DNC 2024 Credentials System

Employer: Democratic National Convention Committee (2024)

Overview

I was hired to be the Deputy Director of Credential Systems for the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. My job was to design and direct the buildout of a digital database and scanning system that could handle the allocation, distribution, and tracking of hundreds of thousands of credentials for the 50,000+ attendees.

With only 6 months to the convention from my start date and limited prior knowledge, this feat proved to be challenging yet incredibly rewarding.

Visuals for this project are limited due to the sensitive information involved

Developing the System

Challenge 1: The unique needs of the Democratic National Convention

The DNC operates with some quirky requirements that most other events don’t have to deal with, such as:

Individual credentials can exist as one of over 200+ combinations of day, convention role, access level, etc.
Individual credentials are not assigned to a specific person. Rather, they are assigned to a pickup person who distributes them to their organization.
Attendees must pick up their physical credentials from a designated location before each day of the convention.

Solution: Meticulous creation of usability features with our database vendor

I worked closely with our database vendor to develop bespoke features for our database interface. Such features include:

Robust intake forms for attendees to submit their credential request orders and pickup information
A custom sequential barcode system that encodes the role, access level, etc, of each credential into a single number
A checkout portal that allows credential distribution staff to quickly locate, verify, and dole out credentials to attendees

Challenge 2: Inventory and distribution of credentials

The thousands upon thousands of physical credentials we print need to be accounted for before they can even be allocated to requestors. This includes noting any credentials that are damaged or missing from the print run.

Additionally, packing up allocations for requestors means picking and hand-counting the exact amount of each credential an attending organization is owed.

Solution: Barcode scanners and packing labels

We trained our volunteers to use industrial mobile barcode scanners that scanned each credential’s barcode into our database. This allowed us to quickly inventory credentials and identify any that were missing or damaged.

To improve the allocation process, we configured the database to generate a packing label that specified the exact contents for each request. The packing label also had a barcode that allowed for quick verification during credential distribution.

Challenge 3: Managing access control

Although credentials were not tied to a person, the security team still required us to have the capability to disable credentials in case of theft or loss

Access Control staff needed to be trained to operate and troubleshoot their scanners while knowing the protocol if they encountered invalid credentials.

Solution: Remote disabiling and extensive training

We built a feature into the database that allowed us to “turn off” credentials as long as we knew the barcode number. This feature was also capable of tracing the credential to its original pickup person.

I created extensive documentation on scanner operation and chain of communication for the Access Control team. This was paired with several training sessions that I hosted for Access Control leadership and staff on the same topics.

Key Successes

Credential inventory vetting finished in record time (12 days)

We were able to count and verify hundreds of thousands of credentials way under our goal of 6 weeks because of our fantastic volunteers, smooth process, and accounting technology.

The credential distribution process was a smashing success

Throughout the entirety of convention week, we never had a line of attendees waiting out the door of the credential office. Even during the busy periods, our volunteers were able to quickly locate guests’ packages and check them out via the system.

The system held up for the entirety of the convention

In 2024, our credential system achieved 100% uptime. This was the first time in DNC history that the credential database was running and functional throughout the entire convention.