Research Portfolio
Case Studies
How do you motivate 5 million people to take action on their financial future? At TIAA, I led discovery sessions across life stages to uncover the goals, triggers, and metaphors that shaped a new financial checkup experience designed to boost engagement.
Creating High Velocity Research
3 months into my job every researcher left. I needed to create a massive research program to support 6 agile teams and hundreds of pages/tools/interfaces. How did I do it?
🔒 These case studies are behind a password.
Email me to get access!
How do you design research for an AI assistant that’s about to launch to millions of users? I built a mixed-methods program at Wells Fargo that shaped Fargo’s strategy, usability, and perception—driving over 200 million interactions in its first wave.
I’ve worked on numerous 0-1 projects delivering impactful research at Fortune 100 Brands.
Here’s 3 case studies from some of these great roles.
Reach out at bshelkey@gmail.com and I’ve got more to share.
Foldables promise an entirely new way of experiencing apps, but only if experiences fit. At Meta, I led research on device partnerships with Samsung/Google to shape 0→1 multi-screen strategies for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, paving the way for the next generation of device experiences
What People Are Saying
“Brent is a true do-it-all and do-it-well utility player that straddles the roles of researcher, ops, and product discovery: all with expert-level empathy, wit, and creativity.”
— Graham Gardner (U.S. Bank)
“Brent is a strong leader and strategic thinker. He led our team's early explorations of implementing AI with lots of iniative, collaboration, detailed documentation, and kindness.”
— Brittney Solvik (U.S. Bank)
“He was also a key player in our AI Working Group, where he built a prompt library tailored to the different phases of UX research.”
— Spectra Myers (U.S. Bank)
“Brent is a delight to work with. He is an AI thought leader and has mentored me on the subject. He was patient with me and helped me digest big concepts.”
— Jenny Ordower(U.S. Bank)
“As a UX Researcher, he brings a rare balance of empathy and strategic insight, deeply understanding the needs of UX designers while also elevating the conversation with behavioral and quantitative data that product teams truly respect.”
— Eryn Scally (U.S. Bank)
“First and foremost, Brent is an amazing User Researcher. The depth of his expertise as well as the sharpness of his skills are simply amazing..”
— Richard Charette(Wells Fargo)