"Thank you for always going out of your way to support me and the [team]. When I ask a question, or approach you with a problem, you immediately put my mind at ease with the knowledge that if you do not know the answer or can’t recommend a solution yourself, you will reach out to, or put me in touch with the right contact. There has never been an instance when you haven’t helped me solve a problem and it doesn’t go unnoticed – thank you. At times when senior management are out, you continue to keep things moving, by leading standup and checking in with the team to ensure project progression and individual wellbeing. It’s so nice to catch-up together, this way. Working alongside you on a project is always a great experience. You have the ability to interpret complex briefs and detail concise requirements, which makes seemingly confusing work, much more straightforward. You are realistic with your estimations and consistent with check-ins. I always enjoy partnering up with you. Thank you, Melfa!"

-Graphic Designer

"Melfa has made significant gains in both [developing subject matter expert and leadership skills]. She is clearly knowledgable about the website, the wide range of people who visit the site and how to best organize the information to deliver a great experience. As she has more opportunities to work with various business owners and guide them through launching great web pages, her confidence and ability to manage our "clients" has only increased.

Additionally, Melfa has an excellent sense of the mood of the design/transform team and has shown excellent emotional intelligence when facilitating friction points on the team. Her ability to calmly work with a range of personalities, bring out the best work in others and speak up when she sees bigger issues looming makes her an invaluable member of the team. This will only help her as she continues to develop as a leader."

-Executive Director

"Melfa has done a great job elevating her profile and taking the lead in meetings I've been in. She is great at helping find common ground in meetings and then building to a solution from that."

-Senior Director

"You are one of the people I trust most on the Web/UX side. When I need an answer, I know you will take the time to answer it, and that I can trust that answer, and that if you don't know the answer, you'll be able to help point me to someone who can answer it. That's why so many of us look to you - that and the fact that you're always calm, patient, and open to discussing the whys and hows (which is important). The more that you can continue to share your knowledge and guidance that way - whether presenting best practices to the overall team or to individuals in the department -- the better we all for it. You have a great disposition, and people really listen to you."

-Copywriter

"I have enjoyed working with you on the CME Price Action Alerts. You always come to the meetings prepared with your part of the project and always kept us apprised of the status of various elements. I appreciated the way you listened to our concerns and issues and responded to them with either a fix or a reasonable explanation for why it could not be done."

-Business Partner

"You are a very approachable person. I have noticed that you are very engaged with your stakeholders, listening to their requests to fully understand what is needed. You are comfortable asking questions and offering suggestions to solve a problem."

-Business Partner

"You are for sure a subject matter expert on UX, and you learn enough about any new project you work on that I can ask you questions and get a well thought out response that answers my questions. I can trust you to spearhead and lead a project as it kicks off."

-Lead Business Analyst

"Melfa's expertise and leadership skills have been displayed greatly in projects that i've had to work on first hand this year. Perfect example of this has been her invaluable UX leadership during the [name] project. Melfa has been leading design meetings helping make sure that User Experience never comes at the expense of making a good looking page. She took that one step further to go out of her way and set up review meetings with Business Stakeholders to ensure what we were designing met our business goals.

In addition to this Melfa also showed great leadership during our User Research project for [name]. Since the User research team was shortstaffed, Melfa was asked to help out with User Research. Not only did Melfa help define a User Research plan but she also sat in and lead User Research sessions even though it wasn't her core job responsibility. This was something Melfa took on top of her existing responsibilities."

-Senior Business Analyst

• • great understanding of the business and website which helps to quickly create designs/wires. there have been projects where other team members may have struggled because a lack of business knowledge while Melfa can quickly jump into a project and provide guidance

  • great team player, easy to work with and takes feedback well

  • can handle multiple projects and provides timely updates

  • treats everyone fairly, lets people give opinions/thoughts

  • taken a lead to work with some of the new UX team members to help provide feedback and guidance

  • leadership in meetings and helping to present new designs to business stakeholders. this helps when stakeholders ask why is... and Melfa can quickly give an explanation

-Director

Leadership: You have taken ownership of the UX work for cmegroup.com. When we have questions about who should work on it, what's needed, or what to do, you always have the answer. You have taken a mentorship role with [name], guiding her through the complex product at CME and helping her to better manage time and deliver work.

With workshops, you have stood out as a clear leader, driving decisions and answering questions as we work through the most complicated pages.

SME - I always look to you as a SME for products, data displays, or design decisions. Like I said, you have been a huge help guiding the work for development. Without your expert knowledge of these pages, we would struggle.

-Project Manager

Melfa is a strong designer with a deep understanding of the products at CME and the needs of the business. She has also demonstrated a strong emotional intelligence as she works to ensure that all team members are well integrated and comfortable in their work environment.

-Executive Director

I always appreciate your candor and collaborative nature. I've always been able to share with you my thoughts and opinions, and I've always been able to count on you to interpret and return with solutions that support our business needs while working within our broader CME Group guidelines.

-Manager

Melfa - my interactions with you are always professional, clear and concise. I appreciate that you are always striving to do the right thing and to move the needle for the customer experience. Your communication style is clear and you can explain technical limitations in a way that resonates for the business. You are open and honest and a trusted business partner.

-Senior Director

Anytime I have worked with you on any projects or campaigns you always are available for meetings, and do a great job working with the team to find solutions.

-Project Manager

I have partnered with Melfa in the [name] campaign. She has been utmost professional and a true leader in all my interactions with her. She knows when to put her foot down when dealing with challenging stakeholders and is always reasonable with requests.

-Marketing Manager

Melfa never ceases to impress me with the way she defuses difficult situations when there are differing strong opinions on the way things should be. She approaches things with a very calm demeanor and a spirit of wanting to make things better. There's never any ego and genuinely seems to want what's best for everyone.

-Senior Director

I so appreciated your meticulous, organized approach to this project! It was chaotic for reasons that were beyond our control, but you remained calm and focused throughout. I always felt that I could ask questions or get clarification even when I knew you were busy with other things. Especially appreciated the way you documented decisions and action items--so helpful when it came time to implement them.

-Staff User Researcher

Continue to be the voice of reason for complex problems. You have an innate ability to reduce complexity down to understandable ways of seeing things and that is a much-needed talent for the types of design work that is needed [at this organization]. Your calm demeanor was a also a plus during any meetings, so please continue to do that.

-Senior Staff Usability Analyst

You are great at organising things such as arranging meetings, materials and workshop. You are pro-active in asking and requesting for support if needed. Your communication skill is also great. You know how to explain yours and the team's works effectively.

-Staff Designer

During your time [on the project] I appreciated a lot your enthusiasm in learning new things and your constant interest to really dig into the topic of imaging. Please continue in keeping an eye of the overall connections between various topics within a project, and especially thinking ahead of what comes in the future.

Your established connections to our colleagues helped a lot to get to know the relevant stakeholders, and your meeting arrangements established a continuous exchange between the SMEs and UX. I've perceived you as a person who's highly engaged in keeping the connection between all team members and ensure work will be done in an effective and efficient way.

-Staff Designer

I love your social aspect, making things easy to understand and clear to all. Also liked the research sessions you conducted, these were the most informative in my opinion.

-Staff Designer

You communicate clearly and constructively while breaking down complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. Your decisions are data-driven and backed with your own research. You create a positive environment that encourages openness and honesty. I'm never afraid of coming to you with questions.

You're great at establishing priorities, next steps, identifying needs, and effectively lead projects we work on together. You're a diligent note taker, and make it easy to translate research and requirements into design solutions, enabling others to do great work. You give insightful feedback and encourage discussion which leads to a better deliverable.You're very kind, respectful, and a pleasure to work with. You're always levelheaded when facing challenges and tight deadlines, and are methodical in your approach to work. You're a good listener and ask the right questions, and are always willing to help others.

-Staff Designer

You have a measured, precise way of communicating that reflects in your work, which is well-researched and thoughtful. You offer constructive and insightful feedback.

I don't have much insight into your day-to-day work, except for the daily stand-ups. But during the [project] user testing sessions, I saw that the work you did helped solve a problem that will add value for our customers.

You're always respectful and fair in your encounters with others. You frequently share your viewpoint, and ask questions, which promotes discussion and an exchange of ideas.

-Staff Designer

In my experience, your feedback has been timely, respectful, and direct. If, for example during the research we did together, a question was not working to provide the insights you needed, or a request to change the prototype was confusing and you did not understand the motivation, you were quick to bring up any concerns and get us back on track. Beyond that, your ability to reference past lessons learned and apply them forward has empowered our team as they think through future interactions and delighted our customers as they try out potential new concepts.

You anticipate risks, pivot when needed, and encourage a diversity of perspectives when issues emerge. In my opinion, our customers—both internal and external—are very lucky to have you continually validating processes and working to meet or exceed their expectations.

When it comes to enabling the free exchange of ideas and encouraging differing viewpoints, one would be hard pressed to find a facilitator better than you. From the moment you started, I have watched you actively nurture and leverage a growing network of peers and thought leaders to continuously improve [our work] through constructive discussions.

-Staff User Researcher

Get in touch at melfa.sarkaria@gmail.com