Michael Calleia

Woman reading an ebook on a tablet.

Vook

Woman reading an ebook on a tablet.

 

Following is a case study summary, reach out for a walkthrough of the full case study.

 

End-to-end cloud-based e-publishing made easy.

I was the product and design lead of this cloud-based, Software as a Service (SaaS), end-to-end ebook publishing web application. I authored the product strategy to pivot from publisher to platform, translated business and user needs into the product roadmap and led the product team through launch. Additionally, I supported and mentored a high-performing product and design team of four, introduced Lean Startup and Lean UX practices and established a strong collaboration with the engineering team.

The Challenge

Ebook publishing was and still is, a lot harder than it should be:
Requiring front-end developer skills and despite ePub standards, developing for e-readers can be like coding for the web during the bad old days of the browser wars.

  • Adding images, video, web fonts or styling with CSS are all considered advanced skills.
  • Distribution can be equally challenging; navigating multiple ebook stores, file formats, requirements and metadata.

The challenge was: to remove all of this complexity and:

  • Create a simple-to-use SaaS application that allowed anyone to create ebooks without the need for any development skills
  • Distribute their ebooks with the push of a button and track all sales activity from one place

Michael brought strong leadership to both creative and product management at Vook. His thoughtful designs were often recognized for their ease-of-use overcoming the inherent complexities in e-book creation and publishing. Michael was highly respected by the Engineering team because [of] his open, informed, and agile work style. I look forward to when our paths cross again.

Rob Guttman, VP of Engineering, Vook 

The Solution

As Product Management and User Experience lead, I collaborated with my fellow leadership team members:

  • On a product vision
  • Developed a roadmap based on customer research
  • Participated in planning and execution of the product launch
  • Collaboratively developed a set of core product promises that defined the product vision Led the user experience team using Agile and Lean UX
  • Worked closely with the engineering team
Optimizing sign up
The Vook website after using a combination of web analytics and usability tests to optimize conversion resulted in changes that led to a 17% lift in trial sign-ups.

Michael is a strong creative force, consistently able to balance heavy workloads with a high-level of personal attention to crucial details. Nothing escapes his comprehensive understanding of process. He can take a big picture strategic objective and walk through and execute the complicated individual pieces—long-range thought and daily execution in one—a crucial advantage, particularly in a startup environment. He‘s also very well versed in the history of design and aesthetics, which means he brings a craftsman‘s eye to his work.

Matthew Cavnar, VP of Business Development, Vook

The Outcome

Vook was an end-to-end cloud-based e-publishing solution. With Vook, users could:

  • Create and publish ebooks anywhere
  • Build and style awesome-looking ebooks without knowing how to code
  • Effortlessly incorporate fonts
  • Easily add video, images and sound
  • Preview their ebooks quickly
  • Manage metadata simply
  • Conveniently watch sales from multiple channels all in one dashboard
Metadata made easy
Metadata is the lifeblood of ebook marketing and is key to discoverability and ultimately to sales. Managing metadata is challenging, as each ebook store has differing requirements—even for the same data sets—and uses obscure publishing industry terminology. MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging) is a good example of both problems. I created a streamlined user experience by analyzing all of the data sets from multiple ebook stores and collapsing them into a unified set removing the complexity for users.

Publishers Weekly has been testing the platform and [Vook] could indeed be a game changer.

Craig Morgan Teicher, Publishers Weekly

The Impact

  • Vook launched to a fanfare of positive press
  • Built a following of loyal self-publishers and small publishers users
  • In 2015, Vook was renamed Pronoun and in 2016, was acquired by Macmillan Publishing
Style editor
One of Vook’s biggest differentiators was the ability to style ebooks without the need to write any CSS. Users had control over typography, spacing, borders, and color. Using an HTML/CSS boilerplate I created, the engineering team used pre-compilers to deliver optimized code for each of the ebook stores.

Working with Michael was wonderful for two reasons. First he always demonstrated a deep care for the users and the product. This kept us engineers happy as we were building something that was well thought out. Second, he listened and responded/acted as a team player. We were all very confident of the product we put out because of this wonderful collaboration.
SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Amanuel Tewolde, Senior Software Architect, Vook

Building Great Products, Teams and Businesses

I’m a results-driven leader, delivering measurable business outcomes through user-centered solutions. My expertise lies in using data and an obsessive focus on customers to translate complex end-to-end systems into elegant products and services that people love. 

I’m passionate about cultivating collaborative, inclusive environments that encourage contributions from diverse perspectives and skills. With experience spanning a Y Combinator startup to a Fortune 50 company, I’m adept at collaborating across functions and organizations to launch products and services that solve user needs. I build and mentor teams that embrace experimentation, quickly adapt to new challenges and deliver outcomes that make users awesome and drive positive business impacts.

Words

Recommendations

Michael built the experience design capability from scratch in HR which was no easy feat and included challenging our HR colleagues and leaders to think differently every single day. One of the ways he accomplished this was by conducting 2-day Design Thinking workshops across HR, which I had the pleasure to support him with. Our participants left these workshops with hands on experience of how to take an idea from concept to creation following the Design Thinking process. Sonya Asure, Employee Experience Consultant, MetLife
I’ve had the pleasure to work with Michael on various projects and his experience and knowledge around user and customer experience is at another level. Michael has the ability to dig deep into understanding pain points and finding the root cause. He helped drive and create well thought out qualitative and/or quantitative research to understand complex problems. He was also able to scale this capability in the organization through programs and his mentorship. Calvin Loke, Director, HR Chief of Staff Office, MetLife
With his ability to transform programs and organizations, Michael is a valuable asset for driving business progression and improving employee experience. He possesses strong strategic traits and valuable leadership competencies, which were invaluable for taking MetLife and HR to new heights during its transformation. Overall, Michael’s diverse experiences and thought leadership make him an invaluable colleague. Tracey Howlett, AVP Employee Experience, HR & Operations, MetLife
[Michael was] a significant contributor to why we have these great, high-profile pilots. That’s certainly a reflection on the application and its usefulness. The basic goal is to get customer sentiment fast on these ideas, but we wouldn’t be able to unless they looked at the user experience and the design and thought it was top-notch. I credit Michael with being a substantial participant in why the market is adopting our app so well. … Out of 100 people, Michael’s in the top three. He’s that good. Bill Bloom, CEO FastFocus
[Michael] built a product that was super usable from an enterprise perspective. [Michael] was coming from a place where he could cite examples of work he’d done, work he was aware of, other companies and things they were doing. From the outset, it was clear that [Michael] was someone who read and kept up with what was relevant. Lucas Loeffler, Founder at QuickFrame
[Michael] took a process that had literally hundreds of interconnected, non-linear operations and streamlined them into a few very simple, yet very robust workflow that, in contrast to the previous system, literally and quite elegantly told the story of our hospital’s operations. In addition to re-configuring the UX (User Experience) piece of the application, he was also instrumental in completely taking what was before a very ugly and archaic UI (User Interface) and transforming it into a sleek, modern, best in class application that wowed the entire organization. Feedback for the change was swift and immediate. When the prototype of the application was revealed at our yearly corporate conference (in an auditorium filled with over 500 executives, channel partners, and employees), the presentation, or better yet the newly created application, received a standing ovation. Ghanee H. Smith, Senior Strategy & Operations Manager at Mars/Banfield
[Michael] was involved from a UX strategy and leadership perspective. [he] helped us with envisioning the product strategy for how to move forward with this application. [He was] actively involved with the iterative Agile process of producing something, putting it in front of clients and stakeholders, testing, and getting feedback. Michael Montecuollo, Director of UX at Door3
We have employed Humanist’s services and in particular Michael for the past 12 months, working for clients ranging from small scale to Fortune 500 enterprises. He is the consummate professional, with a wealth of product strategy and user experience insight. More importantly he is not scared to get down and produce high fidelity detailed documentation. Self starter, knows when to escalate issues where necessary and most importantly customer centric yet pragmatic David Blackall, Senior Digital Business Analyst at Door3
Michael brought strong leadership to both creative and product management at Vook. His thoughtful designs were often recognized for their ease-of-use overcoming the inherent complexities in e-book creation and publishing. Michael was highly respected by the Engineering team because [of] his open, informed, and agile work style. I look forward to when our paths cross again. Rob Guttman, VP of Engineering, Vook
Michael is a strong creative force, consistently able to balance heavy workloads with a high-level of personal attention to crucial details. Nothing escapes his comprehensive understanding of process. He can take a big picture strategic objective and walk through and execute the complicated individual pieces—long-range thought and daily execution in one—a crucial advantage, particularly in a startup environment. He‘s also very well versed in the history of design and aesthetics, which means he brings a craftsman‘s eye to his work. Matthew Cavnar, VP of Business Development, Vook
Michael is a brilliant product and UI/UX designer with the ability to create user-friendly solutions for complex challenges. At Vook, his creative vision and leadership skills guided the product team towards a clear goal and helped to facilitate the design process. Katheryn Brokate, Product Designer, Vook
I learned a lot working with Michael. I was continuously impressed with his depth of knowledge about design and development. He cares very much about the final product’s quality, and my work got better as a result of his management. Michelle Thayer, Product Designer, Vook
Working with Michael was wonderful for two reasons. First he always demonstrated a deep care for the users and the product. This kept us engineers happy as we were building something that was well thought out. Second, he listened and responded/acted as a team player. We were all very confident of the product we put out because of this wonderful collaboration. Amanuel Tewolde, Senior Software Architect, Vook
Michael also developed an entirely new product which could be customized to best meet the needs of the client. This was a popular and versatile product which was sold to a number of advertisers across various verticals. Laurie King, Custom Solutions Manager, IAC Advertising
[Michael’s] greatest asset is his ability to quickly synthesize multiple types of information or criteria (marketing need, technological possibilities, user experience, brand integrity, critical metrics, design) and deliver a concept that satisfies all stakeholders in a project. And his grasp of the underlying technologies that make these concepts possible has always been humbling for me. Noelle Cleary, Vice President, Marketing and Sales Development, IAC Advertising
Michael Calleia is the rare blend of creative talent and savvy business manager. He understands how to balance business objectives with creative desires. Sharon Harris, Vice President of Marketing, IAC Advertising
I’ve worked with Michael for more than 7 years. He has an amazingly creative mind, is always willing to innovate and pushes all possible boundaries, encouraging his team to go further and try new, more effective and professional solutions. Michael never stops when problems arise, he is always involved in every step of the process, helping in the frontline of every project. A true leader, with an ace up his sleeve. He is always up-to-date with new trends and technologies…we really learned a lot from him. Michael’s work is top-quality, he is such a professional, extremely generous and an exceptionally good person, with great personal values. Alberto A. Langton, Founder/Partner, Optima (former direct report)
Read more testimonials on LinkedIn and Clutch.

Product Praise

Vook

Publishers Weekly has been testing the platform and it could indeed be a game changer, giving small and large publishers fairly inexpensive, one-stop access to e-book publication. Craig Morgan Teicher, Publishers Weekly
We talked about making it as easy to build an eBook as write a blog post—I think [Vook] delivers. Pete Myers, newkindofbook.com

SmartAsset

[SmartAsset] is one of the best done sites I’ve seen and I wish I had had this site when I purchased my house. Robert Scoble
What is great about [SmartAsset] is its usability. It is simple, looks good and you don’t spend a second trying to figure out where to click. Thom Rogers, Hoop.com
Right from the homepage SmartAsset dazzles with its good looks. In fact, while I was using I couldn’t help but think that it looked like an interactive infographic. Dean Sherwin, AppStorm.com

Awards and Press

Awards

  • Webby Awards, Financial Services/Banking, Honoree for SmartAsset.com
  • Midas Awards, Midas Certificate
  • DPAC Awards Finalist for Best Use of Rich Media
  • OMMA Awards Finalist for Integrated Online Campaign, Finance
  • OMMA Awards Winner for Standard, Flash or Rich Media Banner
  • OMMA Awards Finalist for Best Advertising/Promotion Website/Microsite campaign
  • American Center for Design 100 Show
  • AIGA Objects of Design, two pieces won and are in the permanent collection of the AIGA

Press

  • MediaPost, MediaCreativity
  • OMMA Magazine
  • Gothamist.com
  • Print
  • Communication Arts
  • New York Times

Client and Brands I Loved Working With

  • AT&T
  • Bacardi
  • Ballantine Books
  • Banfield Pet Hospital
  • BMG International
  • BusinessWeek
  • Citysearch
  • Donna Karan
  • Ellen Tracy
  • Estée Lauder
  • Evite
  • Expedia
  • FastFocus
  • Geffen Records
  • Harper Collins
  • Hearst Corporation
  • IAC/InterActiveCorp
  • Jo Malone
  • JP Morgan Chase
  • Lotus Research
  • Match.com
  • McGraw-Hill
  • MetLife
  • Morgan Stanley
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • New York Times
  • Newsweek
  • Oxford Health Plan
  • Philips
  • PlanetOut
  • Prodigy
  • QuickFrame
  • Republic Records
  • Saks Fifth Avenue
  • Scholastic
  • SmartAsset
  • Stila
  • Time Inc.
  • Universal Records
  • Universal Studios
  • Voltari (formerly Motricity)
  • Visa
  • Vook (later named Pronoun)
Close-up of a person walking indoors on a wooden floor, carrying a brown backpack with tan straps. Only the person's legs and shoes are visible. To the right, a wooden staircase ascends out of frame, and to the left, a table with a chair is partially visible. The scene suggests someone leaving or heading out.

You’re Doing it Wrong if You Don’t Go and See For Yourself

Posted on

There is nothing truer than Genchi Genbutsu (the Lean concept of “go and see” or “go and see for yourself”) and GOOB (Steve Blank’s wisdom to “Get Out of the Building,” and echoed in Lean Startup methodology).

Taiichi Ohno, one of the creators of the Toyota Production System, is credited as the originator of the concept of Genchi Genbutsu. According to Eric Ries in Lean Startup, when Lean practitioners in Japan were asked what was the most important principle of Lean, Genchi Genbutsu was cited over and over. Genchi Genbutsu is sometimes Westernized to “Get your boots on.”

Continue reading “You’re Doing it Wrong if You Don’t Go and See For Yourself”

Black and white photo of people sitting at tables in a modern indoor space with large floor-to-ceiling windows. The individuals are in silhouette, creating a contrast against the bright, overexposed background. Pendant lights hang from the ceiling, and plants line the base of the windows.

The Cost of Context Switching

Posted on

During a recent workshop with the awesome Rich Mironov (author of The Art of Product Management), Rich had everyone at the workshop do a simple and quick exercise that clearly shows the cost of context switching.

It is amazing, but there are still people who believe they can do it all by multitasking, even though multiple studies show this is not the case. Humans simply do not multitask well.

I knew a designer that complained about a developer who focused on tasks in a linear order. The designer wanted the developer to multitask. The problem is that constantly context switching as the designer wanted would have slowed the developer down, but seeing smaller bits of progress across a portfolio of tasks gave the designer a sense that more work was being accomplished.

Unfortunately, the designer had it wrong. Psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell even goes so far as to describe multitasking as a “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously as effectively as one.” Worse, our work days are now a constant stream of interruption, and it takes the brain about 10 to 15 minutes to recover from interruptions. That is a lot of lost productivity. This one reason why some believe open floor plans are detrimental to productivity.

Don’t believe it? Think you can truly multitask? Take the challenge and find out.

Continue reading “The Cost of Context Switching”

Word

Making Magic: Aligning Design and Engineering

Posted on

When engineers and designers team up, magic can happen. Everyone on the team is more engaged. User research findings and usability testing results are shared with everyone. Engineers are invited to walk-throughs of early designs and asked for feedback and input. Designers become aware of technology constraints and the structure of data that can be surfaced from the system to users. And a whole lot more—meaning good ideas and thinking are spreading throughout the team to help build an awesome product for users.

Unfortunately, in some companies, the engineering and design teams are siloed from each other. Whether the separation was planned or occurred organically, the consequences are the same. Morale, efficiency, and in the end, the product will suffer. How do you align design and engineering teams into a unified product team?

Continue reading “Making Magic: Aligning Design and Engineering”