You told us you want to know more about the people behind your projects. You got it. This is the latest profile in that series.
Name
Jen Corrigan
Title
Product Owner
How do you help clients?
I work with clients to help them define their goals for their application, identify the primary/secondary users, and talk through practical, real-life use cases. I take the answers to these high-level questions and use it to build a backlog and plan sprints keeping these focuses top-of-mind.
Tell us about your background or training.
After graduate school, I got a job in QA testing and found that I really enjoyed putting my effort toward making a product better at the end of the development pipeline. I wanted to learn more about the work that happens at the beginning of the development process, especially UX research/design, technical business analysis, and release planning. I started building my skills, and I joined the Far Reach team so I could do what I enjoy while helping clients at the same time.
What is your work mantra?
Do the best work you can with what you have right now. Everything in life has its own constraints, and it’s human nature to get wrapped up in the “if only” mindset or to wait indefinitely for the stars to better align. But limitations can be a great way to get people to think outside of the box and explore creative solutions.
What are you reading?
I read widely, but fiction is my go-to genre. I just finished Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, an experimental novel that won the Booker Prize in 2017.
Whom do you follow?
I intentionally limit my social media and internet time, so I don’t actively follow accounts or blogs or podcasts. I dabble in a lot of things that pique my interests and will search for specific content when I have a question that needs answered or when I want to expand my knowledge in a particular area. Right now, I’m reading a lot about color theory and how it influences behavior.
Where do you see the field going in 1-3 years?
Intuitive, user-centered UX is a hot focus right now, and I think this will continue even further and will result in applications becoming pared down in terms of look and functionality versus offering overwhelming options and customizability. Coming out of the pandemic, we’re emerging from a period where as a culture we relied heavily on phones and computers for connection and communication, both in work and personal settings. And because of the paradigm shift toward remote or hybrid work, this is still true for many people. We’re inundated with technology at all times, and I think applications will find success by limiting decision fatigue for the user by means of offering a simplified and direct experience.