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Elizabeth has over 35 years of experience in information systems, focusing on human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience in web sites, web applications, desktop applications, and complex systems. Her experience includes several years in system engineering, defining and analyzing system and user requirements and integrating the HCI process into the system life cycle. Elizabeth has master's degrees in mathematics and human development and is proficient in Italian. She serves on the editorial board of the UPA's online Journal of Usability Studies and served on the editorial board of ACM's <interactions> magazine for six years. She is the co-editor (with Dianne Murray) of the book Usability in Government Systems: User Experience Design for Citizens and Public Servants, published in 2012 by Morgan Kaufmann Press. The book is available for order on Amazon.com.

Qualifications Summary

View Elizabeth's profile on LinkedIn.

Professional Experience

Luminanze Consulting

2007 -
present

Principal Consultant (Silver Spring MD)

Independent consultant in the area of user experience, user-centered interaction design, human factors, and usability

Current projects
  • Usability assessment of web sites and applications for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) as a subcontractor to Network Designs, Inc.
  • Input to proposal preparation and review of usability engineering plans and reports, MicroUsability.
Previous projects
  • Collaboration in the redesign of ORD@Work, the intranet site of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Research and Development (ORD) (subcontract to User-Centered Design, Inc.).
  • User-centered assistance to the human-computer interaction design of the US Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO's) Patent File Wrapper application (subcontract to InfoReliance).
  • Web site redesign for the American Library Association (subcontract to UserWorks).
  • Human factors study of the Web interface to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services's E-Verify application for verifying the eligibility of new employees to work in the United States (subcontract to eNTEGRITÍ, prime contractor CSC).

Computer Sciences Corporation www.csc.com

2009 -
present

Data Architect Principal Leader (Newington VA)

Technical leadership of user-centered interaction/interface design (part time)

Current projects
  • Interaction/interface redesign of systems for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Review of current design; redesign of interaction and visual appearance to improve usability and attractiveness. Preparation of wireframes and mock-ups to communicate design concepts to development and management.
    • Global Entry Kiosk: Interaction and visual redesign of the screens on the kiosk that provides expedited customs and immigration clearance to approved members when they enter the United States. (Expected implementation sometime in Spring, 2012.)
    • Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) website: Interaction and visual redesign of the website that accepts applications for membership in CBP's Trusted Traveler programs and enables users to manage their memberships.
Previous projects
  • Interaction/interface design of the Global Visa System for the US Department of State. Design and prototyping of application window framework, navigation approach, data entry forms, user messages. Development of UI design patterns and UI Design Standard. Close collaboration with requirements and development teams; demonstration and review of prototypes to stakeholders and others in the client organization. Review of software requirements and design specifications. Review of software implementation to assess its conformance to UI design. Training of development/test team in Section 508 compliance.

UserWorks, Inc. www.userworks.com

2005 –
2007

Principal Usability Specialist and Director of Interaction Design (Silver Spring MD)

Project management and technical leadership of a variety of projects in human factors research, usability assessment, and interaction design. Mentoring of colleagues in human factors principles and practices, interaction and interface design, and statistical issues affecting research projects. Writing of proposals for new business. Staff photography.

Key Projects and Achievements
  • Directed the usability assessment of the American Library Association’s web site. Was asked to design and facilitate ALA’s web planning retreat on redesign goals, process, next steps. Obtained a follow-up contract to redesign ALA’s site, and led the development of the information architecture and wireframes for that site.
  • Directed and conducted the usability assessment (both testing and expert review) of FedTraveler.gov, as part of a project to assess the U.S. Government’s three e-Travel services independently and in parallel. Worked with other teams to define common assessment methods and report structure/format without comparing the services or allowing the evaluations to bias one another.
  • Directed the conduct of a research project designed by the National Library of Medicine, to investigate the readability of health information by consumers with low literacy. Advised NLM on issues of experiment design, instrument validity, and statistical significance. The study validated NLM’s “Term Difficulty Test” concept as a measure of comprehension that is shorter and simpler than the Cloze test.

Computer Sciences Corporation www.csc.com

1977 -
2005

Senior Principal Engineer (Rockville and other locations in suburban Maryland)

User interaction/interface design and system engineering on dozens of projects. Analysis, specification, design, development, and evaluation of web sites, web applications, and desktop applications. Specification and analysis of system and software requirements; definition of HCI engineering role in system life cycle. Founder and cochair of CSC’s User Experience Community.

Key Projects and Achievements
  • Redesigned the interaction and interface of the touchscreen-based En-Route Information Display System (ERIDS) for the FAA. Designed new color scheme and layout; designed and produced on-screen buttons. Wrote style guide. Analyzed, designed, and prototyped new and revised screens; participated in software design reviews and build/release testing. ERIDS has received high approval from its users.
  • Provided usability and information architecture to the web site redesign for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Conducted user interviews, focus groups, usability testing, expert review for analysis of the existing design. Provided usability perspective to redesign effort. Analyzed user feedback on prototype and participated in development of Phase I site based on findings.
  • Technical lead, system engineering support for the Flight Operations Segment (FOS) of the Earth Observing System (EOS). Worked with NASA to review, guide, and assist the work of FOS development and testing contractors. Contributed to development of operations concept, provided expert review of HCI, designed and conducted usability testing.
  • Supported NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center on numerous projects, primarily involving spacecraft control centers.
  • Supported AERITALIA (now Thales Alenia Spazio) and Space Software Italia (Italy) on human factors and HCI for the design of the Crew Workstation hardware and software of the Columbus (European) Attached Pressurized Module (APM) of the International Space Station and for the APM Centre

Æsthetic Images www.aesthetic-images.com

1996 -
2009

Photographer and Web Designer (Silver Spring MD)

Personal business in photography and Web design

Early professional work

1974 -
1977

Mathematics instruction and business-applications programming:

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Computer programming in COBOL
  • City of Durham, NC: Computer programming in COBOL
  • North Carolina State University: Teaching freshman algebra/trigonometry and calculus

Education and Affiliations

Education

Professional Affiliations

Other Key Past Projects

Publications

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