2. In this talk
- Intro
- Why does writing in UIs matter?
- Types of writing:
- Naming things
- Adding extra information
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
3. About me
- I’m a technical writer
- Embedded in software development teams
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
4. Technical writing is evolving
- Used to be “write us a manual”
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
5. Technical writing is evolving
- Used to be “write us a manual”
- Becoming “write help for the UI”
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
6. Technical writing is evolving
The goal: “help users understand and use UIs”
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
7. Technical writing is evolving
My goal: “make UIs that are easy to understand and use”
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
8. Why do the words in
UIs matter?
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
18. Thinking about writing
Questions about concepts:
- What’s this for again?
- Does this concept make sense?
- What does the user know about it already?
- Can we make it simpler?
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
19. Thinking about writing
Questions about workflow:
- Could this workflow be simpler?
- Can we do work instead of the user?
- What happens when it goes wrong?
- Can we avoid hitting errors?
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
20. Writing to make UIs better
It’s not just about writing well. It’s about making good UIs.
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
21. Types of UI writing
Broadly, there are two:
1. Names of things
2. Extra help and information
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
22. 1. Naming things, or ‘microcopy’
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
23. 2. Extra help and information
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
24. 2. Extra help and information
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
30. Skim-reading
Labels and buttons are the words that people are most likely to register.
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
31. Naming things is hard!
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
32. Three strategies for naming things
1. Think from the user perspective
2. Use terminology they can understand
3. Experiment with phrasing
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
33. 1. Think from the user perspective
Name things from the outside of the UI.
What it does, not how it works.
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
38. 2. Use terminology that users can understand
What do users call it?
What will they understand?
Do we need to name it at all?
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
58. What information to include
What do users need to know to complete their task?
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
59. What information to include
What do users need to know to complete their task?
Look at it from both sides:
- What information can’t they do without?
- What can we cut out?
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
60. Can we solve this better?
vs
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
61. What information to include
Can we make it so they need less information?
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
75. Summing up: naming things
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
1. Name from the user perspective
2. Find the right terminology for your users
3. Experiment with phrasing
76. Summing up: help and information
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
1. Work out what information users need
2. If you can, make things simpler
3. Keep it minimal
4. Show it in the right place and time
77. Summing up: make better user interfaces
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
1. Always question what you’re writing
2. Simpler things > good explanations
3. Keep fighting the good fight!