Portfolio

Automated Organization Resources (AORs)

At Built, we faced a significant challenge common to many IT organizations: lifecycle management of resources across multiple applications in our core productivity stack, which includes Google Workspace, Slack, Atlassian, and 1Password. Frequent requests to create Google Groups, Shared Drives, Slack channels, and other resources led to a cumbersome manual process. Memberships quickly became outdated as employees changed roles, departments, or left the company. Existing solutions, like linking “Push Groups” from Okta to applications such as Slack or Google, didn’t fully address the core issue of provisioning and deprovisioning resources in a dynamic organizational structure.

To solve this, we developed a fully custom in-house solution called Automated Organizational Resources (AORs). AORs not only manage membership of resources across our core applications but are also extensible enough to provision, update, and delete the resources themselves—such as Shared Drives, Shared Calendars, Slack Groups, 1Password Vaults, and Jira Teams—as structural changes occur within the organization. This solution has virtually eliminated all manual work associated with maintaining resources tied to divisions, departments, subdepartments, teams, people groups, or the entire organization. Team members now receive real-time access to necessary resources as they join or change roles within the company.

• Streamline Resource Provisioning: Automate the creation, updating, and deletion of resources across core applications in response to organizational changes.
• Automate Membership Management: Ensure real-time, accurate membership across all resources as employees join, move within, or leave the company.
• Enhance Onboarding Experience: Provide new team members immediate access to all relevant resources, enabling them to contribute from day one.
• Reduce Manual Workload: Eliminate the need for manual intervention in resource lifecycle management, freeing up IT resources for other critical tasks.
• Improve Data and Process Architecture: Develop an impressive and scalable data and process architecture to support the automation.

• Project Leadership: Spearheaded the initiative from concept to implementation, identifying the core issues and defining the project scope.
• Solution Design: Architected the overall solution, leveraging REST APIs of our core applications and utilizing Okta Workflows as the automation platform.
• Automation Development:
  • Built automations to handle provisioning, updating, and deletion of resources across Google Workspace, Slack, Atlassian, and 1Password.
  • Developed logic to manage memberships in real-time, aligned with organizational changes.
• Integration of BuiltBot:
  • Enhanced our in-house user-facing Slack bot, BuiltBot, to communicate resource access changes to team members in real time.
  • Enabled BuiltBot to provide direct links to resources, improving user experience and engagement.
• Data and Process Architecture:
  • Designed an extensible data model to support various organizational structures (Division, Department, Subdepartment, Team, People Group).
  • Ensured scalability and adaptability of the architecture to accommodate future growth and changes.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Worked closely with HR, IT, and department heads to align the solution with company policies and workflows.

Challenges

• Complex Lifecycle Management: Needed to account for dynamic organizational structures and frequent changes in team compositions.
• Integration Across Multiple Platforms: Had to seamlessly integrate with various applications, each with its own API limitations and requirements.
• Real-Time Synchronization: Ensuring that changes in organizational structure reflected immediately across all resources and applications.
• User Communication: Developing an effective method to notify users of resource changes without causing information overload.
• Low-Code Limitations: Pushed the boundaries of what could be achieved with a low-code platform like Okta Workflows.

Solutions and Achievements

• Custom Automation Framework:
  • Built a robust automation framework using Okta Workflows, despite its low-code nature, achieving impressive data and process architecture.
  • Leveraged REST APIs to interact with each application, enabling full control over resource lifecycle.
• Dynamic Membership Management:
  • Implemented automations that adjust resource memberships in real time as employees change roles, ensuring they have appropriate access at all times.
• Resource Provisioning and Deprovisioning:
  • Automated the creation and deletion of resources (e.g., Shared Drives, Slack Channels) as organizational units are formed or disbanded.
• Enhanced Onboarding Process:
  • Streamlined onboarding by providing new hires immediate access to all necessary resources, reducing ramp-up time.
• BuiltBot Integration:
  • Utilized BuiltBot to communicate changes to users effectively, providing direct links and reducing confusion.
• Reduced Manual Effort:
  • Eliminated the need for manual updates to resource memberships and provisioning, significantly reducing the IT team’s workload.
• Scalability:
  • Designed the solution to be extensible, allowing for easy addition of new applications or organizational units in the future.

The implementation of Automated Organizational Resources (AORs) has transformed our resource management processes. We have eliminated virtually all manual tasks associated with maintaining resource memberships and provisioning across our core applications. Team members now receive immediate access to necessary resources when they join or change roles, enhancing productivity and collaboration from day one. The solution has also significantly reduced the workload on our IT team, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.

By developing a custom, scalable automation solution, we effectively addressed the complex challenge of lifecycle management for resources across multiple applications. This project showcases the power of innovative thinking and leveraging existing technologies to create impactful solutions. It highlights my ability to lead complex projects, design robust architectures, and improve organizational efficiency through automation.

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Industries Of The Future

During my tenure as Manager for Innovation & Technology at Enexor, I was featured in a docuseries titled “Industries of the Future.” This opportunity allowed us to demonstrate Enexor’s leadership in industrial controls and automation and showcase our cutting-edge innovations that are influencing the broader industry.

• Highlight Industry Leadership: Demonstrate Enexor’s expertise and advancements in the fields of industrial controls and automation.
• Showcase Innovations: Present how our cutting-edge technologies are shaping the future of the industry.

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X-VENT Operations Manual

Because of Ty’s close involvement with the development of the X-VENT (read more here), Ty was tasked with creating the operations manual for the X-VENT from start to finish. With some help from a colleague in the marketing department, Ty was able to leverage his skills in Adobe InDesign to create a professional operations manual. The manual was distributed with every unit sold and plays a critical role in making sure customers are able to safely and effectively operate the equipment.

• Write a detailed guide for the safe and effective operation of the X-VENT.
• Collaborate with marketing team to create a modern and cohesive design for the document.
• Collaborate with engineering and product development teams to ensure all topics necessary for effective operation were included and information was accurate.

Ty was the project lead for the operations manual and was responsible for all of the copy located in the document with some input from the engineering and marketing teams. Because Ty was also the project lead for the Human Machine Interface for the X-VENT, he was extremely knowledgeable about the various aspects of operating the device and therefore was best positioned to complete this project. Once the copy writing was complete, Ty proceeded to work with a digital line artist to create the necessary images featured throughout the manual. Final editing and publishing was also handled by Ty directly.

The result was a clean and cohesive doument that covered all essential topics for safe and effective operation of the device. Some pain points of the project included communicating across multiple departments while still meeting the rigious deadlines set for the project. Overall Ty was able to overcome these challenges and complete the project in a timely mannor.

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Enexor Energy Video

Enexor BioEnergy was selected as a finalist in the Halliburton Labs accelerator competition, providing the opportunity for strategic investors, partners, and collaborators to join in on Enexor’s mission to create clean energy from on-site organic and plastic waste. Ty was brought in to create a compelling video pitch that communicated Enexor’s vision, values, mission, and progress to an audience of high-profile enterprises. The pitch needed to be professional yet concise, with a seven-minute time constraint applied to all participants.

• Create a compelling video to communicate the mission, values, and progress of Enexor BioEnergy.
• Aid the CEO in creating a video presentation that could be repurposed for other external uses.
• Film, edit and produce a blue-chip level video in just seven days.

Ty was directly responsible for planning, filming, editing, and producing the video. Ty worked to create all of the motion graphics used throughout the video, set up and prepared Studio X for filming and captured all aerial shots of the product using a DJI drone. He then proceeded to edit the entire video with guidance from the CEO on the desired end product.

The video was an absolute success. All deadlines were met, and the video accomplished its goals of starting conversations with potential partners and investors. Additionally, the video was repurposed to provide an update to current investors and facilitate future communications with external parties. The video received much praise from both internal and external individuals.

 

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KJ4SGA Campaign

In my junior year at Abilene Christian University, I recognized a growing need for strong leadership amid significant university expansion and a shifting student demographic. Believing I could make a positive impact, I decided to run for Student Body President. Inspired by past leaders, I was committed to addressing both large and small issues within the Student Government Association (SGA). I partnered with Rachel Jones, an exceptionally talented student leader who shared my vision for uniting the student body.

• Unite the Student Body: Create a deliberate, exciting, and substantive campaign that brings together students from all classifications.
• Effective Communication: Clearly convey our campaign vision to the student body and engage students from diverse backgrounds to support and participate in the campaign.
• Secure the Presidency: Win the Student Body President position at Abilene Christian University.
• Assemble a Dedicated Team: Recruit a driven team of individuals to serve as cabinet members and assist in executing our campaign platform.
• Fulfill Campaign Promises: Execute all goals and promises made during the campaign to the best of our ability.

Turning vision into action, I assembled a committed campaign team. My first priority was finding a competent and passionate running mate, which led me to collaborate with Rachel Jones for the Vice President role. We developed a campaign website, kj4sga.com, to communicate our vision and launched multiple social media accounts to promote our message. Engaging with students both online and in person, we gathered insights into the issues they cared about most.

Despite facing the incumbent Vice President and having less experience in SGA, our campaign gained significant momentum. We received endorsements from peers and the campus newspaper, The Optimist. Advancing to a runoff election, we continued our efforts, overcoming obstacles—including a misinformation campaign—to ultimately secure the presidency.

• Successful Campaign Execution: Ran a compelling campaign that resonated with a wide range of students, leading to electoral victory.
• Effective Team Building: Assembled an Executive Cabinet to help achieve SGA’s goals and initiatives.
• Fulfilled Promises: Delivered on nearly all campaign promises through hard work and collaborative efforts.
• Advocacy: Ensured student voices were heard on controversial issues, including university policies affecting same-sex relationships.
• Organizational Improvements:
  • Constitutional Overhaul: Rewrote the SGA constitution and bylaws, hosting a constitutional convention for significant amendments.
  • SGA Week: Launched a major marketing initiative to boost student interest and involvement in SGA and promote congress elections.
  • Judicial Branch Addition: Established a judicial branch to oversee legislation and student disciplinary matters.
  • Budget Allocation Tool: Developed an automated spreadsheet to fairly calculate funding for student organizations.
  • Congressional Seats Filled: Nearly all congressional seats were filled—a first in over four years.
• Campus Enhancements:
  • Bird Scooters Partnership: Introduced Bird Scooters to campus, the company’s first university partnership, generating external revenue for SGA.
  • Accessibility Improvements: Upgraded doors in high-traffic areas to enhance accessibility and efficiency.
• Community Building:
  • “LitMas” Tradition: Initiated a new campus event uniting students before the holiday break.
  • March Madness Watch Party: Celebrated the men’s and women’s basketball teams’ NCAA tournament appearances with a campus-wide event.
  • Collaboration with Campus Organizations: Partnered with the Campus Activities Board and New Student Programs to host events that brought together diverse student groups.
  • “Join Week” Program: Encouraged students to get involved with campus organizations through a new initiative at the start of the fall semester.
• Athletics Support:
  • Tailgating and Contests: Supported social clubs in participating in athletic events.
  • Scholarships and Prizes: Distributed $3,000 in scholarships and other incentives to boost attendance at on-campus sporting events.
  • Discounted Game Tickets: Provided 200 discounted tickets to the football season opener against Baylor University.

Quote from The Optimist editorial board:

We applauded their unity as a team and believe they lived up to expectations this year, and exceeded what their platform a year ago had to offer.

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Financial Analysis Tool

Project description coming soon.