Beth is available for hire
Hire BethBeth McHugh
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Location
Washington, DC, United States
Toptal Member Since
September 3, 2021
Beth is a director of product and user-centered design specialist with expertise in data-informed decision-making, building highly collaborative teams, and improving business KPIs. She has nine years in product management, creating impact at startups, mid-sized companies, and mission-focused education, health, and community-building organizations.
Project Highlights
Concept Testing that Led to a Pivot
Led concept testing with a corporate audience. Presented results to leadership which included a recommended pivot.
Launched New COVID-19 Product
At K2P, led the engineers and adapted the CurrentMD product to accommodate quick, on-the-go COVID-19 information for physicians on the front line that led to the company's first B2B sale.
JTBD Research to Develop Product Strategy
Proposed and led deep research around JTBD and desired outcomes that created a product strategy that contributed to the sale of the company.
Expertise
Work Experience
Senior Product Consultant and Researcher
2021 - PRESENT
Freelance
- Collaborated with a co-founder to identify the scope for the MVP and product vision.
- Documented user stories and roadmap for MVP direction.
- Advised clients on and performed customer and market research to test hypotheses.
- Mentored and transitioned product strategy and research to full-time hires.
- Collaborated with designers and engineers to answer questions and avoid scope creep for MVP.
- Designed and executed ongoing user research for clients in healthcare, gaming, and HR SaaS products.
Director of Product
2020 - 2021
OpenMind Platform, Inc
- Performed market trend research, analysis, and target audience interviews that informed company and product strategy.
- Managed internal and outsourced team in SaaS product development, design, analysis, and QA.
- Created and integrated cross-functional sprint processes, improving communication and launch timings.
- Collaborated with the director of learning solutions to create and facilitate design thinking ideation sessions.
- Developed an online mini-course to improve communication across political divides during the 2020 election.
- Identified rapid platform growth and security risks and built a roadmap that improved product stability.
- Created dashboard with the research team to track product KPIs and monitor product launch success.
- Managed new product launch including "soft launch" testing and prioritizing updates prior to full launch.
Director of Product
2019 - 2020
Knowledge to Practice, Inc.
- Developed on-the-go mobile strategy based on research and analysis, increasing user engagement by 300%.
- Launched new COVID-19 e-learning content in six weeks that generated the first-ever B2B enterprise sale.
- Led requirements and definition of subscription functionality that increased renewals by 80%.
- Collaborated with the director of content to research and analyze market opportunities and presented recommendations.
- Facilitated cross-department design thinking sessions to develop solutions collaboratively with stakeholders.
- Defined user stories, requirements, and KPIs, leading to iterative improvements and increased engagement.
- Managed internal and outsourced team in product and design.
- Managed SOWs and requirements with the outsourced team to develop a mobile app for the CurrentMD product.
Senior Product Manager
2017 - 2019
LearnZillion
- Increased product value that contributed to the sale of the edtech startup in 2020.
- Restructured strategic product direction by identifying the top ten desired user outcomes using the jobs to be done (JTBD) approach.
- Led SaaS product strategy and development, during company transition from free resources to curriculum sales.
- Championed and implemented company OKR process for identifying and measuring product initiative success.
- Partnered with engineering to test and iterate on “smart layout” product functionality (patent #10955999).
Product Manager
2015 - 2017
LearnZillion
- Integrated user-centered research and data-driven approach into the product development process.
- Mentored staff on user-centered design processes and created a toolkit to improve research and discovery skills.
- Created roadmap and led multiple product workstreams with designer, content, and engineering experts.
- Identified risks and new opportunities through monitoring challenges and success after launches.
Product Manager
2012 - 2015
CustomInk
- Improved user experience via collaboration with engineering and design, leading to a 15% increase in purchases.
- Led research projects, reporting analysis, and roadmap development for new mobile experience.
- Managed design sprints, persona development, journey maps, prototype testing, and A/B testing.
- Facilitated design sessions with stakeholders and developers, inspiring new ideas and guiding product development.
- Presented updates to senior leadership on research findings, new opportunities, and roadmap status.
- Invited to “Extended Leadership Team” to develop company five-year strategy.
- Trained and mentored user experience lead in wireframing and UX documentation.
User Experience Designer
2009 - 2013
Freelance
- Advised companies in the development and implementation of user experience strategies for websites.
- Designed experience for McGraw-Hill websites to support popular books including "Perfect Phrases."
- Designed users experiences for Digital Ignite including Crowd Wisdom product.
User Experience Lead
2010 - 2012
Threespot
- Led projects to identify opportunities, define and test new user experiences, and propose solutions.
- Developed sitemaps, wireframes, customer journeys, flow diagrams, page definitions, and documentation.
- Designed user experiences for clients including Brookings, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Communities in Schools, HRSA, NEA, USIP, and more.
Senior Manager and UX Lead
2007 - 2009
Corporate Executive Board
- Managed small team, and creation and development of seven “mid-market” client membership websites.
- Performed research and identified opportunities to improve products and develop a new roadmap.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to identify needs for each of the seven business divisions.
- Created wireframes, user flows, and other documentation to communicate requirements to the offshore development team.
Project History
Concept Testing that Led to a Pivot
Led concept testing with a corporate audience. Presented results to leadership which included a recommended pivot.
I collaborated with our director of learning solutions to develop a concept deck for the corporate audience (new market focus). Through the research interviews, I uncovered risks with the current approach. It became clear that our product would require a lot more upfront resources, which ultimately led to pivoting away from pursuing this market.
Launched New COVID-19 Product
https://k2p.com/covid/At K2P, led the engineers and adapted the CurrentMD product to accommodate quick, on-the-go COVID-19 information for physicians on the front line that led to the company's first B2B sale.
• Leveraged prior research combined with the current needs around COVID-19 to identify the product strategy.
• Collaborated directly with the director of content to align on an approach and a roadmap to launch the initial product in six weeks.
• Led engineers to adapt the platform to accommodate this new product and the improved experience to ensure physicians can quickly and easily consume the content.
• Managed scope of work for an iOS app that launched later in the year.
• Collaborated directly with the director of content to align on an approach and a roadmap to launch the initial product in six weeks.
• Led engineers to adapt the platform to accommodate this new product and the improved experience to ensure physicians can quickly and easily consume the content.
• Managed scope of work for an iOS app that launched later in the year.
JTBD Research to Develop Product Strategy
Proposed and led deep research around JTBD and desired outcomes that created a product strategy that contributed to the sale of the company.
• Developed research plan and executed deep Jobs to be Done (JTBD) research, including interviews and surveys to over 200 district administrators and over 200 teachers to identify the top unmet desired outcomes.
• Got stakeholder buy-in on the process and the results of the research.
• Analyzed results of the research and proposed a roadmap that focused on these unmet needs.
• Got stakeholder buy-in on the process and the results of the research.
• Analyzed results of the research and proposed a roadmap that focused on these unmet needs.
Education
2014 - 2015
Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy
University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, PA
2000 - 2004
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
University of Richmond - Richmond, VA
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