Timothy M.

Prehn
Greater Chicago Area
timothy.prehn@gmail.com
+1-773-6001408

LinkedIn URL: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tim-prehn/4/533/605

EDUCATION

Master of Information Science Indiana University, School of Library and Information

Science, Bloomington, IN 1998
Major: Human-Computer Interaction

Certificate of Completion CIEE/Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Subjects studied: Japanese language, culture, politics, and
business, 1992

Bachelor of Arts Oakland University, Rochester, MI

Major: English Literature, 1992

CAREER OBJECTIVE

An interactive, and exciting mobile user interface position in the commercial field that will allow
me to expand and combine both my global design capabilities and my usability experience.

RELEVANT INTERACTION SKILLS

Familiarity with numerous applications and programming languages for both personal computers
and Macintosh, including:

Adobe InDesign Microsoft Visio

Adobe Photoshop Mac OS X
Adobe Illustrator Final Cut Pro
Microsoft Office Javascript

USABILITY METHODS EMPLOYED

Usability Lab Testing User Interface Flows
Heuristic Evaluation User Interface Specifications
Task Analysis Signal Detection
Protocol Analysis Field Testing
Form Factor/ Ergonomic Review Focus Groups and Interviews
Questionnaire Writing and Analysis Cognitive Walk-Through
Online User Tracking and Data Collection Statistical Analysis and Metrics
Mobile Screen Capture User Needs and Requirements Gathering
WORK EXPERIENCE

Aug. 2009-
Dec. 2009 Mobile UI Designer, Punchcut, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A
Contracted for a well-known design agency focusing on state of the art mobile
user interfaces and functionality. Tasks included mapping the user experience of
a standard mobile handset to a new touch screen release. Clients included
medium to global size companies.

2008-2009 Senior Product Designer, Avaya, Milpitas, CA, U.S.A.

Senior Product designer for a number of applications implemented on desktop
and mobile software platforms, including: iPhone, Nokia, Windows Mobile, and
Palm OS. The applications are developed for unified communication between
various mobile devices, desktop PCs and LAN lines.

2007-2008 Independent Mobile User Experience Contractor, Chicago, IL

Primary work consisted of user experience and improved usability on Motorola
devices and mobile phones. This included leading the redesign of the user
experience documentation used by both the consumer design teams and
engineering.

2004-2006 User Experience Manager, Vodafone, Tokyo, Japan

Starting with Vodafone User Experience-Japan in February 2004, I managed the
user experience for successful Sharp and Samsung handsets, and the Toshiba
“music phone” handset sold in Japan and Europe. I have also authored UI flows
and specifications for new services and push technology, such as Casting that
was piloted in Japan before being launched in Europe.

2002-2004 Independent Usability Consultant, San Francisco, CA – Osaka, Japan

As a freelance contractor, I conducted quantitative and qualitative usability
assessments on PDAs, mobile phones, and web sites. This also included design
and redesign phases of development both in the U.S. and Japan.

2000-2002 Usability Engineer, Palm, Inc., Santa Clara, CA

The first usability engineer hired by Palm, Inc., I designed and conducted usability
tests and design for two years on the Palm touch screen operating system,
software, wireless application, new technologies, and the form factor itself. This
included both qualitative and statistical analysis. I also made recommendations
and oversaw the redesign process based on the usability results.

The wireless technologies that I conducted usability activities on were: Bluetooth,

SMS, IM and wireless web services. I also conducted form factor reviews while at
Palm, Inc. dating back to the Palm VII series.

1999-2000 Lead Usability Engineer, Turbograd, Inc. San Jose, CA

Performed design work and usability assessments, for a start-up web site in
Silicon Valley.

1998-1999 Lead Computer Lab Consultant/LAN Support Staff, Bloomington, IN

Duties included network, hardware and software support of PC and Mac
environments, as well as installation of applications and equipment reservations.
1998 Usability Consultant, School of Library and Information Science, Bloomington, IN
Conducted and evaluated usability tests in a multi-platform lab environment (Mac
and PC), as well as oversaw the direction and management of data logs.

RELEVANT COURSE WORK

Information Storage and Retrieval Internet Commerce

Human-Computer Interaction Database Design
Systems Analysis and Design Information Networking
Computer-Based Information Tools Digital Libraries
Management of Information Systems User Needs and Behavior
Graphic User Interface Design Collection Development
Organization and Standardization of Information Usability Lab Manager

MOBILE SCREEN CAPTURE APPLICATIONS

Javaloader SOTI Pocket Controller

X-Coder Ilium

LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES and ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2009 Participated in designing the first touch screen mobile phone UI for a major Japanese
manufacturer.

2004 Successfully managed the user experience for major 3G handsets in Japan and Europe,
including the first HSDPA Korean made handset for sale by Vodafone in Japan.

2001 Patent applied on wireless application user interface.

2001 Developed a list of design heuristics specifically for the design of handheld computers' UI
and form factor.

2001 Conducted usability and design of Bluetooth auditory signals for future handhelds.

1998 Training of adults in Windows NT, HTML and Web publishing in a lab environment.

1998 Consultant in Usability Lab, Indiana University.

1992 Editorial Assistant of six published derivative works, Gale Research, Detroit.

1992 Completion of CIEE Japanese Program, Waseda University, Japan.

1988 Completion of ExplOUration Leadership Camp, Oakland University.

LANGUAGE ABILITY
English- Native
French- Basic reading and writing
Japanese- Moderate to Intermediate

Professional references:
Available upon request