Approach to Projects

I like small projects that precisely fit a specific need or help clients take their next step in a larger program. Within larger projects, I enjoy lots of moving parts and the sense of satisfaction that comes with reining them in. Some of my clients need suggestions for updates or improvements to programs they are already running. Other projects simply need help organizing content from a fresh perspective.

My working style is “informal within a structure.” I prefer the partnering approach, but understand that not all clients have the time to collaborate.

I strive to create results that ultimately extend my clients’ reach and influence in their organizations. The one constant in my work is that the stakeholders and the learners are directly and consistently considered. This creates useable, practical products—good design!

Project Categories – Click to View

• Client: A defense industry supplier
  Project: This safety culture content analysis involved reviews of online and offline information pieces and presentations, meetings with safety staff, site observations and several onsite focus groups. The project purpose was to assess the instructional value of existing materials and presentations, and their role in maintaining the safety culture at one of the client’s uniquely hazardous sites. Recommendations addressed changes in content as well as the processes used to format and distribute safety information.
• Client: Conoco-Phillips transportation unit
  Project: A prototype mapping and validation tool for unit managers dealing with 150+ certifications for job roles reporting to them. The tool was designed to give learning managers a clearer overview of certification requirements and the overall curriculum plan prior to loading courses on the corporate learning management system.
• Client: A “big four” accounting firm
  Project: Audrey led a virtual team of learning consultants in evaluating the instructional effectiveness of 90 existing, primarily instructor-led courses. The team then developed a strategy for converting portions of that curriculum to an online learning format. Audrey helped develop the evaluation criteria and the customized reporting tool for this project, along with evaluating 15 of the courses.
• Client: Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Project
  Project: Web site analysis and information design for the Department’s proposed nuclear waste disposal site northwest of Las Vegas. Audrey reviewed the current website, provided feedback to developers, and applied information design strategies to create revised site concept maps for this major engineering enterprise.
• Client: Major international airline
  Project: Major updates to two programs—a three-day and a ten-day orientation—for the airline’s baggage desk and reservations call centers. The projects involved content and procedural updates and design revisions to improve participant interactivity. The programs were developed for an offshore audience, requiring extra attention to the cultural aspects of the activities.
• Client: Legoland Development, LLC
  Project: Facilities programs for Legoland, Germany. Audrey collected and summarized user requirements for administrative facilities and several site attractions based in part on the Carlsbad, California Legoland facility. Legoland management staff served as the subject matter experts. The project included a number of attraction “briefs,” detailing attraction themes, user requirements and design direction.

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• Client: National Wildfire Coordinating Group, ROSS Project, National Park Service
  Project: Evaluation and coaching for instructors deploying new resource allocation software. Audrey evaluated video presentations of 25 instructors-in-training, prepared written feedback for each instructor, then developed and delivered a train-the-trainer course based on the skill deficiencies noted in the evaluations.
• Client: University of Nevada at Las Vegas Continuing Education
  Project: Design and delivery of several three-hour workshops on information design basics, including information display strategies and techniques for improving clarity. The workshop presentation examined examples of good and poor information design and provided participants short opportunities to apply principles to their own professional tasks.
• Client: Mitek Industries, St. Louis (international building materials supplier)
  Project: Audrey developed and delivered several two-day train-the-trainer programs for Mitek customer service representatives. Discussions on customer training strategies and training products were incorporated into the sessions.
• Client: Multiple Intrepid Learning Solutions clients
  Project: Job analysis sessions for Intrepid’s clients. Over several years, Audrey planned and delivered multiple “Job Analysis at the Speed of Reality (JASR)” sessions, each time responding to unique client requirements and implementing process improvements to a tool originally developed by a colleague. Audrey’s focus was designing and delivering sessions in ways that helped translate workshop outcomes to role specific curriculum maps.

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• Client: San Diego Unified School District
  Project: Working through several foundation grants, Audrey assembled a 25-lesson curriculum for 2nd-6th grade students on architecture and landscape architecture. Lessons included detailed plans and handouts on topics such as “scale,” “landforms,” and “collaboration.” The lessons were designed with options for co-instruction with volunteer architects. Audrey also developed and staffed the two-day in-service that introduced the program to several dozen district teachers.
• Client: Boeing Leadership Center
  Project: Audrey developed “Political Savvy and Influencing” as a five-hour unit within a two-week leadership development program at the Boeing Leadership Center. To customize and tailor content, Audrey surveyed Boeing executives and directly incorporated their opinions, guidelines and applications for political savvy behaviors. Audrey scripted comments into audio tapes that were incorporated into module activities.
• Client: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
  Project: With the completion of $800 million in new multi-purpose facilities at Caesars Palace, the property’s emergency procedures manual required a major update. Audrey organized and significantly expanded the existing document, addressing general evacuation procedures and more specific procedures for fire, electrical failure, bomb threat, hazardous materials and other disaster scenarios. Materials were organized for later incorporation into departmental safety training plans for the hotel-casino.

  For another major Caesars project, Audrey developed customer service training for 300 magicians and other characters staffing the Magical Empire dinner-show attraction.

• Client: Solar Turbines, San Diego
  Project: When Solar Turbines undertook a comprehensive advanced level orientation program at its San Diego facility, Audrey developed a four-part, 16-hour “core curriculum” for delivery by Solar’s management to 1000 employees. The program goal was to build loyalty and better acquaint tenured employees with the company’s markets, products and business objectives.
• Client: CRM Films and SkillBuilders, Inc.
  Project: Over four years, Audrey created participant and instructor materials for multiple, best selling CRM products. Among them: Teamwork in Crisis, a video account of the crash of United Flight 232 (in which 200 of the 300 passengers survived); Ethics for Everyone, Accountability Pays, Leadership Challenge, Taking Charge of Change and the update to Abilene Paradox.
• Client: Arkive, Inc. and Duke Medical Center
  Project: Audrey created an onsite, intra-operative training system—including lab coat pocket job aids and a defined training sequence—for the anesthesiology staff at Duke Medical Center. The program served as a rapid deployment prototype to be offered at client customers’ medical facilities. The assignment included equipment training and coaching plans for use in operating rooms during live cases. Working with the client, Audrey also created or co-authored a number of ancillary marketing reports, white papers and poster presentations.
• Client: Visicom (San Diego based defense contractor)
  Project: Technically oriented and time-stressed Visicom employees were experienced project managers but lacked experience as people managers. Audrey designed a ten-week supervisory skills program customized for the Visicom environment and culture. Topics included Delegating, Coaching, Performance Evaluation, Conflict Management, Time Management, Dealing with Change, etc.

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• Client: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
  Project: Audrey conducted over 125 pre-design interviews, focus groups and familiarization tours to establish user requirements for the $800 million tower expansion. Among the areas investigated and defined were warehouses, engineering spaces, casino support rooms, kitchen and dining facilities, guest spas and leisure facilities, employee spaces and executive offices. Audrey collected, interpreted and organized requirements and prepared documentation for use by the project architects.
• Clients: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas; Planet Hollywood Hotel, and the Venetian Resort and Casino
  Projects: Over a 30 month period, Audrey served as a project manager and operations liaison with construction teams at Caesars Palace (and later the Venetian) as new towers and attractions were designed, built and occupied. Her role was to establish and maintain communication between operational teams and the construction groups working to complete facilities while guests occupied the hotel. Often this involved just-in-time, seat-of- the-pants logistics and reschedules to accommodate contingencies.

  Projects: As a specialized form of information design, “wayfinding” plans the signage systems that lead people to, through and from buildings.

  • Audrey created an inexpensive, adaptable system for leading construction workers and early onboarding employees through the massive Venetian Resort and Casino during the property’s pre-opening phases.
  • Audrey developed a program for temporary back of house signage for Caesars Palace during their major tower expansion. The assignment included design, approvals and vendor coordination.

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