About the Authors
Travis Lowdermilk
Travis Lowdermilk is a UX researcher, author, designer, storyteller, prototyper, coder, maker, mentor, and doer. Currently, he works for Microsoft’s Developer Division, helping teams make tools and platforms for software developers. Travis has a B.S. in Information Systems from California State University, Fresno and an M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University. His background is a unique blend of systems-thinking, human factors, user research, design, and engineering.
Travis is especially passionate about helping product teams connect with their customers to uncover unmet needs and build innovative products. He’s had the opportunity to work with product teams from all over the world, sharing his expertise and inspiring product makers to drive customer connection and empathy into the center of their product making process.
He’s also the coauthor of The Customer-Driven Playbook and the author of User-Centered Design (O’Reilly).
In his spare time, Travis enjoys photography, reading, writing, and exploring new technologies. He lives in the Seattle area with his wife Jackie, two sons Noah and Jackson, their dog Muggles, and Jake the cat (when Jake decides they are worthy of his presence).
To learn more about Travis, visit www.travislowdermilk.com or follow him on Twitter (@tlowdermilk).
Monty Hammontree
Monty Hammontree is the Partner Director of User Experience Research for Microsoft’s developer tools and platforms division. He has over 30 years of industry experience in product design and user research management. In recent years Monty has been at the forefront of the formation and adoption of “lean” customer, product, and business development best practices within Microsoft. A primary theme of his career is the development and utilization of team-based techniques for uncovering innovation opportunities, exploring creative concepts, visualizing solution alternatives, and evaluating/refining candidate solutions.
Monty lives near Microsoft’s main campus in Redmond Washington with his wife Amy. His five children, now grown, and six grandchildren are the pride of his life and his never-ending fountain of youth. He holds a PhD in Human Factors Engineering from Old Dominion University.