Work with me
Great products start with structure, not screens.
Teams call me when one of three things is happening:
Merging products
Different teams built different products, and now nothing shares a structure or source of truth.
Building something new
Progress keeps stalling because everyone holds a different picture of it.
Reworking what was built
The roadmap is mostly rework, and every change costs more than it should.
What I do
I help teams get clear on the system before they build it.
Teams waste enormous time and money designing screens and writing code before they understand what their system actually is. I fix that upstream. I get product, design, and engineering aligned on what the system needs to do before design and build kicks off. And I set up feedback loops with real users, so you catch problems while they're still cheap to fix. The result is fewer expensive surprises and a team that stops talking past each other.
How I help
My primary services
System Mapping
I map a meaningful slice of your system: the core pieces, how they relate, where the design breaks down, and a clearer future state. I do most of the work independently, with a handful of working sessions with your experts.
You walk away with: A living map your team owns and keeps using, plus my recommendations.
Best for: Seeing what you actually have, with a low time commitment from your team.
System Design Sprints
I facilitate structured working sessions with your key people. We map the system and design its future state together, live. This is for the problems that can't be figured out from the outside, because the answers live in your experts' heads.
You walk away with: A system map your team built and believes in, and a shared direction to design from.
Best for: Innovating something new, when the domain is too complex to solve in a cave.
User Research & Feedback Systems
Fast-moving teams need to hear from real users continuously, not once a year. I set up the structures: pilot groups, advisory panels, and feedback loops. And I coach your team to run good research themselves, so the capability stays after I leave.
You walk away with: A working system for user feedback, not a report.
Best for: Teams making big decisions without hearing from the people who'll live with them.
Book a call to discuss working together
I don't do visual design, design systems, or development. I build the foundation that makes all of those go better.
Why it works
Catch it early, not in production.
Integration issues and logic gaps get caught while they're still drawings, where fixing them costs a fraction of what they cost mid-build.
Design, product, and engineering stop talking past each other because they finally share a vocabulary and a model.
Your team gets back the capacity it's been spending redoing already-done work.
You own living documents your team keeps using, not a slide deck that dies after the readout.
Reliable AI features need a clean underlying model. This work is the prerequisite.
Who I am
I'm at my best where the system is hard to see.
From people I've worked with
"What impressed me most was how Allie worked with the client rather than at them. Her findings were prioritized, practical, and honest about tradeoffs. That's a rare combination."
Seth Brown, CEO at Lullabot
"Allie is a passionate problem solver. She is driven to help her clients chart a path toward transparency for themselves and their users. And she is a delightful, creative human to partner with!”
Melinda Miller, CEO & Co-Owner at Pixo
“I have so much trust that whatever I put in front of Allie, she will reliably deliver amazing work.”
Sophia Prater, Founder of Rewired
"Allie has displayed true expertise in the UX field, breaking down often complex business requirements into succinct solutions that the rest of the team can understand."
Andrew Wobeck, Software Engineer
“If you have a complex system or project that needs clarity, vision, and creativity, Allie is your person.”
