Role: Lead Project Manager
Agency: Upstatement

A data-driven interactive experience elevating key stories from decades of complex research.

The Global Trade Explorer compiles data from over 50 economies, 15 sectors, and 100+ subsectors for insight into the intricate web of global trade.

McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) asked Upstatement to develop an exploratory online experience featuring 6 dynamic charts to be powered by 1 data source. The agency team included a technology director, product manager, front end designer, and engineer. I managed resourcing, scope, budget, timeline, and stakeholder expectations throughout the engagement.

The client and stakeholder team included subject matter experts, data visualization specialists, and senior partners. I scheduled and co-led user interviews and stakeholder workshops to inform content strategy and user experience design. The project team leveraged insights from these sessions to roadmap our design and build phase.

Next, we built The Global Trade Explorer in agile sprints, one chart at a time. I partnered with the product manager and technology director to field and integrate stakeholder feedback into our backlog and led weekly touch points to keep the design and client teams in sync.

The Global Trade Explorer is a first of its kind for MGI. The experience set a precedent for interactive, visual storytelling supporting MGI research topics that are typically covered using long-form written content and static charts.