I'm Maggie Smith. My curiosity for uncharted problem spaces often leads me to wear a number of different hats. What's most important to me no matter the role, is having the space to listen, think, and create. I'm fascinated by the intricacies of the human mind and how we learn, establish shared understanding, build connections, and generate ideas. Much of my work revolves around investigating how emergent technologies and interfaces will allow for deeper thought, human connection, and imagination. Lately I’ve been thinking about the future of work, knowledge management, asynchronous collaboration, and what multi-modal generative experiences could unlock for learning and creative thinking. I tend to seek out environments that are highly collaborative, teams that prioritize psychological safety, and individuals that are energized by diving into the deep end of complexity.
I am currently working as a Lead Workplace Experience Strategist crafting innovative and impactful experiences for enterprise clients at Avanade, the world's leading expert on Microsoft.
Most leaders know that planning for AI is a non-negotiable, but fewer realize that a successful AI strategy must go beyond a focus on productivity to transform the way work gets done and prepare the workforce to continuously innovate and evolve with the accelerating rate of change. Disrupt Avanade was formed to design and execute against a strategy for transforming the way work gets done at Avanade through the application of [generative] AI.
Strategist
This is an active experiment. Learnie is one of the many in-flight experiments of the Disrupt initiative where we are reimagining work at Avanade. Learnie looks to push the bounds of what can be possible for workforce upskilling when generative AI is leveraged to provide on demand, personalized, responsive and intentional learning content.
Experience Strategist and Designer
Following the abrupt transition to remote work in 2020, the 'new normal' has created a hospital workforce experience marked by cognitive overload, frustration, and burnout. We worked with a children's hospital to reimagine what communication and collaboration can look like with M365 for a workforce that is empowered through simplified tools, streamlined workflows, and universal standards founded on trust.
Lead Experience Strategist
Playfulness facilitates insightful, divergent thinking. I wouldn't be who I am at work without prioritizing play.
These are the things that are currently keeping me curious, creative, and inspired.
Big Mind: How Collective Intelligence Can Change Our World
Geoff Mulgan
Babel: An Arcane History
R.F. Kuang
What will non-deterministic product interfaces feel like? These experiences could require an unprecedented amount of trust in technology as end users find themselves relinquishing control of what they long believed to be freedom of choice.
I wonder if the satisfaction of finding the thing that you didn't know you were looking for is driven by the delightful feeling of "happening upon something" without much effort. It makes me wonder what a world will look & feel like when we can always get exactly what we ask for. I hope we keep a little space for the serendipity of discovery, even if it means keeping some of the "frictions" we're working so hard to limit today.
Colored pencil illustrations of flowers
Blueberry-based pastry baking
At home floral arrangements for mini moments of joy (-:
The best way to reach me is through X [formerly Twitter] or LinkedIn @Maggieshmeh
or email me: MAGGIE [at] SHMEH [dot] XYZ
Avanade - IT Consulting and Professional Services
Lead Workplace Experience Strategist
Workplace Advisory, Manager
2024-Present
Experience Design Lead
NE Talent Community Lead, Senior Consultant
2022-2024
Senior UX Designer
Experience Design Consultant
2021-2022
UX Designer
Senior Experience Design Analyst
2020-2021
Experience Design Analyst
2019-2020
Junior UX Designer
UX Design Intern
2018
Freelance
Graphic Design, Web Design and SEO
2015-2019
University of Richmond
M.S. Business Administration Concentration in Marketing
Visual and Media Arts Practice
Summa Cum Laude
Design Research & Service Design
Avanade
2020
Designing for Environmental Sustainability and Social Impact
Acumen
2020
Digital Product Management: Modern Fundamentals
Coursera - University of Virginia
2020
Facilitator of Human-Centered Design Thinking
LUMA Institute
2020
Practitioner of Human-Centered Design Thinking
LUMA Institute
2019
Research and Analysis
Mixed-method research including surveys, interviews, usability testing, contextual inquiry, ethnography, behavioral analytics
Design Thinking
In-person, hybrid and remote workshops
Secondary Research
Competitive, industry, and trend analysis
UX Design
Process flows, journey maps, service blueprints, sketching, wireframes, and prototyping
Experience Strategy
Storytelling
Information Architecture
Business Process Design
Product Strategy and Value Case
Data Visualization
3D Modeling
XR Experience Design
Project Management