams. Additionally, coded the responsive front-end and adaptive pages, completing approximately 200 pages.
- Result: Successfully delivered a redesigned Toyota portal with improved user experience. Significantly enhancing the website's performance and usability across all vehicle hubs.
Inchcape
- Situation: Engaged on a 10-month contract as UX Lead. Redeveloping the online presence for a dealer network comprising 47 dealers. Brands included Subaru, KIA, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, and Isuzu.
- Task: Overhaul the dealer network’s online platforms. Ensure consistent functionality across all brands. Focus on vehicle presentation (new and used). Interface for test drives and service bookings. Facilities for vehicle ownership and warranty.
- Action: Conducted stakeholder polling to gather insights. Analysed the current system, and collaborated with the team. Authored the Requirements Definition Document covering Business, Functional, and Technical aspects. Developed new data structures and assisted in integrating contextual search functionality. Additionally, created training materials, wireframes, and development prototypes to guide the implementation process.
- Result: Successfully delivered a unified and user-friendly online platform for all 47 dealers. Improved the consistency of the user experience across different brands. Increased the numbers of test drives and service bookings.
CareerOne
- Situation: Engaged on a 12-month contract as a Business Analyst and UX Lead to redevelop the CareerOne platform.
- Task: Analyse the existing system and develop solutions. Enhance the platform’s functionality, user experience, and data management.
- Action: Polled stakeholders to gather insights and conducted thorough research. Mapped user journeys, and defined project requirements. Developed wireframes and prototypes. Presented the designs and functionality to dealer groups flown in from across Australia. Front end code and templates for each brand group to ensure consistent implementation.
- Result: Successfully redeveloped the CareerOne platform. This resulted in improved user experience and system functionality. More effective search capabilities and better data management. More advertisers, candidates and revenue.
Disney/Paramount Pictures
- Situation: Worked on two separate projects for Extend Media in Boston. Focusing on Magento Enterprise online stores for Disney and Paramount Pictures.
- Task: Improve the user experience (UX) and functionality of the online stores. Fine-tuning existing wireframes, enhancing user journeys, and exploring cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.
- Action: Refined the UX, wireframes, and member user journeys for both Disney and Paramount projects. Authored comprehensive Requirements Definition Documents. For Paramount, specifically explored and documented cross-sell and up-sell strategies. Additionally, coded the front-end solutions for both projects. Presented the documentation and results to teams across Canada, the US, and India. Ensuring alignment and successful implementation.
- Result: Successfully enhanced the online stores for Disney and Paramount. Improved user engagement and revenue opportunities.
HTC OneDay
- Situation: Engaged by Accelr8 to develop and launch the HTC OneDay competition. Users registered their 'OneDay' Dream for a chance to win $25,000 AUD. This attracted significant public and celebrity interest.
- Task: Build a robust, content-rich membership site capable of handling high traffic. Ensure a seamless user experience for the competition's 50,000 registered entrants.
- Action: Developed the site, including membership and content management features. Coded the front-end interfaces. Configured the CMS to handle diverse content types, such as videos, images, and text. Anticipating heavy traffic, I strategically placed the site on dedicated hosting. This ensured stability and performance. Ensured the site could support weekly prize announcements.
- Result: Successfully launched a high-performance competition site. Effectively handled 50,000 registered entrants. Delivered a smooth and engaging user experience. A successful marketing project with high engagement for the client.
Fairfax Digital
- Situation: Media Strategist and Channel Manager for listing sites at Fairfax Digital. Contributed to various initiatives aimed at improving internal processes and client interactions.
- Task: Created comprehensive guides and templates to support customers, suppliers, and internal teams. Innovated and streamlined online advertising placements across the network.
- Action: Authored 100 guides covering products, services, help topics, and internal training. Developed templates for sales presentations used by the alliance and direct sales teams. Additionally, led the innovation and optimisation of online advertising placements across the network. Played a lead role in several key projects, including Fairfax Classifieds.
- Result: Successfully provided essential resources that improved client and internal team engagement. Supported effective sales presentations, and streamlined advertising processes. The guides and templates became valuable assets for the network. They contributed to better communication, training, and sales outcomes.
Warehouse Ordering System
- Situation: Engaged on a 12-month contract to develop a comprehensive online ordering system. For Stephen Salgo Sales a leading provider of hospitality supplies. A catalogue of approximately 9,000 products.
- Task: Transform the existing print catalogue into a fully functional online system. Allow customers to view personalised pricing, search products, and submit orders directly to the warehouse.
- Action: Developed a full catalogue system, replicating the extensive print version online. Built a daily data feed to update products and pricing. This included personalised pricing for different member groups. Enabled users to search for products, create orders, and submit them online. Implemented a system to transfer orders to the warehouse for packing and delivery.
- Result: Launched the successful system. Streamlined the purchasing process for customers and improved order accuracy. Increased orders.
Modern Boating Magazine
- Situation: Engaged to develop a sales and listing application for Modern Boating Magazine. Users would be able to list boats for sale. Buyers and sellers would be able to communicate.
- Task: Build a system that creates classified lists of boats. Build communications and content management features.
- Action: Developed the application using PHP/MySQL. Created an interface for users to list boats for sale. Incorporated search across the listings.
- Result: Delivered a functional and reliable sales and listing application. Increased user engagement and functionality on the Modern Boating Magazine website.
Australian Wine Annual
- Situation: Jeremy Oliver, a renowned wine critic, wanted to streamline the publishing process of The Australian Wine Annual. It contains tasting notes for 10,000 wines.
- Task: Modify the existing database. Improve the efficiency of importing and formatting tasting notes for publication. Reduce the time required for manual publishing.
- Action: Developed the application using PHP/MySQL. Created an interface for users to list boats for sale. Incorporated search across the listings.
- Result: Successfully reduced the manual publishing time by 50%. Enhanced the efficiency of the production process.
Carat Advertising Agency
- Situation: Contracted many times by Carat Advertising Agency. Supporting pitches. These included IAG, Yum, and Tourism Australia. All successful.
- Task: Enhance the agency’s pitch presentations. Create compelling graphic designs and organising presentation layouts. Helping refine language to communicate the agency's value propositions.
- Action: Developed presentations. Collaborated with the team to refine the language. Created slide decks that conveyed key messages and supported the pitch strategy.
- Result: Contributed to the successful servicing of clients (IAG, Yum, and Tourism Australia). Delivered polished, professional presentations.
Siebel Oracle eDocs
- Situation: Worked as part of the professional services team at edocs. Focussed on delivering customer self-service and online billing interfaces. Various sectors, including Banking, Telcos, Healthcare, Education, and Insurance. Audience of 77 million billing customers globally.
- Task: Use proprietary tools to optimise data delivery for web interfaces. Create UX/CX architectures, and interfaces for well-known U.S. and global websites. Ensure efficient and user-friendly online billing experiences.
- Action: Specified data ranges in flat file data using edocs’ proprietary tool. Ensuring quick and efficient web delivery of billing information. Designed and implemented UX/CX architectures and interfaces for multiple high-traffic websites. Additionally, collaborated with the team to create an online billing publishing pipeline. This streamlined the process and efficiency for large-scale customer interactions.
- Result: Successfully enhanced the online billing and self-service interfaces. Significantly improving user experience for 77 million customers worldwide. Increased customer engagement and satisfaction. Securing user base and revenue.
News Corp
- Situation: Contracted multiple times by News Corp to work on various projects. This included True Local, CarsGuide, and Community News. Focussed on improving online interfaces and promotional activities.
- Task: Enhance the online interfaces to boost user engagement and sales. Develop and deliver training and advertising materials to support these improvements.
- Action: Improved the effectiveness of online interfaces. Optimised sales promotions and refined service design. Created compelling presentations, training materials, and advertising content to support these initiatives. Additionally, mentored internal teams. Shared best practices and strategies.
- Result: Increased the effectiveness of the online interfaces. Enhanced user engagement and better sales outcomes.
Folio Gallery
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Latest Articles
Fifty Percent AI
It’s over halfway through 2024 and AI disruption is in full swing. It’s still overhyped and pretty much mislabelled. AI is the buzzword that’s replaced Online in the mouths of everyone with a mouth.
Embracing the Suck
You suck. AI sucks. Change sucks. We always want new technology to work as well as mature technology. We’ve moved on from the bugs we had to endure, and the enormous social change that occurred. How do we cope with this?
Are you an IT Failure?
Jim Johnson (founder of the Standish Group) undertook research on IT project failure. This was in 1994. Jim and his team wanted to find out what was the cause of project failure and find ways to reduce it. By 2006 they had amassed a huge amount of data. In their 1994 report, they found that 84% of projects failed or had challenges.
What’s the Reality of AI Design?
Recently I’ve been experimenting with AI generative tools from a technical and workflow perspective. By ingesting the text, images and other digital assets of humanity, these large language and visual models are as much a mirror as an interesting technology.
Paint It Black AI Workflow
Recently, I’ve been putting together some material for a friend’s band tour to Vietnam and Cambodia. This has been a great opportunity to try another AI Workflow experiment.
AI Survivor. A practical guide
Now that the AI revolution is here, the clock is ticking for you and/or your business. The potential for job displacement, business disruption and increased competition is high. What should you be thinking about to adapt, innovate, and thrive, in this brave new digital world?
Thankyou!
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