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Sunnyvale, CA

Hi, I'm Andrea

As a senior UX researcher with 6+ years in gaming and tech, I pair cutting-edge tools with a scrappy, resourceful mindset to  shape flagship products. I  use AI to scale efficiency without losing the human touch.

UX Researcher & STRATEGIST

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My RESEARch has impacted 100+ Million users

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Making AI feel like a teammate: The AI Adoption Case Study

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UX Research & Workflow Optimization • AI Systems

My research turned Meta's ads AI tools into a cohesive AI partner that respected the user's workflow and boundaries, creating a roadmap for long-term user trust and scalability.

Project overview

The ad creation section of of Meta's Ads Manager (8+ million active users) was being redesigned to integrate a variety of AI tools. It was important for advertisers to understand what AI options were available, their purpose/value, and encourage adoption of the tools. Research was needed to understand if the information architecture of the redesign suited advertiser mental models, and if the visual presentation/content strategy of AI features encouraged adoption. 

My role & Impact

  • Drove direction of text design options after triangulating data from mass-collected AI interviews and moderated in-depth interviews to determine "the best of both worlds" from an A/B test.

  • Prevented a design mishap that risked impacting an ads flow responsible for 70% of company revenue by unveiling a critical mismatch between product flow and advertiser mental models.

  • Increased research efficiency through implementing AI tools and methods while maintaining high-quality insights, decreasing end-to- end research timeline by 60%.

  • Pinpointed the "why behind the why" of the unexplained advertiser behavior of turning off all AI features, despite knowing their benefits, paving the way for a new content design strategy.

Key collaborators

  • Product Manager

  • Engineers

  • Product Designer

  • Content Designer

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Fortnite's Rapid Iterations with Tight Timelines: Body of Work

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Brand & Product Strategy • Game Design

As the lead Fortnite researcher for two years, I constructed an iterative testing process that allowed for 3 gameplay studies within a 6 week period, matching the rapid speeds of the seasonal development timeline.

Project overview

Fortnite's flagship mode, Battle Royale (110+ million players), is updated "seasonally" with four season releases in a year. Production timelines are extremely short, with an even shorter window of opportunity for research. The team needed player insights within days of research taking place in order to implement design changes.  With the majority of Epic Games' revenue relying on Battle Royale, research needed to be extremely fast without compromising quality. 

My role & Impact

  • Constructed a rapid game testing process that permitted 3 design iterations within a 6-week period, with each gameplay study completed (from recruit to deliverable) in 2 weeks.

  • Drove design decisions for 50+ weapons and interactable items, including mechanics, controls, reticles, tooltips, progression items, and accessibility features, 

  • Collaborated across a variety of IP/brand integrations to faithfully sell the fantasy of the franchise (ie. Star Wars, Marvel) within the timeline and engineering constraints of Battle Royale's seasonal releases.

  • Streamlined UX testing processes via experimental beta testing methods, enabling Fortnite gameplay testing to commence 2 weeks earlier than previously possible in the development timeline, enabling an extra round of design iterations.

Key collaborators

  • UX Researchers (quant and qual)

  • Engineers

  • Lead Producer

  • Game Designers

  • Technical Artists

  • Brand Partners

Finding Clarity in the Chaos: The Budget Liquidity Case Study

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E2E Usability Research • Navigating Ambiguity

 I directed a design overhaul of a beta product after my research revealed critical blockers to the feature's discovery and adoption. With a tight timeline and little clarity to be found on the product team, I distilled the team's uncertainties into actionable research questions to unblock our North Star goals. 

Project overview

I joined the product team right before a feature's beta launch (roughly 6 million users), when the PM had just quit and the team was scrambling for clarity/guidance. Without the previous PM's vision, the team struggled with critical design decisions, such as the product entry point and data reporting to encourage/retain adoptions. With this product serving as the foundation of an eventual full-funnel vision, it was important for the design to be both scalable and able to present a clear value proposition.

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My role & Impact

  • Increased both the discoverability and comprehension of the feature by overhauling the the product's entry point design

  • Removed an adoption barrier by introducing a setting that allowed advertisers to interact with the feature in the way that better suited their business needs.

  • Reorganized research and product timeline for more efficient resourcing after collaborating closely with the new-to-role PM to refine North Star goals in a time of intense ambiguity.

Key Collaborators 

  • Product Manager

  • Engineers

  • Product Designer

  • Content Designer

  • Increased the discoverability and comprehension of key mechanics, decreasing player errors and potential churn events.

  • Strengthened the comprehension and pacing of the narrative by assessing the clarity of key story beats and characters.

  • Constructed specialized testing methods and setup, including a tool to capture 2 player screens side-by-side in real time, allowing for 360 understanding of the player experience and lower resource testing.

  • Ensured data collection integrity by conducting interviews and surveys with the players separately, preventing biases or influences upon player answers.

My Role & Impact

I worked with the Out of Words team during early game development, connecting with them via their partnership with Epic Games Publishing. This game is a mandatory two-player game, necessitating a unique research strategy and technical method.The team was seeking feedback on narrative comprehension, game map navigability, and the usability of the multiplayer experience and mechanics. 

Project Overview

Cooperative Play and Narrative: Out of Words Case Study

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Multiplayer Gameplay and Storytelling • Research Ops

Through bespoke research methods and technical setup, I was able to help the Out of Words gameplay team construct a clearer game narrative and smooth adoption of game mechanics.

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  • Independent Developers

  • Narrative Team

  • Product Designers

  • UX Researchers

Key Collaborators 

Want the full scoop? Reach out!

andrea@brucculeri.com
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