Consulting

After nearly four years leading UX at GoTo, I started my own practice in February 2026. I work as an interim or fractional UX leader, or as a hands-on principal on a single high-stakes product.

What I help with

• Interim and fractional UX leadership. Stabilize a team through a leadership change, set standards, and get the right people in the right seats.
• Product strategy grounded in research. Field research, journey and ecosystem mapping, and jobs-to-be-done to find where the real friction is.
• AI implementation strategy. Where AI earns its place in a workflow, what to build versus buy, and how to roll it out so people actually use it.
• Hands-on design for complex B2B products. Analytics, permissions-heavy platforms, and dealer software are home turf.

How an engagement runs: the first 90 days

Days 1–30: Listen and map. Stakeholder interviews, time on site with the people doing the work, and a map of the current journey and ecosystem. I set a baseline for the few metrics that matter, so we can tell later whether anything changed.

Days 31–60: Focus and prove. Pick the two or three problems worth solving first. Prototype, put it in front of real users, and adjust. Ship a quick win if one is there, because early proof buys room for the bigger work.

Days 61–90: Make it stick. A prioritized roadmap with a build/buy view, the rituals and standards that keep the team moving without me, and a hand-off plan. Where it fits, a standing customer cohort for continuous discovery, the same model behind the Insiders program at GoTo.

Selected work since 2026

Dealer analytics platform redesign: Dave Cantin Group / JumpIQ (May – June 2026)

Paid contract as Principal UX Consultant. I redesigned a dealer analytics platform around how dealers actually think: comparator, map and grid views, analysis, sentiment, and a design system, with role-based data access across four credential tiers. Validated across multiple dealership sessions. Read the case study.

AI implementation strategy proposal: insurance and payroll services firm (February 2026)

A strategy proposal, developed as spec work, for a commercial insurance and payroll organization: analysis and direction on where AI fits their operations, a build/buy analysis, and a 30-60-90 day roadmap, grounded in on-site field research with their team.

F&I workflow strategy proposal: automotive finance (2026)

A strategy proposal, developed as spec work, for modernizing finance and insurance (F&I) in dealerships. It put the workflow first: a 30-60-90 plan built around ethnographic research in the F&I office, continuous discovery with a standing cohort of F&I managers, and AI assistance aimed at the steps that slow deals down. The project wasn't funded, but the approach is the one I'd bring to any F&I or dealer-workflow engagement.

Operations software for an agricultural grower (June 2026 – present)

I lead and own the whole effort, from discovery through design to build. It started with embedded field research during harvest season and workflow and jobs-to-be-done mapping with the crew. From there I designed and built a working inventory and orders app with Claude Code, now in use with the first crew members and growing phase by phase.

Working with me

I work directly with clients on contract, or as a W-2 through a placement firm, remote or on-site.

Email me at renatowardle@yahoo.com.