1. Writing for better
user interfaces
Beth Aitman
@baitman
4th August 2016

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

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10. Why do the words matter?
On a screen, you use words to find out what things are.
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary

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12. Why do the words matter?
Without physical cues, you need new ways of explaining.
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary

14. https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3404-reminder-design-is-still-about-words
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary

15. Words make UIs
meaningful
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary

16. Thinking about words helps you
make better UIs
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary

17. Thinking about writing
Writing makes you ask good questions.
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
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24. 2. Extra help and information
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25. First, naming things
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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.
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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?
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42. 3. Experiment with the phrasing
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary

43. 3. Experiment with the phrasing
Try explaining it in a sentence.
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48. If it’s hard to name something - ask WHY
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49. Do as much in the naming as you can...
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary

50. Do as much in the naming as you can...
Intro - UI writing - Naming - Help - Summary
… and recognise when naming isn’t enough.

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54. Help and extra
information
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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
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61. What information to include
Can we make it so they need less information?
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65. Don’t show all the information you have
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69. Show help in the right place, at the right time
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72. Keep it structured and easy to read
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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!

78. Thanks for having me!
Any questions?