Usability Analyst

Company SUPERVALU
URL www.supervalu.com
Location Eden Prairie, MN or Boise, ID

Description

SUPERVALU is a premier food and drug retail powerhouse with world-class supply chain and support services. We are the nation's third largest grocery provider, with a diversified portfolio of regional retail banners, locally managed and branded, spanning the nation, coast-to-coast and border-to-border.

As the largest food distributor to retail stores in the United States, we also provide a robust suite of supply chain services to serve both our own retail banners and thousands of independent retailers. Combined, SUPERVALU's two lines of business provide a wealth of diverse opportunities to grow and to contribute to a thriving enterprise.

Our philosophy

Ongoing pursuit of excellence is a way of life at SUPERVALU and a key to our success. To achieve excellence, we seek associates who will contribute innovative business solutions. We embrace change and welcome others who do. Our employees are as diverse as our opportunities – representing all ages, backgrounds and parts of the country. What they have in common is: talent, passion, sense of urgency, focus, standards, integrity – and an unsurpassed customer orientation. They form the foundation of our SUPERVALU Advantage – the key to our continuing success.

Primary function

Works under the direction of the Principal User Experience Lead or a Sr. User Experience Analyst to plan and execute usability studies on software user interfaces and training materials. Assists with all aspects of managing a usability lab and helps define and implement user recruitment strategies. With minimal oversight, collaborates with project teams to carry out user-centered design interventions that lead to improved solution usability and an improved user experience.

Job responsibilities and activities:

• Passionate about improving user experience
• Collaborates with project teams to ensure all elements of the user experience are considered, designed for, and assessed
• With minimal oversight from team members, helps plan and conduct the following types of usability methods: in-lab usability testing, remote usability testing, field studies or contextual inquiries, heuristic evaluations, card sorting, online user surveying, user interviews, personas, use cases, and task analyses
• With minimal oversight from team members, carries out usability tests with both internal and external end users in retail, warehouse, and office environments
• Assists with all aspects of planning and execution of usability testing, including specifying the test plan, recruiting representative users, facilitating test sessions, analyzing test data, identifying themes and summarizing findings, translating findings into design recommendations, and presenting test results
• With minimal oversight from team members, collaborates with project teams to plan and execute usability studies within time, budget, and resource constraints
• Assists with all aspects of managing a usability lab
• Identifies, escalates, and tracks risks and issues throughout a usability study's lifecycle
• Skilled at applying qualitative and ethnographic research methods and active listening
• With minimal oversight from team members, elicits, defines, prioritizes, and elaborates usability specifications or requirements
• With minimal oversight from team members, elicits, defines, prioritizes, and writes tasks and user scenarios
• Assists with efforts to define and implement user recruitment strategies
• With minimal oversight from team members, demonstrates the ability to objectively assess the usability of user interfaces and training materials regardless of the medium (web, application, device, print, face-to-face, etc.)
• With minimal oversight from team members, identifies, analyzes, evaluates, prioritizes, synthesizes and justifies usability findings.
• Creates highlight videos to bolster findings
• With minimal oversight from team members, translates usability findings into actionable design recommendations
• With minimal oversight from team members, presents findings and recommendations to project team members and stakeholders in a persuasive and professional manner
• Fosters mature understanding of user interface and training standards, principles, and best practices
• Demonstrates mature knowledge of user-centered design principles and methodologies and is skilled at evangelizing and communicating this understanding to business and IT constituents
• Leads some efforts to institutionalize user-centered design practices and principles
• Fosters team building and self-driven skill development through active participation in appropriate training, mentoring, and certification programs
• Establishes and builds strong relationships with business stakeholders, subject matter experts, functional domain leadership, and other IT disciplines and service teams
• Advises, coaches, and mentors the activities of UXA I level team members

Competencies

Thought leadership

• Analyze issues and solve problems
• Analyzes, incorporates and applies new information and concepts
• Recognizes symptoms that indicate problems
• Makes sound decisions on everyday issues and problems
• Makes timely decisions on problems/issues requiring immediate attention
• Understand strategy
• Demonstrates understanding of the organization's mission and strategies
• Sees the “big picture” (e.g., overall themes, trends, goals)
• Integrates and balances big-picture concerns with day-to-day activities
• Establishes strategies for achieving individual or work unit goals
• Identify improvements
• Approaches problems with curiosity and open-mindedness
• Generates innovative ideas and solutions to problems
• Encourages others to look at problems and processes in new ways
• Identifies opportunities to increase efficiency, simplicity, and revenue

Results leadership

• Seek customer satisfaction
• Tracks performance against customer requirements, using existing tools
• Seeks feedback from customers to identify improvement opportunities
• Addresses customer needs by involving the right people (resources) at the right time
• Follows up with customers to ensure problems are solved
• Establish plans
• Identifies action steps needed to accomplish objectives
• Identifies resources (e.g., financial, headcount) needed to accomplish objectives
• Establishes realistic plans and work schedules
• Coordinates planning efforts with other work units
• Execute efficiently
• Juggles many priorities and competing demands for one's time
• Conveys clear expectations for assignments
• Removes obstacles in order to move the work forward and/or get efforts back on track
• Seeks additional resources to complete tasks when needed
• Show initiative
• Identifies what needs to be done and does it
• Maintains a consistent, high level of productivity
• Takes personal responsibility to make decisions and take action
• Does not easily give up in the face of unexpected obstacles

People leadership

• Solicit support
• Provides sound rationale for recommendations
• Solicits support for ideas
• Ensures that own positions address others' needs and priorities
• Builds relationships to create a foundation for future influence
• Encourage commitment
• Demonstrates a “can-do” spirit, a sense of optimism, ownership, and commitment
• Acknowledges others' efforts and accomplishments
• Conveys confidence in others' ability to do their best
• Projects a positive image and serves as a role model for others
• Select and develop
• Identifies and recruits/refers qualified people
• Makes accurate evaluations of people's capabilities and fit
• Provides honest, helpful feedback to others on their performance
• Shares own experience and expertise with others
• Communicate effectively
• Provides clear and detailed information to others
• Expresses oneself effectively in one-on-one conversations and small groups
• Listens carefully and attentively to others' opinions and ideas
• Shares information and viewpoints openly and directly with others
• Relate well to others
• Relates to people in an open, friendly, and accepting manner
• Treats others with respect
• Maintains positive relationships even under difficult or heated circumstances
• Works cooperatively with people from different cultural backgrounds

Personal leadership

• Readily adapt
• Works productively in the face of ambiguity or uncertainty
• Deals constructively with mistakes and setbacks
• Readily adapts to different ways of doing things
• Seeks opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills
• Accepts feedback openly, without becoming defensive
• Demonstrate credibility
• Treats others fairly and consistently
• Acts consistently with stated policies and practices
• Does not cover up or blame others for problems or mistakes
• Protects confidential information
• Follows through on commitments

Requirements

Education, certification, and relevant experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Management Information Systems, Cognitive Sciences, or related discipline (Master's degree preferred)
• 1-4 years relevant work experience
• Preferred work experience in IT, retail or supply chain organizations
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, strong customer focus and demonstrated ability to work in geographically dispersed teams
• Ability to manage competing priorities
• Must have strong computer skills and be proficient in use of Microsoft Office applications
• Demonstrates strong public speaking and presentation skills
• Demonstrates advanced facilitation skills with the ability to drive toward common solutions
• Demonstrate advanced interviewing, listening, and observational skills used to identify and define user needs
• Demonstrate strong analytical and conceptual skills used to evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, while reconciling discrepancies
• Demonstrate strong analytical modeling skills (models that clearly and easily communicate concepts to customers)

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of work performed by the associate(s) in this job. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary by position.

To apply

Candidates may apply to this position at www.supervalu.com in the Corporate Careers section.