Kendra H.

The Challenge:

Modern game production and content creation often suffer from "documentation debt" and manual bottlenecks that slow down velocity. As the founder of The Smart Workflow, I developed a framework to integrate Generative AI into the standard Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to reduce administrative overhead and accelerate the transition from creative concept to technical requirement.

The Impact:

Workflow Automation: Designed and implemented AI-assisted pipelines for generating high-fidelity Game Design Documents (GDDs), technical specifications, and Jira user stories, reducing initial drafting time by approximately 40%.

Content Velocity: Leveraged Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate the creation of marketing metadata, SEO descriptions, and blog content for digital platforms, maintaining a high-cadence publishing schedule with minimal manual intervention.

Process Standardization: Established a "Prompt Engineering" library tailored for production leadership, ensuring consistency in project reporting, risk assessment, and stakeholder communication.

Operational Efficiency: Identified and neutralized repetitive manual tasks within the WordPress and e-commerce ecosystem, utilizing AI to handle data categorization and technical troubleshooting.

Future-Proofing Production: Provided a blueprint for how small-to-mid-sized studios can utilize "AI-first" methodologies to compete with larger organizations by maximizing the output of lean, cross-functional teams.

The Environment:

This project serves as a live laboratory for the future of "fractional" production. By treating AI as a force-multiplier, I have demonstrated that a single Senior Producer can provide the operational rigor of a full AAA department for multiple concurrent projects.

The Challenge:

Managed the end-to-end live operations and production lifecycle for a massive portfolio within EA’s Pogo division, ensuring 24/7 stability and a consistent content cadence for millions of daily active users (DAU). The environment required high-velocity execution across a diverse library of web and mobile titles, ranging from legacy products to new feature launches.

The Impact:

Portfolio Scale: Orchestrated live operations for over 50 active titles, maintaining a bi-weekly update and patch cadence for 20 core titles to ensure optimal player engagement.

Lifecycle Management: Directed the successful launch of 10 new game titles while simultaneously managing a legacy portfolio of 69 titles, balancing resource allocation between innovation and maintenance.

Workflow Optimization: Implemented standardized production workflows that improved delivery predictability and quality across cross-functional pods including Engineering, Art, QA, and Publishing.

Incident & Risk Mitigation: Led live incident response and operational planning, maintaining high uptime and rapid resolution for player-facing issues in a high-traffic environment.

Data-Informed Strategy: Aligned content roadmaps with business KPIs and player performance data, ensuring that feature releases and promotions directly supported revenue and retention goals.

The Environment:

Operated as a central communication lead, mentoring junior producers and scaling team capabilities to meet the demands of a high-cadence live service ecosystem.

The Challenge:

As the Founder and Production Lead of an independent studio, I directed the end-to-end development and delivery of various indie and client-based game projects. Operating in a high-stakes, "zero-to-one" environment, I was responsible for bridging the gap between creative ambition and technical feasibility while managing lean budgets and distributed talent.

The Impact:

Full-Cycle Delivery: Owned the entire production pipeline—from initial concept and scoping to milestone delivery and final release across multiple platforms.

Distributed Team Leadership: Coordinated and managed remote developers, artists, and specialized contractors, ensuring high-quality output and cultural alignment in a 100% remote setting.

Operational Discipline: Successfully balanced scope, aggressive timelines, and quality standards across simultaneous projects by implementing lean Agile methodologies.

Data-Informed Iteration: Utilized player feedback and performance data to drive iterative design improvements, ensuring that client projects met both creative goals and market expectations.

Resource Management: Acted as the primary point of contact for stakeholders, providing transparent reporting on budget utilization, risk mitigation, and project velocity.

The Environment:

This role required extreme versatility—regularly shifting between high-level strategic planning and hands-on technical problem solving. By maintaining rigorous delivery discipline, I established a track record of shipping stable, engaging products for a diverse client base.