Thomas Bernd

Hello,
I'm
Thomas
Bernd

Product Owner | UX Expert

About

Name: Thomas Bernd
Email: tb@proyect.com
Phone: +49 (0) 173 80 40 90 5
Date of birth: 25 March 1962
Address: Karlsbader Weg 14,
D- 65388 Schlangenbad
Nationality: German

Professional Profile

Multi-dimensional 360° expert.
From digital to analog (and back), from paid via owned to earned, from stationary to mobile, from research via concept and design to production, from hands-on doing to senior management.

Absolutely result-oriented with focus on:
user centricity and creative performance.

Download resume as PDF format

Skills

Management & craftsmanship

Being in business for three decades now, I have developed skills in various disciplines: design, management, concept development, testing, analytics.

It all came together in the last couple of years with the paradigm of a seamless and agile digital product development and especially with a radical user centered design approach.

Now I am able to play most of the roles in the development process, or even act as a one man army.

UX Researcher

Production, UX Testing, UX System Management

UX Designer

Concepts, architecture, design, prototyping, usability engineering

Product Owner

Needs assessment, backlog, processes, roadmaps, management

Project Management

Agile, fire run or longterm contract

Software & Tools

In order to be able to oversee the entire development process, an in-depth knowledge of the required software and tools is essential.

I own and I work with the software listed below on a regular basis.

Axure
Balsamiq
Microsoft Visio
Morae Suite
Camtasia

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Audition
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe XD
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premiere
Invision Studio

Microsoft Office
Microsoft Project
Filemaker Advanced
MindManager

Language Skills

German Native Speaker

English Advanced

French Basic

Experience

Career & Positions

After having finished university with a bachelor of arts and a master of businesss administration degree, I started my professional life as a communication designer, changed role to advertising and marketing management, changed role again to concept development and user experience design.

Since 1999 I am working as a freelancer, consultant and interim manager in order to support blue chip clients during their digital transformation.

proyect.com

CEO, Freelance

1999 - Today

Apart from doing small communication design projects independently, the main focus of my work are complex digital product projects, like web portals, ecommerce shops or native apps.

I have worked many years for
Stellantis, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank and Mercedes-Benz.

Leo Burnett

Client Service
Director

2008 - 2007

Management of digital projects for: Oral B, Chevrolet and Harman Kardon.

Sinner Schrader, Frankfurt

CEO

2005 - 2007

CEO of Sinner Schrader digital agency, 17 employees. Key client: Deutsche Bank Private Banking (exclusive), Goretex and Brockhaus.

Ogilvy, Frankfurt

Senior Consultant

1998 - 1999

Main focus was to integrate digital elements into real 360° communication strategies.
Key clients: IBM, Dresdner Bank and Mercedes Benz.

Pixelpark, Berlin

Unit Lead /
Member of the board

1996 - 1998

Pixelpark was the most exiting step in my carrier. A permanent start-up spirit paired with cutting edge digital projects. My team had finally 40 really creative people and I have never learned so fast in my life.
Key clients: Siemens AG, Messe Frankfurt, Quelle AG

Education

Design & Marketing

In order to follow my educational path, it is important to know that I have two key talents, that are usually not easy to combine: creative design and analytical-logical problem solving.
These are the two poles between I oscillated a few years back and forth with the outcome that now I can use both talents to create better digital products and experiences.

University of Münster

Master of Business Administration

1988 - 1992

Main subjects: Marketing and Statistics.

University of Applied Science Mainz

Bachelor of Arts / Communication Design

1982 - 1986

Main subjects: Digital Communication.

International UX and Usability Qualification Board

Certified Professional for Usability and User Experience

2017

Main subjects: Usability & User Experience.

Interaction Design Foundation

Certified UX Manager

2018

Main subjects: UX Design Management, UX Measurement, UX Governance.

Portfolio

My services

As a one-man-show I can carry out smaller projects myself. In bigger projects I focus on the most critical steps in the process, where management or agencies often don't have the capacity or the knowledge, to set up a phase in a way that a superior product can emerge.

For each of the following five tasks, I have developed methods that help to create great products and to deliver successful projects.

Project Start: Goals & Scope
Break the first wave
UX Management & UX Design
Reduce complexity at all levels
Agile problem solving
Everything stays different
Usability & UX Testing
Useful and usable product
Goal-oriented Management
Focus on key performance indicators (KPI)

Project Start: Goals & Scope
Break the first wave
When already the first pencil drawing is bad, what will the final painting will look like?
One of the main reasons for failed projects is an incomplete or even wrong project definition.
"Sprint Zero" is not only the ramp up time for the production team, it should be used for the clear definition of goals, scope and expectations.
In the end it is about defining a model of the problem and reducing the solution space for the final product at the same time. Less options mean less iterations and a higher chance for a great result.
UX Management & UX Design
Reducing complexity at all levels
Models are the most important elements in highly complex projects. They are needed to deal with uncertainty, to help thinking, to communicate and to synchronize expectations. Models can be drawings, wireframes, prototypes or anything else that is able to represent concepts and ideas.
Agile problem solving
Everything stays different
One characteristic of innovation projects are dynamic changes of goals and scope and herewith the amendment of all existing concepts. Under the premise of a consequent user centricity approach this is desired, but could ultimately mean to restart a project within the existing timing and budget constraints from scratch again.
Apart from tools, e.g. for a flexible downsizing, this requires agile problem solving, creative flexibility and a profound knowledge of what is feasible.
Usability & UX Testing
Useful and usable product
A digital product should work - primary from a user perspective.
Especially in bigger projects it is not easy to keep the perspective of a pure user and it can happen, that content and functionality is added in a way, that the product is not useful or usable anymore.
UX testing is the only way to find out if you are still on track, and it will help to identify weaknesses already in an early stage where changes are easy and affordable.
Goal oriented Project Management
Focus on key performance indicators (KPI)
Happy users are one side of the medal, but usually products should earn money or support sales processes.
These business goals are usually set via KPI's (key performance indicators) and although they outvote the given UX-targets in terms of importance for the product producer, from a UI-perspective they are secondary.
To have both goal-dimensions in mind at the same time, reflects the challenge to create a product, that will work successfully for both: business and user.

Contact

Let's Keep In Touch

Please feel free to contact me via the below listed contact data. I will respond as fast as possible.

Thomas Bernd
Karlsbader Weg 14
65388 Schlangenbad, Germany

Phone
+49 (0) 173 80 40 90 5

Email
tb@proyect.com

I'm also on Social Networks

You can also visit my social networks sites for further information or impressions.

Design
is really about
problem solving.

Creative.

Competent.

Result-oriented.

Experienced.

Hello, I'm Thomas Bernd