An app we can trust Five tips from Katrina

Presented by:

Denice W. RossGreater New Orleans Community Data Center

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Smiley N. Pool, Dallas Morning News

Irwin Thompson, Times Picayune

Alex Brandon, Times Picayune

Tip #1:

Have a well-defined question based on the real needs of your audience.

“How many people are back, and where are they living?”

Alternative sources of population data

Utility accounts

Public school enrollment

Voter Registration

Drivers Licenses

Traffic Volume

Postal data

Surveys

Vehicle Registration

Alternative sources of population data

Utility accounts

Public school enrollment

Voter Registration

Drivers Licenses

Traffic Volume

Postal data

Surveys

Vehicle Registration

Tip #2:

Make sure the data set you choose can actually answer your question.

Tip #3:

Put metadata in plain sight and in plain English.

Persistent legend

Descriptive title

Source citation

Simple description of what the data set represents

“Learn more” for laypeople

Technical documentation for experts

Tip #4:

Fix, or explain, errors that matter to locals.

(fixing is better)

Tip #5:

Optimize usability through field-testing.

Notetaker

User

Interviewer

800 x 600 Screen Resolution

<5% web site visitors60% of neighborhood leaders

Credible App

=

Happy users and a smoother

recovery for New Orleans

“…population is shifting across neighborhoods even as new households are moving into the city, indicating the need to monitor new vacancies and develop policies to address potential new blight”

and easy to lose.

Local credibility is hard to gain…