Hey, I'm Marc!
Look around...
I'm a UX Leader, Product Designer, UX Researcher, and an actor based in Toronto.
Collaborations
My journey in UX has allowed me to work hand in hand with some renowned vendors and brands:
Featured Experience
ECRM: Leading UX Team of 10+ for an org-wide Salesforce CRM Tool at CIBC
Overview
As UX Team Lead at CIBC, I led a multidisciplinary team of 10+ UX professionals in transforming the perception of UX within our project and organization during the development of a new, organization-wide Salesforce CRM tool called “ECRM". My roles in this project ranged from UX/UI Designer and Researcher, to UX Research Lead, and finally UX Team Lead, showcasing my ability to drive UX strategy and deliver user-centred solutions.
Challenge
The project was complex, with the need to navigate the diverse requirements of a multitude of stakeholders and to shift UX from being in a reactive, end-of-product-lifecycle evaluation role to a proactive, integral part of the product development process, ensuring user experience was prioritized from the outset. The challenge was to implement strong UX processes and convince stakeholders of their value while delivering a product that would satisfy both business and user needs.
Approach
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UX Research: As the UX Research Lead, I championed a human-centred, empathy-driven approach to UX Research. We utilized various user research methods such as scenario-based usability tests, primary user interviews, and persona creation workshops. Part of this approach’s goal was to (a) help all stakeholders better understand the tool's end-users by practicing empathy and hence (b) have all design and business decisions be guided through a more human-centred lens.
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UX/UI Design: Prior to onboarding dedicated Design resources, I met the project's Product Design needs by creating research-driven UI mockups and consulting with accessibility colleagues to ensure WCAG compliance. These mockups were used to visually demonstrate proposed UI and interaction design recommendations to the product team and also facilitated user testing, enabling data-driven decision-making and iterative improvements. I championed for the hiring of dedicated UX Designers and once onboarded, we worked together to create our UX Design process on ECRM. This process ensured that design decisions aligned with user insights, technical feasibility, accessibility requirements, and business objectives to create an experience, that's user-friendly, technically sound, and benefits the business. Also, because the out-of-the-box Salesforce UI deviated heavily from the established Frontline UX Design System, we initiated the creation of CIBC's Salesforce Design System to ensure a unified and familiar user experience in aims of bolstering user confidence and enhancing overall product usability.
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Team Leadership: I managed resource allocation and protected team bandwidth across Agile pods. This included growing the UX team by over 400%, from 2 UX Researchers to 10+ multidisciplinary UX professionals (UX Research, UX Design, UX Content Design, UX Accessibility, and UX Translation) to enhance the project's overall UX capacity and quality..
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Collaboration and Stakeholder Management: Collaborating with various cross-functional stakeholders was crucial. I worked to align our UX strategy with their business objectives while educating them on the UX process and timeline expectations.
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Establishing a UX Framework: In partnership with my team, we created a human-centred framework that prioritized quality UX work and realistic timelines. This was done by conducting stakeholder interviews to identify project management inefficiencies & UX collaboration pain points.
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Integration with Agile Framework: An important part of the process was spearheading the UX integration within the project's transition to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) & PI Planning.
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UX Strategic Initiatives: I prioritized, advocated for, and initiated strategic initiatives, including the development of a design & editorial component library and the establishment of a project-level UX backlog leveraging JIRA.
Outcome
The project was successful in establishing a strong UX process and presence within the organization. We were able to deliver mixed-methods research (qualitative and quantitative), mock-ups, wireframes, editorial content, and French translation while also adhering to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The UX team grew significantly, and collaboration with stakeholders improved drastically, leading to a greater understanding and respect for UX within the project.
Reflection
This experience was a testament to the importance of leadership, collaboration, and strategic thinking in UX. As the UX Team Lead, I was able to guide my team and the project towards a greater appreciation of UX and its impact on the product lifecycle. It showcased my ability to manage complex projects, build and lead a team, and improve processes and workflows with cross-functional team members.
CCI: UX Team of one for a Lobby Management/Client Check-In (“CCI") Tool at CIBC
Overview
At CIBC, I was tasked with the design and execution of both the UX Research and the UX/UI Design approach for a new lobby management/client check-in tool for frontline staff in a banking centre. As the sole UX resource on this multi-month project, I played a pivotal role in advocating for and implementing a user-centred design methodology.
Challenge
The project, called “CCI," (Client Check-In) aimed to create a tool that could streamline client check-ins, provide real-time advisor availability, and facilitate meeting bookings, all while maintaining mobility within the banking centre lobby. A crucial challenge was that the initial user research from before I joined the project was conducted when the intended user was believed to be a client interacting with a kiosk. By the time I joined the project it had become clear that the actual user was going to be a frontline staff on an iPad — a completely different user group using a completely different device — and so I recognized the need to revisit the user research.
Approach
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Redefining User Research: I made a compelling case to the product team about the need to revisit the user research to reflect the shift in user identity from clients to frontline staff. This was pivotal to ensure that we were building a tool that truly catered to the needs of the new user group.
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User Research and Persona Development: After gaining buy-in, I conducted new user research interviews to understand the needs, behaviours, and pain points of frontline staff. From these insights, I developed a new persona that guided the design process.
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Wireframing and Prototyping: Using the updated user research, I developed wireframes, mockups, and prototypes to bring the design concept to life. I ensured the design was intuitive and met the needs identified during the user research phase.
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Usability Testing: To ensure that the design was not only user-friendly but effective, I conducted usability tests and used the feedback to make iterative improvements to the design.
Outcome
Despite unfortunately being paused due to funding constraints and not reaching launch, the project provided invaluable learnings and experiences. The process helped to refine our UX practices, particularly regarding the importance of accurate user research, and the work done on user interviews, persona development, and prototyping further contributed to a robust UX toolkit that could be leveraged for future projects. Additionally, many of the findings would prove useful years later when a pod on the ECRM project built and launched a meeting booking tool which had significant overlap with CCI.
Reflection
While the tool did not see launch, this project underscores the importance of a user-centred design approach and the value of accurate user research in creating tools that meet user needs and expectations. It showcases my capability to drive the UX process, from advocating for proper user research to persona development, prototyping, and usability testing. Despite its non-implementation, the project was a crucial learning opportunity that further prepared me for future complex and diverse projects.
Recommendations
Gabriela Loureiro
Sr. Manager, UX Research and Strategy | CIBC
Marc started working with me almost 5 years ago, when we were building an innovation lab. Our team’s mandate grew and changed within time and Marc’s presence was key for that. He has always been reliable and a great team member who helped us build a good team culture. Years went by and Marc continued to grow in his career, always being open to new challenges and embracing new opportunities as they came up. This has led him to be promoted to a UX Research lead role few years ago and after to a Project UX lead role in which he managed all of UX activities including Design, Content, Research and Accessibility in coordination with the leads of those disciplines and other key stakeholders working with him in this Salesforce related delivery. Many of the team members refer to him as the glue that keeps them and all the moving parts together and we are all really lucky to count on his talent.
Harinder Punia
Product Owner, ECRM | CIBC
During his time supporting our various initiatives for our CRM Marc was the consistent voice of the user. as UX research lead he helped us create accurate personas and journey's so as Product Owners we were building with the right context in mind. Bringing his personal flare to discoveries and ideation sessions often lead to great insights that directly impacted features that we were building. Marc is an asset to any team and organization out there!
Isabela Quito Villanoy
UX Content Designer | CIBC
Exceptional leadership combined with a profound understanding of User Experience (UX) are inherent attributes that make Marc an amazing leader and colleague.
I joined his UX team as a co-op and to this day, I’ll always remember Marc’s empathy and support in my learning experience and development at CIBC. Together, we solved user problems and found creative solutions given the technical limitations we faced. In his role as UX lead, Marc exemplified the very tenets he embodied as a UX Researcher -- he led with empathy and advocated for our team and the importance of user experience, fostering a collaborative environment with our partners and stakeholders.
It’s been a privilege to work alongside Marc, and I'm confident in his continued success. He would be a great asset to any organization!
Ario Heshmatzadeh
Sr. Director Network Management & Governance | CIBC
It's been a privilege to collaborate with Marc Richler on multiple projects over the years. His unique blend of unifying leadership style, deep UX expertise, and ability to empower his team to deliver user-centred solutions has not only enhanced the product outcomes, but also cultivated a culture of learning and growth. His ability to champion collaboration across diverse UX disciplines, coupled with his visionary thinking, were instrumental in shaping the cultural fabric and expansion of the Frontline UX team at CIBC during a time of great growth, development, and maturation. He consistently elevates the standard of our work, driving innovation and delivering exceptional results.
