UX Strategist & Information Architect

My goal is to create excellent software that makes peoples’ lives better.

I pursue this goal by:

Understanding and connecting to the goal
Collaborating with Business and Tech
Leveraging Open Innovation
Designing intuitive experiences

Let's build the right thing

Measure twice, cut once.  Reduce risk of building the wrong thing and cut software defects off at the source.  20% of defects in software are the result of requirements and design mistakes.

Let's Rock Agile

I’m an agilista that has helped several teams get into the groove of using iterative, highly collaborative, low documentation software development.  Scrumtastic!

Get Transparency

Ever have that feeling like people are working and everything is great but it’s just too quiet?  Let’s get lots of interim demos so we can spot problems and course-correct on the fly.

Never Lower the Bar

Settling for second should not even be a consideration.  If it is, please fire yourself and promptly replace with someone who cares and then have them call me.

Years of Experience

Incredible Companies

All-Nighters

Drama

I am your irrationally optimistic partner that tells you that something is about to go wrong but don’t worry everything will work out anyway because we will overcome these challenges together and laugh about it later.

This is my story.

One day I walked into an interview for Nasdaq, and the hiring manager, Pat Deluca leans over the table and says, “hey, you know what?  I have something else in mind for you.  I don’t want to hire you for the role you came in for since you have some programming experience because I have a problem you might be able to help me with.”

“Ok, I’m in” I said.  The next thing I knew I was interviewing potential users of a new application.  This application would end up making someone’s life better by stopping them from having to record tons of information about problems and outages into Word documents only to have to sift through all that data every quarter looking for insights.  When the app was complete I learned a ton of things that I keep with me to this day.

  • When people are enabled, they will cut through the red tape and solve problems
  • Sometimes people are resistant to change, but once you show them the demo and how they will benefit, they open up
  • There are not only vertical hierarchies but horizontal ones as well, and employees feel undermined by these hierarchies which our job is to transcend
  • Everyone has great ideas, and it’s the designer’s job to mix these ideas together to build the best thing
  • Forget about being second, your thing has to be the best and in doing this you lay the great groundwork for the next thing you build

I found him to be among the most creative software design and developers in the technology field. The products’ user interfaces had excellent usability and human factor qualities. The development time to market was the fastest I had observed at the time and influenced my overall beliefs and expectations on software development practices and organization structure.

Steve Randich

CTO, NASDAQ

Dave Ambrose did not work at NASDAQ, he changed NASDAQ, its culture, its process and its efficiency.

Julia T. Sears

Associate Vice President, NASDAQ

Dave and I worked together at Bridgewater and Starwood. He possesses many important qualities that make him a great Business Analyst, but also has intangibles — connecting with people, building strong relationships, communications, and creativity. I strongly endorse him.

Tim Simons

Digital Portfolio Manager, Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Dave brought a level of energy, creative problem-solving, business insight and technical acumen (as well as a witty humor!) that seriously uplifted the team.  His ability to spot and diffuse potential issues and establish agreement and unity, was an inspiration, earning him the nickname The Catalyst & Glue.

John Mitchell

Manager, Enterprise Collaboration and Engagement, Starwood Hotels and Resorts

My Skills

I have a host of skills that kind of make me like a Swiss Army Knife for your project.

UI/UX
  • Wireframing
  • Information Flow
  • User Interviews
  • User Testing
  • Prototyping
  • Simplifying
Business Analysis
  • Business Requirements
  • Functional Specifications
  • Process Flows
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Requirements Facilitation
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Product/Vendor Selection
Technologies
  • Balsamiq
  • Mindjet Mindmanager
  • Photoshop
  • Visual Studio
  • Visio
  • Rally
  • Countless Mobile Apps
  • Pencil and Paper

Interested in working together?

Download my Resumé and let’s get in touch to see if there’s a fit.