1. David Carruthers
Product Manager / UX Designer
07793 555 482
dave.carruthers@gmail.com
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/dcarruthers

2. About me
Currently product managing 2 startups to launch
Experience Of the sites that I have led the UX on:
I'm an e-commerce & conversion focussed head of UX/Product manager. 1 has won an econsultancy award for innovation in
ecommerce
I spent 8 years’ agency-side leading UX with major corporate clients. 1 has won a Interactive media council award
Including: Waitrose, NatWest, Travelodge, Game, Royal Navy 2 have been nominated for BIMAs
1 has been shortlisted for a Revolution award
The last 4 years I have been client-side, managing UX & product ownership of All have made lots of money for my clients/employers
www.glassesdirect.co.uk
Since leaving Glasses Direct I've been product managing 2 very different
startups to get them both to initial launch stage using Lean techniques,
responsible for the UX of them both.
Approach
My approach has 3 main sides.
1) Data - I love analytics, research and data, can happily get my hands dirty
with spreadsheets, user interviews or other research
2) Sketching - I try to burn through a large number of ideas with paper and
pencil to test various solutions & ideas before finalising & documenting
3) Collaboration - Whether teasing out requirements from stakeholders, or
throwing ideas around with developers & designers I'm keen to talk

3. Potted History
2000-2005 2005-2008 2008-2011 2011-present
Oyster partners (now LBi) Twentysix London Glasses Direct 2 startups
Cut my teeth with some of the Headed up IA/UX team & UX manager/lead and Product Responsible for UX &
smartest people in the industry led UX on: manager product managment
as Information Architect & UX
Travelodge Basket value doubled UX design
Clients include: - 30% increase in Revenue per visitor increased
Intelligent Finance conversion, £300m turnover by 50% Lean startup
BT Wholesale.com Waitrose.com techniques
B-2-B BT.com - BIMA & Revolution E-consultancy award winning
NMRothschilds.com nominated, IMA winner site - innovation in ecommerce Feature prioritisation
FPDSavills.com Royal Navy Careers
- BIMA nominated Requirements gathering &
NatWest.com & commercial prioritisation
Game.co.uk UX design
Running A/B tests & MVT
User research
Mental Models
Agile development team

4. Current work - GameShow: Web
Initial sketch ideas Refined sketch ideas
GameShow is a VC angel backed startup. Created by a
high profile UK entrepreneur, it should be launched
within Q1 of 2012.
Challenge
Create a product that is compelling, with social
engagement as an essential part of gameplay.
Create everything necessary in a very short time period
with limited budget.
Interactive wireframes Finalised design & interactive prototype
My involvement
Responsible for the entire UX for HTML5 game &
mobile app
Helped shape the idea & brand
Managed the designer
Created interactive prototype (web & mobile)
Created stories, scope & spec for developers
I'm still involved as the product continues to grow and
evolve
Screens from Mobile
scamp prototype:

5. Glasses Direct - Mental model
Mental model detail
"A company that has shaken the comfortable world of opticians by creating an online
system to drive down the price of prescription glasses" - Times Online
Challenge
To find a way of gathering together all the research and understanding we have
about a customer that will help us understand their needs, and plan strategically
My involvement
Collate all existing user research (about 30 documents)
Run user interviews & telephone interviews
Interview summary
Run workshops internally to gather tasks
Interpret data and create final model
Result
A model that clearly exposed which areas of the customer experience were not
being addressed, where we should focus. Referenced by CEO and influenced
development plans. Also useful for new starters to explain mindset of customers.
Entire mental model

6. Glasses Direct - Home Trial
Challenge
To allow customers to try on frames at home to check what suits
them before making a purchase decision.
Create flow that allows selection of multiple high value products to
be tried at home for little or no money and returned to us.
There was no other system like it online then, or now.
My involvement
Definition of the online user experience & correct implementation.
Wireframes, overseeing design, collaboration with developers for
implementation.
Email/reminder schedule.
2010/11 Over time, responsible for design of packaging and boxes as well.
Result
A world online first (I believe) multiple high value products being
sent out for free and returned whilst retaining credit card details.
80% of frames sold over £70 on GD are now bought via home trial.
Enabled a significant uplift in Average basket value.
Allowed a shift in product range to higher value brands.
Significant differentiator in the market & powerful marketing
message.

7. Glasses Direct - Other activities
Site evolution
Managed the site through a number of brand shifts. Each time trying to
combine aesthetic changes with usability improvements
Style Finder
I specified a very basic tool to help people find the right glasses for them on the
site, minimal functionality to test the idea.
15% of all revenue on the site now comes via people using the style finder, who
convert 20% better than the norm
Shortlisting
An essential piece of functionality for our sector that had been way too long
coming. I specified the UX and the stories for the development team.
20% of all revenue comes via people using the functionality at a 10% higher
ABV, and 250% better conversion rate than average users
A/B and split testing
Used 2 MVT companies, 1 paid tool and google for split and MVT testing during
my time at GD. I'm now a huge believer and very experienced in the use of it.

8. Travelodge - Overview
As is sitemap Challenge
Completely overhaul the travelodge.co.uk website, which turned over £300 million/
year.
Get customers to engage with it and convert at a higher rate.
My involvement
Working with a planner and commissioning ethnographic research we worked hard to
create a more compelling reason to use travelodge, then simplified the journeys
whilst providing much more information about their stay.
I was responsible for the UX with all the standard deliverables. Sitemaps, journeys,
wireframes etc.
I created clickable prototypes to be tested externally.
To be sitemap Working closely with the designer we created a much slicker journey and displayed
much more appropriate information at the right time.
Result
Post launch the site saw a 30% increase in conversion.
The project paid for itself in a fortnight.

9. Travelodge - Journeys
User journey comparison Detail zoom Challenge
To justify why my suggested user journey was
the right approach to the travelodge client
My involvement
To pull together ethnographic research with
my analysis of the user journey to justify the
new user journey approach.
Created a document that compared the user
journeys, then deep dived into a particular
journey illustrating:
Deep dive analysis
problem | user quote | solution.
Result
Client understood the reasoning behind the
suggested changes.
Research was practically applied to the
solution.
Project continued with smiles all around
(unusual for this particular project!).

10. Travelodge - Wireframes vs live site
Wireframes from original project vs current screengrabs