Do you use personas as tools to represent the needs, desires, skills and environment of one or more classes of real users.

Yes. I think they are a necessary step in projects. Though I don't believe you need extremely detailed and complex personas as I have found that teams never refer back to them the more grandiose they become. It is very critical to have goals, user, and their behaviors identified and defined before creating a solution. I have created personas (role, behavioral , quantitative and qualitative) for financial industry, consumer retail, consumer electronics, electrical engineering and apparel industries

Are you a foodie?

*laughter* followed by "I-LOVE-FOOD". I then go into a rant about how I studied culinary art and design through out high school and made the choice for design when I eventually chose to go to college, but one day long to get my culinary degree and open a local restaurant when I am 55.

We need a self starter. Are you a self starter?

Yes I am., but really who will say that are not. I began my career in in small business, consulting, and entrepreneurial environments where requirements and markets shift quickly. This is balanced by large Fortune 500 experience where being able to make the right choices consistently (and a proving business case) is a necessity due to the greater impact and visibility of failure.

How do you make decisions during your design process?

I usually use research drawn from stakeholder/end-user interviews,focus groups,concept tests ETC... This information is then aligned with the product goals. Sometimes they do not align and this is the first of many challenges. Assuming they do align if many users want to do X and business goals are supported by X then we are designing X.

Who is your favorite designer?

I really don't have one.

Oh...well what about design style?

Eh. I don't have one of those either. I feel like the design should fit the product, the message and the overall brand.

Well how about a site you really like?

*At this point I realize I need to give an answer* .My mind immediately shifts to the pop music of web design, Apple. This is assuming I'm not picking one I have work on.

Apple is a good site but since many sites have tried to design theirs like Apple and many people like it this doesn't help me stand out. They are many visually stunning sites but I like http://www.massgeneral.org/. Why? well for a hospital site (something I never look up unless I am very sick which I never am) they success at creating an experience.

I stumbled upon the site when I was looking for my patient information after a routine physical. I could not find how to access this by the way - big fail. I did find a video of a doctor explaining child heart surgery in a very compelling way. They also integrate this with their ofline radio marketing. They are not the only hospital I can think of or recommend if somebody needs some kind of surgery. Which is no small feat in Boston (I usually think of MGH as just a red line stop). They have lots of engaging content such as this.

I also like the Dominos pizza order site (both mobile and web). It does what it is supposed to do and doesn't overreach. Following this thread I also think craiglist is a good site considering how broad it is but still so loved. These sites convert their audience very well while providing good value and vibes in return.

As for sites that are more focused on awareness I like Hulu there is very little telling the user what to do but the goals and calls to action are very clear. In this case I think good content is king.

Do you have any experience in human interface guidelines, standards, and best practices?

No...Just kidding. I have about 15 years of experience designing and building digital experiences. “Standards”  include 508 & WC3

How do you feel about data?

(Nobody has ever asked me this)
As a user experience lead it has been on my mind lately. I don't think agencies or companies user data effectively. This is usually due to lack of goals to give analysts direction, or inability to get data quickly and in a very usable format. Even when the right data is there project time lines don't usually account for effective data usage. Worse people simply ignore the data.

I feel the more users you have the more powerful designing with data and multivariate testing become. This is especially true with E-commerce solutions where there are defined funnels. Personally I love economics abstracts and data visualizations. However, if you can get usage data on a redesign and a/b test your solution options I think you will have a winner hands down.

Why don't you make this a BLOG?

I don't post frequently enough and not everything is blog worthy. Note my twitter feed.