http://www.rsmithii.com/games daily 1.0 2025-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476253353413-R3XC8EH18X8ZYTEYW4U2/ver+2.gif Projects https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476253501736-6FTHDJAO90RH36A7M78C/ChromaTrigger3.png Projects https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1481734924102-AVKEVHZOFIB6DOTMBRQA/IMG_8820.JPG Projects https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1486607522136-TB9WC7DQWN5NFJ7NHVEC/museidle.gif Projects https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476069070108-D3X5IDGSB9IYBE5QOWEW/noteBreakersOpening.jpg Projects - Note Breakers - Global Game Jam 2016 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476072821441-6MJPSH7B1PEJJCWWRKKG/automatagif.gif Projects - Aurora Borealis Aurora Borealis is a meditative artistic piece created implementing cellular automata using Javascript. The color scheme and backdrop are inspired by the northern lights. This piece is intended to mesmerize the watcher into a state of both attention and relaxation. The flashing lights from the visualized history of the automata contrast the hazy audio to create an interesting experience. Roles: Designer, Programmer, Composer, Sound Designer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476068794616-RY02AFAM1MY0RO856SKI/pixaltoOpening.jpg Projects - Pixalto Teaser https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476252283314-E65FW3N30SKGJPGQ6XEH/image-asset.jpeg Projects - Spotlight Prototype Gameplay Spotlight is an experimental prototype created using Amazon's Lumberyard game engine. This proved to be a little tricky due to the newness of the enginge and the lack of documentation. In this game the player navigates a level while trying to maintain their health. Roles: Level Designer, User Interface Programmer, Game Designer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1507907220745-1I51F3GDXZ98REICTU1K/jJones1.jpg Projects http://www.rsmithii.com/papers-1 daily 0.75 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476139652791-B37ZNDHVX31E7OTV0M8I/research.jpg Research https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1486612601089-5RSCRFPEQVYCGWNGGRQC/Screen+Shot+2017-02-08+at+10.56.22+PM.png Research - HUD IT Governance Study evaluating the Housing and Urban Development's IT governance performed at the Government Accountability Office. Read this paper Roles: Researcher, Data Analyst https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1497541692755-ZJ6JE2SKT4J8DAFTKTBZ/image8.gif Research https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1498520873468-YCP0P7WP5OU05MQ382FJ/tgef2.png Research The Tekkotsu State Machine Composer is a graphical editor designed to create state machines for controlling intelligent robots. The UI utilizes drag and drop mechanics for easy node and transition placement. Roles: Front End Developer - Java https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1497542111012-FFNV9SBTOC2DUNX2SEU7/gloomBox.png Research - Gloom Box Data A link to all of the surveys and playtest data used to create Gloom Box. This includes data gathered from professional Developers from the Game Developers Conference (GDC). Read more about Gloom Box. Roles: Data Analyst, User Researcher, Survey Writer http://www.rsmithii.com/sfxcompositions daily 0.75 2017-06-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476148243313-5QWVDOIS8XLQ3EHGUTHP/sheetMusic.jpg SFX/Compositions https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476148436203-U0J3Q0T4JD9FDOP6QGG4/sfx.jpg SFX/Compositions http://www.rsmithii.com/hud-it-governance daily 0.75 2017-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476074554821-S4FI7U35R4RCLB6Z6HSR/Screen+Shot+2016-10-10+at+12.32.18+AM.png HUD IT Governance - Department of Housing and Urban Development IT Governance Evaluation Evaluation and analysis of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's information technology governance. Roles: Researcher, Writer, Data Analyst & Statistician Read this paper       https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1476074554821-S4FI7U35R4RCLB6Z6HSR/Screen+Shot+2016-10-10+at+12.32.18+AM.png HUD IT Governance - Department of Housing and Urban Development IT Governance Evaluation Evaluation and analysis of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's information technology governance. Roles: Researcher, Writer, Data Analyst & Statistician Read this paper       http://www.rsmithii.com/tekkotsu-state-machine-composer daily 0.75 2017-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1486611677134-26J9IBCYRQT3203NR08K/tgef2.png Tekkotsu State Machine Composer - Tekkotsu State Machine Composer The Tekkotsu State Machine Composer is a graphical editor used to create state machines for controlling intelligent robots. The UI utilizes a drag and drop interface to easily place nodes and transitions. Roles: Front End Developer - Java, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1486611677134-26J9IBCYRQT3203NR08K/tgef2.png Tekkotsu State Machine Composer - Tekkotsu State Machine Composer The Tekkotsu State Machine Composer is a graphical editor used to create state machines for controlling intelligent robots. The UI utilizes a drag and drop interface to easily place nodes and transitions. Roles: Front End Developer - Java, http://www.rsmithii.com/work daily 0.75 2020-01-29 http://www.rsmithii.com/ux-ur daily 0.75 2026-03-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1548389381745-AUFU9QAPVL4HQJ8GH6GH/homedepot.jpg New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1548553277991-85JX44PZBHC6NT62E0DG/Screen+Shot+2019-01-26+at+8.38.31+PM.png New Index - Project Overview For this project, my team and I wanted to improve the experience of buying and selling used items locally in metropolitan areas. Our user group were young people (ages 18-35) who lived in or near major cities. We found that our users had issues with convenience, safety, and trust in item integrity. We decided to address these concerns in our design. My Team Nia Lindsey, Anna Malecki, Whitney Nelson, Andy Zhou My Role In the research phase, I synthesized the findings from the competitive analysis that we conducted, contributed survey questions and conducted two semi-structured interviews. In the analysis phase, I contributed to building our affinity diagrams and generating design criteria. In the design phase, I participated in our multiple brainstorming sessions. I made mock-ups and storyboards for one of our design alternatives. I also helped design and create our prototype in Sketch and add functionality in InVision. In the evaluation phase, I helped create our evaluation plan and tasks. I also recruited participants for evaluation. Research Methods Competitive Analysis We completed a competitive analysis by looking at existing solutions and identifying issues current users have with these systems. We were able to learn more about the existing solutions on the market that attempts to solve user need and pain points we found so that we could better estimate our problem space. Preliminary Semi-Structured Interviews We conducted preliminary interviews with 5 participants in our user group, utilizing convenience sampling. Our goal was to learn more about their online shopping experiences, their preferences, and pain points. We analyzed the data using qualitative coding to find recurring themes related to user pain points. Three major themes included convenience, safety, and anonymity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1555286310043-Y7WE04SZL6ROAQ80WABN/beychella_getty_ringer.0.jpg New Index - Beyonce Quiz Created a Buzzfeed style quiz game to allow users to discern what kind of Beyonce fan they are. The quiz shows relevant fun facts and playlists to the user based on questions answered incorrectly. Tools Used: Javscript, HTML, CSS, Take the quiz https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753287291435-X5YCH35TDIJH8TUI19E0/amazon_q-logo_brandlogos.net_winaj.png New Index - Amazon Q Developer in chat applications Amazon Q Developer in chat applications Amazon Q Developer in chat applications (previously AWS Chatbot) enables you to monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize your AWS resources with a generative AI-powered assistant in Microsoft Teams and Slack. Discover more about your AWS resources, collaboratively troubleshoot operational events, run AWS CLI commands, and remediate issues by chatting with Amazon Q Developer directly from your chat channels.. To view the technical documentation I’ve created for this service, click here. My Roles: Content Designer, Technical Writer, UX Writer Team: Project Manager, UX Designer, Software Development Engineers, Editor I regularly work across other AWS services I support (Amazon Q in chat applications, AWS User Notifications, Management Console) and their teams as much of the content includes overlapping user experiences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1738519983435-P21D5S74F4J023ZXNKZB/IMG_1835.PNG New Index - AWS Console Mobile Application The AWS Console Mobile Application lets you view and manage a select set of resources and receive important push notifications to stay informed and connected with your AWS resources while on-the-go. To view the technical documentation I’ve created for this service, click here. My Roles: Content Designer, Technical Writer, UX Writer Team: Project Manager, UX Designer, Software Development Engineers, Editor I regularly work across other AWS services I support (Amazon Q in chat applications, AWS User Notifications, Management Console) and their teams as much of the content includes overlapping user experiences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1751897244236-U4HF3WJME3EY4I9OAOB3/Screen+Shot+2025-07-07+at+10.06.36+AM.png New Index - AWS User Notifications AWS User Notifications — Content Design Case Study Overview AWS User Notifications is a centralized notification management service that allows users to receive and manage alerts across accounts, regions, and channels from a single location. I was the sole content designer on this product from launch, owning the end-to-end content strategy including UX copy, documentation architecture, a cross-service writing template, and post-launch iteration. To view the technical documentation I’ve created for this service, click here. The result: a 25% increase in feature adoption following launch. The Problem Before User Notifications existed, AWS users had no centralized way to manage alerts. Getting notifications required manually configuring EventBridge rules, CloudWatch Alarms, and SNS topics. A complex, time-consuming process prone to gaps and inconsistencies. The experience this created was fragmented: Notifications arrived in multiple formats across disconnected channels There was no unified view of account health across services, accounts, or regions Users had limited control over where and how they received alerts Raw SNS emails were often the default, offering little readability or context The goal of User Notifications was to consolidate this into a single, manageable experience with support for email, chat apps, and push notifications. My goal was to make sure users could understand, adopt, and get value from it quickly. My Roles: Content Designer, Technical Writer, UX Writer I joined the project at the beginning and owned content end to end across three phases: Pre-launch — I worked directly with PMs, engineers, and a UX designer to understand the service architecture and define the content strategy. I collaborated with the UX designer to iterate on console copy alongside design mockups, ensuring the language, error messages, and notification templates were clear and consistent before anything shipped. Launch preparation — I authored the full user guide and getting started content, collaborated with the UX designer on console copy including notifications and error messaging, and built a cross-service documentation template that any AWS writer could use for their own service's User Notifications integration. Launch and post-launch — I deployed documentation alongside the engineering team from GitHub and monitored user feedback and performance metrics after launch. A Key Content Decision: Managed vs. User-Configured Notifications The most significant content design challenge came after launch, when the team introduced managed notifications — notifications delivered automatically by AWS by default, without user configuration. At the time, the existing documentation only covered one type of notification: the kind users set up themselves. I had informally been calling these "user-configured notifications" but the guide didn't make the distinction explicit because there was only one type. When managed notifications were introduced, I had to decide how to restructure the information architecture of the entire guide. I had a couple of options: Keep everything in one guide and add a section for managed notifications Restructure the existing guide into two distinct sections with clear navigation I chose the third approach — splitting the guide into a managed notifications section and a user-configured notifications section within the same guide. This kept the content unified under one URL and navigation entry point while making the distinction between the two concepts immediately clear to users arriving from either direction. The naming itself was a deliberate decision. "Managed" and "user-configured" aren't the most exciting terms but they're precise, parallel, and immediately communicate who controls what, which is exactly what users need to know when they're deciding which path applies to them. The Cross-Service Template Because User Notifications integrates with every AWS service, dozens of other AWS writers needed to document how their specific service worked with it. Without a standard, each writer would have approached it differently. This produces inconsistent, hard-to-compare documentation across the AWS ecosystem. I built a standardized documentation template with required sections and customizable fields that any writer could adapt for their service. The template defined what information had to be included, how it should be structured, and where customization was appropriate. The impact was threefold: All User Notifications content across AWS looked and felt consistent Other writers saved significant time — they weren't starting from scratch I saved time on reviews — content arrived closer to ready because the structure was already defined Outcome AWS User Notifications saw a 25% increase in feature adoption following launch. The documentation and UX copy played a direct role — users needed to understand a new mental model for how notifications worked at AWS, and clear content was the bridge between the product's technical capability and user confidence in adopting it. Team: Project Manager, UX Designer, Software Development Engineers, Editor I regularly work across other AWS services I support (Amazon Q in chat applications, AWS User Notifications, Management Console) and their teams as much of the content includes overlapping user experiences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570485486475-QML9P8YBYYTB4G24MGGA/Screen+Shot+2019-10-07+at+5.57.51+PM.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1738531319865-QVICGLPUDRZCF5MCE7JA/myapplications.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286587276-AZJZTNG21WYZNEPOPBS0/CHallRegions.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286587249-IQ7V529ZD6ZVG691QIUG/CHdefaultstate-currentRegion.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286588257-8WBN02QKO9D3MQ5PBAOE/CHemptwidget.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286588279-WMVIDRLA8ZJF82KYW7NV/Chemptystae-allRegions.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286589276-97WP8UQ2NLAG5OEPGSYJ/CHemptystate-currentRegion.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286589334-9SS99508V7N783C9WTPL/CHerrorloading.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286590347-VOKHO4V6NDNF84ZXYSRK/CHfilter+-+nomatches.png New Index https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1753286590529-JPYQ1R38S4OZ8G4MX3US/CHFilter.png New Index http://www.rsmithii.com/visual-design daily 0.75 2020-02-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1550265800786-AWS8VGMJHVIEKPJOZ727/3Dressesmockup-01.png Visual Design - Omondi Omondi is an NY based fashion brand that specializes in women’s fashion and embroidered streetwear. For my visual design class I was tasked with creating poster concepts that conveyed a sense of the brand using typography and illustrations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570488123383-691FMZ8DVOC83RE19TZ5/Screen+Shot+2019-04-15+at+11.13.01+PM.png Visual Design https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570484129709-5BNZR6D1TFV97N40YJFZ/omondi1typo-01.png Visual Design https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570484167901-9BJZUAX2YMD1BRFBU5NV/dressomodraft1+copy222.png Visual Design https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570484195578-XWLJ71C81VG65IE0NICF/3Dressesmockup-01.png Visual Design https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570486401222-7Q1D9EADPDO8YQWZJDET/carcadeaditeration3.png Visual Design - Carcade Advertisement Mockup for a Carcade ad https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570486583923-FV9CKBV57IIPJ7Q84C94/riderProfilev2.png Visual Design - Carcade Settings Screen https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570486416330-NXUS7DAON3XVPBPU9W0B/Screen+Shot+2019-04-22+at+12.26.29+AM.png Visual Design - Carcade Logo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570486551400-AMBGEQXV142TKREMTHPB/HailRideSCreen-01.png Visual Design - Carcade Map Page https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1570486432457-S9UTVU9W95IA64JE1LB6/Screen+Shot+2019-04-23+at+1.10.37+PM.png Visual Design - Carcade Social Media Ad http://www.rsmithii.com/q-in-chat-apps daily 0.75 2025-07-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1751896247749-HW3KBRFWD8960IR36836/amazon_q-logo_brandlogos.net_winaj.png Q in Chat Apps - Amazon Q Developer in chat applications Amazon Q Developer in chat applications (formerly AWS Chatbot) enables DevOps and software development teams to use messaging program chat channels to monitor and respond to operational events in their AWS Cloud. Amazon Q Developer processes AWS service notifications from Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS), and forwards them to chat channels so teams can analyze and act on them immediately, regardless of location. Amazon Q Developer also supports AWS CLI commands so you can manage AWS resources directly from your chat channels. To read the administrator guide or the API guide for this service, click here. My Roles: Content Designer, Technical Writer, UX Writer Team: Project Manager, UX Designer, Software Development Engineers, Editor I regularly work across other AWS services I support (Amazon Q in chat applications, AWS User Notifications, Management Console) and their teams as much of the content includes overlapping user experiences. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/686bcca11127227aaa29e412/686bccb83caebd7e2f055350/1751895237488/ Q in Chat Apps https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1751896247749-HW3KBRFWD8960IR36836/amazon_q-logo_brandlogos.net_winaj.png Q in Chat Apps - Amazon Q Developer in chat applications Amazon Q Developer in chat applications (formerly AWS Chatbot) enables DevOps and software development teams to use messaging program chat channels to monitor and respond to operational events in their AWS Cloud. Amazon Q Developer processes AWS service notifications from Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS), and forwards them to chat channels so teams can analyze and act on them immediately, regardless of location. Amazon Q Developer also supports AWS CLI commands so you can manage AWS resources directly from your chat channels. To read the administrator guide or the API guide for this service, click here. My Roles: Content Designer, Technical Writer, UX Writer Team: Project Manager, UX Designer, Software Development Engineers, Editor I regularly work across other AWS services I support (Amazon Q in chat applications, AWS User Notifications, Management Console) and their teams as much of the content includes overlapping user experiences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1751895828969-TRBG6GJN5HPUYFOGBJ7N/image-asset.png Q in Chat Apps - Q Developer in chat applications This video shows the Amazon Q Developer in chat apps console, the channel configuration flow, and text created for “How it works” modals. One challenge with this console is that it cant make use of help panels. Help panels in the AWS Management Console are displayed as info links that users can choose. This opens a side panel that shows more information about a topic. The benefit of help panels is that it allows writers to save screen real estate. Due to the fact that help panels aren’t available for this console, the text shown in the config flow is as concise as possible, yet detailed enough that important concepts are explained to users http://www.rsmithii.com/rsii daily 0.75 2019-01-26 http://www.rsmithii.com/test daily 0.75 2020-02-06 http://www.rsmithii.com/about daily 0.75 2017-04-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1486424868136-TTDM9Z0LC9Q4R8THEKBG/IMG_6750.JPG About http://www.rsmithii.com/biocontact daily 0.75 2025-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57acda4dd2b857e385b26e7e/1475192407133-86GZBR2S5Z96VVSXBZ8K/Stocksy_comp_856497.jpg Bio/Contact http://www.rsmithii.com/new-page daily 0.75 2019-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1548469199739-3IKVV6BVBT5ULZ5T8XLT/phone.jpg New Page https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e854a9f5e23123e59dc6a7/1548469215100-OTQWFK46401NSKO6MTZH/Assistant+Manager+Empathy+map.png New Page