Background

From engineering to strategy. A decade of pattern-matching.

Ashley Catan hiking with her dog in a wooded park near a historic stone cabin.

I got my start as an electrical engineering intern for an aerospace company. I was introduced to root cause analysis, strategic problem solving, and lean methodologies. That experience influenced the way I see products, systems, and business problems.

User Experience introduced me to a different type of challenge, designing for how people actually behave, not how we wish they would. Research and Design became tools that let me translate what I observed into recommendations that Product and Engineering could act on.

Today I combine both logic and empathy and work as a strategist for enterprise products, using research, design, and engineering to my advantage.

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Electromechanical Engineering

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Master's Degree

Business Administration, concentration in Computer Information Systems

Georgia State University

Skills

Strategy

  • Product Discovery
  • Customer Insights
  • Voice of Customer
  • Journey Mapping
  • Stakeholder Workshops
  • Service Design
  • Opportunity Identification
  • Feature Prioritization

Research

  • User Interviews
  • Usability Testing
  • Surveys
  • Competitive Analysis
  • A/B Testing
  • Behavioral Analysis
  • Human Factors
  • Concept Testing

Design

  • High Fidelity Design
  • Technical Workflows
  • Information Architecture
  • Design Systems
  • Wireframing
  • Digital Modernization
  • Interaction Design
  • AI Experience Design

Evolution

  1. 2014

    Manufacturing Engineering

    Learned root cause analysis, strategic problem solving, and lean methodologies

  2. 2018

    UX Research and Dashboard Design

    Discovered Human Factors and started designing for how people actually behave

  3. 2020

    MBA Degree and UX Designer Certification

    Graduated with a Master's in Business Administration, then completed a UX Designer Certification

  4. 2021

    UX Strategy

    Shaped product direction based on customer insights and enterprise systems understanding

  5. 2023

    End-to-End Customer Journey and Design

    Transformed projects into modern digital SaaS product experiences while prioritizing the Voice of Customer

  6. 2026

    AI Experiences

    Leverage artificial intelligence to enhance experiences and improve business performance

If you're navigating a hard product decision, a workflow isn't working, or an AI-assisted feature needs framing, let's talk.

ashleycatan@gmail.com →See selected work