optimisation engagements
Delivered through Shopify Optimisation Services for merchants representing $4B+ combined GMV.
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SHOPIFY
Storefront Optimisation Services
From recurring merchant need to a global service system, reusable specialist knowledge and a measurable optimisation programme.
Service launchedOutcome measured
- Role
- Optimisation Services Manager — accountable for direction, operating model, prioritisation and delivery decisions.
- Maturity boundary
- The delivered service, knowledge library, workflows and report automation are outcomes. The later Customer Success decision-support capability and merchant self-service path were designed, not launched.
SIGNALMerchant and support evidence→
DECISIONPrioritised guidance→
SYSTEMLibrary, training and workflow→
DELIVERYConsistent service
Merchant feedbackService learning
CONTEXT
Merchants were asking support teams for storefront improvements, but specialist judgement was distributed across people and the organisation had no consistent way to turn that expertise into a scalable service.
MY CONTRIBUTION
I identified the opportunity through merchant and support evidence, shaped and piloted the offer, then led the service model, knowledge system, specialist delivery and cross-functional roadmap.
WHAT IS TRUE NOW
The pilot became global enterprise delivery. More than 300 engagements served merchants representing $4B+ in combined GMV, and Shopify Growth measured 26% average conversion uplift across the programme.
- Merchant evidence
- Reusable judgement
- Operational ownership
average conversion uplift
Measured by Shopify Growth across the optimisation programme.
CONTEXT & PROBLEM
Expert advice existed, but the service system did not.
Storefront requests consumed specialist time and often arrived without a shared definition of value. Advice varied by who handled the work, while the most detailed review process was too expensive to offer consistently across merchant segments.
The real product problem was how to recognise the right opportunities, make specialist judgement reusable and connect recommendations to a delivery model merchants and internal teams could trust.
DISCOVERY EVIDENCE
Join merchant need to operational reality.
I combined support patterns, merchant conversations, UX research, behavioural evidence and delivery constraints to identify recurring optimisation needs and the segments the service could credibly support.
- Started from merchant and frontline signals rather than a tooling idea.
- Separated high-value, repeatable guidance from expensive custom work.
- Kept specialists involved so the model reflected the exceptions they handled.
DECISION & OWNERSHIP
Treat the service as a product with an accountable owner.
I defined the service vision, merchant segmentation, operating model and roadmap, then prioritised work using recurrence, merchant value, feasibility and the learning it could create.
That reframed the work from a queue of bespoke requests into a managed product system with explicit choices about who it served, what it promised and how it would improve.
SOLUTION SYSTEM
Codify knowledge without flattening judgement.
Manual Word-based audits became structured, rules-based workflows and automated report generation. A maintained knowledge library, training and review loops made delivery easier to onboard, assess and evolve.
- Shared guidance library and structured review workflow.
- Automated report generation with specialist quality control.
- Feedback loops joining research, content, merchant response and delivery learning.
DELIVERY & ADOPTION
Scale through the interfaces between teams.
I led the multidisciplinary service and worked with directors, VPs and Product partners to move from pilot learning into global enterprise delivery. The work combined enablement, operating ownership and measurement rather than treating launch as the finish line.
OUTCOME & BOUNDARY
Measured service value; an honest line around the next bet.
The programme delivered more than 300 engagements for merchants representing $4B+ in combined GMV. Shopify Growth measured 26% average conversion uplift.
A later decision-tree concept translated the service logic into support for Customer Success, with a path to merchant self-service. It remained a designed capability and is not presented as shipped software.
SUPPORTING PROOF
- Legacy project artefacts document the research, objectives, operating model and delivery process.
- The reviewed CV source set consistently supports the role, scope and outcome statements.
- Metric attribution is explicit: Shopify Growth measured the result; Brendan led the service, not the measurement team.
WHAT I CARRY FORWARD
The durable outcome was a system for making expert judgement reusable.
The service scaled because customer evidence, specialist knowledge, ownership and feedback were designed together. That pattern—turning frontline signal into a product system—is central to how I work today.
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