A digital platform for secure data sharing between federal agencies.
Problem
Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) is a process that allows data scientists to join their data sets with U.S. Census Bureau data to answer research questions around equity while maintaining the privacy of individual data. However, many data scientists are not familiar with Secure Multi-Party Computation, so I was tasked with designing an interface that would transform the raw code and process into something trustworthy and easy-to-use.
Approach
I designed an interface for a simple web application using familiar U.S. Web Design System components. This platform introduces researchers to the SMPC process, allows them to easily upload data they want to join with Census data, and view the results once they have gone through the appropriate reviews.
Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
3 weeks
Team
Data Scientist ● Project Manager
Client
U.S. Census Bureau
Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) allows federal agencies to share data sets with each other while maintaining the privacy of individual data, but many data scientists are unfamiliar with it.
How might we encourage data scientists to use SMPC technology more often?
Designs
Setting expectations
Before joining with a Census data set, a banner alerts data scientists about the mandatory review process and how long they can expect it to take. A "My joins" dashboard also lets data scientists know the status of data joins awaiting review as well as those that are ready to view.
Breaking down the steps
This flow allows data scientists to select the data set they want to join with, upload their own data, confirm the join and be alerted as each step of is completed without wasting time figuring out the back end.
Building trust in the technology
From the Data Joiner homepage, users can learn about how the SMPC process works, using an illustrated example from Google. The more that data scientists understand the process, the more they are able to trust that it is secure.