Rae McKelvey
Researcher Researcher
Rae is an expert in open source software development, security, and Internet architecture. She researches technical architecture design and its impact on usability, safety, and resilience. Her contributions are depended upon by at-risk users including human & environmental rights defenders, journalists, and civil society activists. Her background is in political sociology and data science, and she loves making weird musical art that touches funny bones. She is a maintainer of Decentralization Off the Shelf.
rae's recent work
Decentralization, Off the Shelf
A library of tried-and-tested design patterns, along with a glossary of terms and a research report detailing the needs and gaps we see in the current ecosystem
Bringing the Offline Online: Reviewing the Developer Experience of Awala
Technologies like Awala bridge digital divides and provide opportunities for people to connect safely, even when traditional infrastructure and politics might block their access. As part of the OTF Usability Lab, we performed a heuristic review of Awala and a review of the developer experience. Here we highlight the Developer Experience (DX), where we provided recommendations to make it easier for third-party developers to adopt the technology and suitable use cases.
Designing for a Global Audience in the Age of Remote Usability Testing
With support from Internews, our team helped improve a VPN that helps human rights defenders and journalists access the internet safely. We implemented a unique usability testing process that protects user privacy and overcomes typical remote testing challenges.
