Emergency Management
SMART eLearning
Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) | Summer 2025 - Present | Software, Concept, and Process Learning | Articulate Storyline, Articulate Rise, Microsoft Office, Teams, Adobe Creative Suite, Documentum, SharePoint, ALM, User Testing, Asynchronous eLearning, In-Person Training
Please note: Due to the Orlando Utility Commission's strong commitment to security related to SMART, emergency management, event processes, and data, I am unable to provide extensive detail about my work, media examples, or training showcases. However, I may generally describe my process, accomplishments, and lessons learned. Thank you for understanding.
Please note: Due to the Orlando Utility Commission's strong commitment to security related to SMART, emergency management, event processes, and data, I am unable to provide extensive detail about my work, media examples, or training showcases. However, I may generally describe my process, accomplishments, and lessons learned.
Challenge & Context: Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) averages $10 to $15 million in expenditures per emergency activation, yet historically secured only a 66% FEMA reimbursement rate due to data-entry inaccuracies within the SMART (Staff and Mutual Aid Resource Tracking) E1 environment, causing fiscal leakage and impacting regional utility rates. Because employees only use SMART inconsistently (specifically only when an Event, defined as a dangerous situation impacting OUC service territory like a hurricane, is activated, when cleaning and prepping data proactively before hurricane season, and when reconciling past hurricane data for FEMA), perishable software skills suffered severe decay. Furthermore, before this initiative, no formal documentation outlined the distinct processes, procedures, and responsibilities for each response and business unit.
Project Overview: Engineered an enterprise-grade, 16-course compliance micro-curriculum titled "SMART eLearning: A Smarter Way to Weather the Storm" serving as the foundational asynchronous prerequisite of a flipped-classroom learning experience. First, I wanted to create a highly tailored training environment, ensuring every audience member, regardless of their experience level, could feel comfortable during Event activation. Following this online prerequisite, audiences may participate in instructor-led, simulation-based workshops in a sandbox environment.
Audience | Tools Used | My Role |
|---|---|---|
Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) full-time employees assigned across 8 operational response units who take on specialized Response Roles during activations by the Incident Command Center (ICC) to mobilize safe and reliable Event efforts, using the Staff and Mutual Aid Resource Tracking (SMART) application to track Event details and collaboratively document the operational record.
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Approximately 400 employees completed their assigned eLearning during the 2026 hurricane season.
Articulate Rise
Articulate Storyline
Cornerstone LMS
Cornerstone University
Documentum
SharePoint
Adobe Creative Suite
Microsoft Office
Jira
Microsoft Forms
Snagit
Sole Instructional Designer
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eLearning Developer​
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Project Manager
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Graphic Designer
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Communication Campaign Coordinator
Please Note: Due to OUC security policies regarding emergency management data, I cannot share media or training showcases, but I am happy to discuss my instructional design process and results.
Project Deliverables
Analysis Phase (Learning)
Task Analyses (still developing at the time)
SME Interview Scripts/ Documentation
Needs Analysis Report
Documentation Audits through Documentum (D2)
Business Unit Procedures Documentation
Design Phase (Planning)
Visual Storyboards
(all 8 custom courses)
Curriculum Storyboards
(all 8 custom courses)
Design Documents
(all 8 custom courses)
Learning Objectives
(all 8 custom courses)
Project Management Documents
Development Phase (Building)
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: SMART Fundamentals for Everyone
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: Costing Unit
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: DCM Unit
(Energy Delivery)
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: Food Unit
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: Lodging Unit
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: Mutual Aid Unit
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: Onboarding Unit
Articulate/ Cornerstone Course: Safety Briefing Unit
eLearning Launch Communication Campaign
Internal Article
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Internal TV Slides
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Internal Executive Emails
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Internal End-User Emails​
Formative Evaluation
Microsoft Forms Usability Survey
​One-on-One User Observation
User Interviews
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Sample of 20 participants ranging in skill level​
Implementation & Evaluation Phases (Let's Go Live!)
Learner Course Assignment Documentation
Learner Completion Tracking Documentation
Implimentation Communication Plan
Executive Reminder Emails
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Learner Reminder Emails (1, 3, 6 weeks before deadline)
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Additional Support and Supplemental Materials Outreach
Summative Assessment
Microsoft Forms User Experience Survey
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Sample consists of 400+ active learners who completed their assigned online training with a 100% completion rating​
Revision Plan
Problem & Solution Alignment (The Strategy)
The Business Problem
Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) averages $10 to $15 million in expenditures per emergency activation, yet historically secured only a 66% FEMA reimbursement rate due to data-entry inaccuracies within the SMART (Staff and Mutual Aid Resource Tracking) E1 environment, causing fiscal leakage and impacting regional utility rates.
Because employees only use SMART inconsistently (specifically only when an Event, defined as a dangerous situation impacting OUC service territory like a hurricane, is activated, when cleaning and prepping data proactively before hurricane season, and when reconciling past hurricane data for FEMA), perishable software skills suffered severe decay.
Furthermore, prior to this initiative, no formal documentation existed outlining the distinct processes, procedures, and responsibilities for each response and business unit.
The Instructional Solution
Working independently without a project manager or media developer, I shifted from linear ADDIE to the agile Successive Approximation Model (SAM) and audited raw repository documentation in Documentum to build the first formal process documentation, mapping each unit's responsibilities.
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Customized Content: Developed foundational eLearning establishing core system purposes, overarching emergency response processes, and role definitions across all business units.
Simulated Software Tutorials: Built 8 tailored compliance courses featuring interactive, simulated software tutorials in SMART, customized specifically to the unique workflows and responsibilities of each operational unit.
Enterprise Integration & Impact: Enforced WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and collaborated with Cornerstone LMS Administrators for seamless deployment via OUCareer, driving an 8x increase in system mastery, a 100% platform navigation ease rating, and a 95.2% operational storm-readiness index. These asynchronous modules were strategically designed as the foundational prerequisite for upcoming in-person flipped-classroom workshops. (Statistics informed by summative evaluation results)
Evaluation & Iteration
Formative Evaluation
Microsoft Forms Usability Survey
One-on-One User Observation
User Interviews
Sample of 20 participants ranging in skill level.
Participants explored the online courses in the Cornerstone Pilot. This pilot served as a valuable opportunity to check for user errors prior to official publication. Following their experience, participants provided feedback through a mixed-methods survey and voluntary individual interviews.
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Many participants noted their excited for the support as past Events have proven incredibly stressful due to a lack of available resources for SMART end users. Moreover, they reported that the training was both helpful, accurate, and truly fun!
Summative Evaluation
Microsoft Forms User Experience Survey
The sample consists of 400+ active learners who completed their assigned online training with a 100% completion rating.
Achieved an 8x increase in system mastery and a 95.2% operational storm-readiness index, alongside a 100% platform navigation ease rating. Furthermore, 100% of participants rated the self-recorded human voiceover narration as highly engaging and natural, validating the decision to bypass robotic AI synthetic alternatives.
Iterative Revisions
Based on formative feedback identifying user errors and navigation needs, I implemented the recommendation to add further return buttons across the modules, restructured simulated software tutorials, and integrated clear visual signposts and step-by-step contextual tooltips.
Supplemental Descriptive Project Review
What is this project?
I engineered a high-impact, 8-course compliance micro-curriculum for the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) titled SMART eLearning: A Smarter Way to Weather the Storm. This initiative directly addressed a critical multimillion-dollar fiscal risk: OUC averages $10 to $15 million in expenditures per emergency activation, yet historically secured only a 66% FEMA reimbursement rate due to data-entry inaccuracies within the SMART (Staff and Mutual Aid Resource Tracking) E1 environment. This leakage directly impacted regional utility rates for Florida consumers. Because employees use the SMART application only during active, annual hurricane season activations, these perishable skills suffered severe decay. Operating as a self-contained instructional design department without a project manager or media developer, I owned the full lifecycle of this asynchronous ecosystem, designing it as the prerequisite foundation of a flipped-classroom architecture to equalize baseline software literacy across eight operational units before they advanced to live simulations.
How did I prepare?
To mitigate severe subject matter expert (SME) availability constraints due to their high-stakes operational roles, I proactively extracted and audited dense, raw system documentation from OUC’s Documentum repository. This independent research allowed me to construct highly precise task analyses and targeted technical interview protocols, maximizing our brief consultation windows. While I initially scoped the project using a linear ADDIE framework, I rapidly shifted to the agile Successive Approximation Model (SAM) to facilitate continuous, iterative design-present-refine cycles with stakeholders. To ensure seamless enterprise deployment on OUCareer, OUC's dedicated corporate training platform, I completed a specialized Cornerstone University course. This training equipped me to collaborate effectively with Cornerstone LMS Administrators, allowing me to configure complex backend parameters, manage version control, structure learning objects, and set up accurate compliance tracking vectors.
How did I put my plan into action?
Putting the plan into action, I utilized Articulate 360 to develop a comprehensive digital learning environment consisting of a macro-level SMART Literacy module followed by specialized role-specific tracks. Guided by Constructivist learning theory, I rejected passive text delivery in favor of custom visual analogies and interactive infographics that bridged the abstract technical database architecture with learner intuition. The modules forced active engagement through scaffolded software walk-throughs, branched scenario paths, and metacognitive reflection prompts to transform rote memorization into real-time problem-solving. To guarantee universal accessibility across the enterprise, I enforced strict WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, embedding native voiceovers, accessible text-to-speech fallbacks, high-contrast visual elements, and rigorous typography scaling.
What were my results and lessons?
By framing technical data-entry precision not as a bureaucratic box-checking exercise but as a direct contribution to community crisis restoration, I successfully generated intrinsic learner motivation. The final product functions as a searchable, mobile-responsive performance support toolset that users can access just-in-time on the job. Empirical metrics evaluated via my user experience survey validated instructional efficacy, revealing an 8x increase in high-level system mastery, a 100% platform navigation ease rating, and a 95.2% operational storm-readiness index across all business units. This experience proved that establishing an asynchronous software literacy baseline before introducing live operational stress effectively insulates learners against cognitive overload.