Oops, They Forgot the Usability: Elections as a Case Study
Dinner Keynote Speaker
Whitney Quesenbery, Whitney Interactive Design; President, Usability Professionals' Association

An election is a perfect usability case study. It brings together large numbers of diverse voters, an unfamiliar interface, and an outcome that shapes the future of our society. With such a seemingly simple task, usability was not on the curriculum for elections officials. However, despite the focus on technology and security, it was poor information design and usability in the 2000 Palm Beach ballot that taught us all new words like “chad” (hanging or pregnant). This opportunity mirrors the challenges that usability advocates face every day. New voting system standards from IEEE may include usability requirements for the first time, but the real challenge is persuading elections officials to include information design, user interface skills, and usability as a routine part of the job of running an election.

Presentation Materials

Speaker:

Whitney Quesenbery is a user interface designer and usability specialist with a passion for clear communication. She works with companies around the world to improve their Web sites and software applications and develop a user-centered design process. An active member of the usability community, Whitney is President of UPA (Usability Professionals’ Association). As Director of the UPA Voting and Usability Project, she is an advocate for the usability of voting systems. She was appointed to the Technical Guidelines Committee for the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission, where she heads the subcommittee on Human Factors and Privacy. Before she was seduced by a little beige computer into the world of usability, Whitney was a theatrical lighting designer on and off Broadway. The lessons from the theatre stay with her in creating user experiences. Whitney is the principal consultant for Whitney Interactive Design and can be contacted at whitneyq@wqusability.com.

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