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Re: Here's why formatting and layout can really matter:
Subject:Re: Here's why formatting and layout can really matter: From:"Sharon Burton-Hardin" <sharonburton -at- earthlink -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 9 Nov 2000 07:38:10 -0800
As someone who is generally really bad at forms - and is also really smart
and a Phd candidate - I can tell you I would have screwed that ballot up. As
would have my smart husband. As would have my smart and elderly (76)
father-in-law. Who is still mentally all there and sees better than I do. It
is a potentially confusing form.
A simple usability test would have shown the flaw. This is why people who
are trained in form design and usability are so needed. What is clear to the
people who design it may be hugely confusing to others.
In my area, we voted electronically. I and many others really liked it.
Touch screen ballot. The only usability complaints I have were that when I
tried to type in someone, the keyboard on the screen was awkward and
insensitive and it took me 3 tries to get it - my husband had the same
problem. The other thing I didn't like was the Review option before I
committed my vote - it just showed Prop 34 Yes, Prop 13 No, etc. I would
have liked to have seen the little write up on the screen to help me
remember what the Prop was. There was room on the screen for it, it just was
not there.
sharon
Sharon Burton-Hardin
Anthrobytes Consulting
909-369-8590
www.anthrobytes.com
Vice-president, Programs of the Inland Empire chapter of the STC
www.iestc.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Hall" <Dan -at- cooper -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Thursday, 09 November, 2000 7:23 AM
Subject: RE: Here's why formatting and layout can really matter:
| Frankly, if you can't correctly fill out this ballot, where the arrows
| clearly point to the correct holes to punch and the numbers by the
candidate
| names correspond to the numbers by the holes, you probably shouldn't be
| allowed to vote.
|
| Of course I predicate this on my personal belief that citizens should take
| an IQ test before being allowed to participate in important activities
like
| voting or getting a drivers license. <g>
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