Saving your budget in plain languageWhitney QuesenberyPrincipal Consultant, WQusability.com and Usability in Civic Life

IACREOT 2012 – Abuquerque, NM

with

2This sign in a post office lobby is a great example of quoting policy in a way that is incomprehensible!

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Most offices have a collection of form letters like these. And,

they spend a lot of extra time explaining what they say.

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Washington State Department of Labor and IndustriesRevised Confirmation Letters, ClearMark winner, 2010

When the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, revised their letter to people making a public records request and added this fact sheet, the percentage

of their calls about this letter dropped from 10% to 1% of all calls.

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Unum – How to File a Disabilty Claim ClearMark award winner, 2012 - http://centerforplainlanguage.org/awards/clearmark2012/unum/)

This flyer about making a claim under disability insurance isn’t too bad.

It’s not too long and mostly uses words people will understand.

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Unum – How to File a Disabilty Claim (ClearMark award winner, 2012)

But look at the revised version.

Same brochure, but fewer, clearer words, and helpful information design.

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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Millions of people have

tried to make sense of the

Medicare Summary

Notice…not the friendliest

of forms.

So...

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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

This year, a revised version is rolling out. The

CMS staff said “We had to keep the MSN as

short as possible so that printing and postage

costs would not increase. It went through 5

rounds of design and focus group testing. In

all, over 160 people with Medicare and

caregivers…some in Spanish”

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Usability in Civic Life with the Minnesota Secretary of State, 2009

Revised absentee ballot

instructions for Minnesota

after 2010.

More about this project at

slideshare.net/whitneyq/mi

nnesota- absentee-

clarity2010

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Information can be

technically accurate, legally accurate, legally sufficientand also clear and understandable

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It’s in plain language if people can

Find it Understand it Use it* Definition from the Center for Plain Language

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How do you make information clear?

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Write for your audience

Use simple, everyday words

Avoid jargonabbreviationsand legalisms

Speak directly to the audience: use pronouns like “you”

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Organize information logically

Place instructions where they are needed

Put instructions in order

Put the “if” before the “then”

Each step in its own paragraph

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✖ ✔

Example from research on plain language for NIST by Ginny Redish and Dana Chisnell

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Write for action

Write in active voice(the person comes before the verb)

Tell people what to do, rather than what not to do

Photo from the Trace Center

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Example from Minnesota absentee ballot instructions

Look at all the active verbs

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Keep it as short as possible

Short, common words

Short sentences

Short paragaraphs

19(1) Mark only with a writing instrument provided by the board of elections. (2) To vote for a candidate whose name is printed on this ballot fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) above or next to the name of the candidate.(3) To vote for a person whose name is not printed on this ballot write or stamp his or her name in the space labeled “write-in” that appears (insert at the bottom of the column, the end of the row or at the bottom of the candidate names, as applicable) for such office (and, if required by the voting system in use at such election, the instructions shall also include “and fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) corresponding with the write-in space in which you have written in a name”).(4) To vote yes or no on a proposal, if any, that appears on the (indicate where on the ballot the proposal may appear) fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) that corresponds to your vote.(5) Any other mark or writing, or any erasure made on this ballot outside the voting squares or blank spaces provided for voting will void this entire ballot.(6) Do not overvote. If you select a greater number of candidates than there are vacancies to be filled, your ballot will be void for that public office, party position or proposal.(7) If you tear, or deface, or wrongly mark this ballot, return it and obtain another. Do not attempt to correct mistakes on the ballot by making erasures or cross outs. Erasures or cross outs may invalidate all or part of your ballot. Prior to submitting your ballot, if you make a mistake in completing the ballot or wish to change your ballot choices, you may obtain and complete a new ballot. You have a right to a replacement ballot upon return of the original ballot.(8) After completing your ballot, insert it into the ballot scanner and wait for the notice that your ballot has been successfully scanned. If no such notice appears, seek the assistance of an election inspector.

✖

Current NY ballot

instructions

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Revised language from a

new bill – the Voter

Friendly Ballot Act.

It reduces the instructions

from over 300 words

to just 100

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Design for easy reading

Use Mixed Case in text and names (not ALL CAPITAL LETTERS)

Use bold for emphasis

Use lists and tables.

Choose one readable font

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Polling place signs from

Shawnee County, KS and a revision in

the EAC Best Practices style. Thanks

to Libby Ensler Dieter.

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✖

2010 ballot from Broome County, NY

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✔

Proposed redesign using EAC Best Practices. It improves the biggest voter complaint in 2010 by making the text larger,

especially candidate names.

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Plain language is a process

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NOTICEIf you tear, deface, or make a mistake and wrongfully mark any ballot,

you must return it to the election board and receive a new ballot or set of ballots. To vote for a person whose name is printed on the ballot, darken the oval at the left of the person’s name. To vote for a person whose name is not printed on

the ballot, write the person’s name in the blank space, if any is provided, and darken the oval to the left.TO VOTE, DARKEN THE OVAL NEXT TO YOUR CHOICE, LIKE THIS

TO VOTE, DARKEN THE OVAL NEXT TO YOUR CHOICE, LIKE THIS To vote for a person whose name is printed on the ballot, darken the oval at the left of the person’s name.

To vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot, write the person’s name in the blank space, if any is provided, and darken the oval to the left.If you tear, deface, or make a mistake and wrongfully mark any ballot,

you must return it to the election board and receive a new ballot or set of ballots

1. Put the instructions in a logical order

To vote, darken the oval next to your choice, like this:To vote for a person whose name is printed on the ballot, darken the oval at the left of the person’s name. To vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot, write the person’s name in the blank space, if any is provided, and darken the oval to the left.If you tear, deface, or make a mistake and wrongfully mark any ballot, you must return it to the election board and receive a new ballot or set of ballots

2. Remove centering and capitals. Add emphasis

The original

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To vote, fill in the oval next to your choice, like this:

To vote for a person whose name is printed on the ballot, fill in the oval at the left of the person’s name.

To vote for a person whose name is not on the ballot, write the person’s name in the blank space, and fill in the oval next to it.

If you make a mistake marking your ballot, return it to the election board and receive a new ballot or set of ballots.

3. Simplify phrases to use common words

To vote, fill in the oval next to your choice, like this:

To vote for a person whose name is not on the ballot, write the person’s name in the blank space, and fill in the oval next to it.

If you make a mistake marking your ballot, ask a poll worker for a new ballot.

4. Continue simplifying and using active phrasing

5. Make the text large enough to see

To vote, fill in the oval next to your choice, like this:

To vote for a person whose name is not on the ballot, write the person’s name in the blank space, and fill in the oval next to it.

If you make a mistake marking your ballot, ask a poll worker for a new ballot.

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What holds us back?

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Legal markup

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Photos, Jenny Greeve, Accessible Voting Technology Initiative

Not enough active team design work

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& not enough usability testing

Poster from Washington State, Jenny Greeve

More about usability testing at slideshare.net/whitneyq/need-a-little-usability

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Because we can tell the difference

No preference

Plain language version

Traditional version

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

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82

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Preference for style of instructions(% of participants)

Report of Findings: Use of Language in Ballot Instructions, NIST IR 7556

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We can all be super heroes

… for the public … for our departments

… for democracy

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Research commissioned by EAC

Research commissioned by NIST

SOP and Usability in Civic Life

Research commissioned by NIST

civicdesigning.org/fieldguides

Field Guides to Ensuring Voter Intent

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Whitney Quesenberywhitney@wqusability.com

Usability in Civic Lifehttp://usabilityinciviclife.org

Field guides to ensuring voter intenthttp://civicdesigning.org/fieldguides

LEO Usability Testing Kithttp://www.usabilityinciviclife.org/voting/leo-testing-kit/