Debi Parush is a UX designer who focuses on designing user experiences and conversations between users and software. She has an MA in educational technology and a graduate diploma in conflict resolution. Her work involves designing the structure and content of conversations, providing workshops, and constantly improving user experiences. She discusses topics like seeing each other's needs and collaborating to achieve common goals. The document provides guidance on topics like how to design effective microcopy in user interfaces by focusing on the user's goals and addressing their concerns through a clear voice and tone.

1. WORDS IN UX DESIGN;
MEANING IN THE CONVERSATION
DEBIPARUSH@GMAIL.COM
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2. DEBI PARUSH
CONVERSATION ARCHITECT
Educational background:
 MA in Educational Technology
 Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution
What I do
 Design user experiences
 Design the structure and content of
conversations between users and software
systems and among people
 Provide workshops on related subjects
 What’s on my mind
 Seeing each other
 Being responsive to each other’s needs,
expectations, and values
 Achieving common goals through
collaboration
 Constant improvement
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3. WHAT MAKES A USER EXPERIENCE BETTER?
 Easier to learn
 Easier to use
 More efficient – getting the job faster
 More effective – more precisely meeting the user’s needs / the declared
purpose
 Feeling better emotionally –fulfillment and empowerment, not frustration and
fear
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4. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MICROCOPY IN THE UX
To provide the user with the information required to make the product usable:
 Easy to learn: Get the info about how to use the product as the questions
arise Easy to use : Keep the user knowing how to do tasks;
oriented about “where am I”, “how I got here”, “where I’ll go”
 Efficient: Less clicks or taps; avoid errors and detours
 Effective: Achieve goals by taking full advantage of the product
 Emotional experience: Feel empowered, enjoyment, and sense of
fulfillment
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5. THE BIGGER CONTEXT:
PRODUCT DESIGN PROCESS
High Level
Product Design
UX / UI Design
Technical Design
Development
Release
•Functional Requirements
•UX Concept
•Wireframes
•Detailed UI
•Dev environment
•Tickets
•Dev environment
•Production environment

6. FOCUSING ON THE UX DESIGN WORKFLOW
User
Research
Conceptual
Design
Detailed
Design
UI Graphic
Design
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Functional
Requirements
Dev

7. FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The user shall be able to set appointments in the calendar
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8. FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The user shall be able to set appointments in the calendar
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https://depositphotos.com/111169928/stock-photo-
female-teenager-with-ginger-hair.html
https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-
vector/rock-star-girl-playing-guitar-vector-
300785
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/20
14/05/becoming-a-businessperson-
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44782100
https://www.businesszoom.in/this-is-what-happens-if-
age-gap-between-you-and-your-mother-is-
more/#.XHVOoYgzaUk

9. USER RESEARCH
When setting an appointment in the calendar, each may
 have a completely different usage scenario
 use completely different language for the same thing
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https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44782100
https://www.businesszoom.in/this-is-what-happens-if-
age-gap-between-you-and-your-mother-is-
more/#.XHVOoYgzaUk
https://depositphotos.com/111169928/stock-photo-
female-teenager-with-ginger-hair.html
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/20
14/05/becoming-a-businessperson-

10. WHO ARE THE USERS?
 Age
 Context, mood
 What do they do? Why?
 What do they need?
 What’s on their mind?
 What bothers them?
 User psychology implications
Understand how what you’re offering fits in with their needs
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Who will be using the calendar to create appointments?
How are they doing it now?
What other tools are they using?
What challenges do they have?
What do they need to know about the appointment?
What words do they use?

11. WHO ARE THE USERS?
What is important to them?
 Needs, abilities, (remembering, where to go)
 Context – when, where, with whom they would be using
the product (at school, at work, at home, with friends,
with family, internationally, locally)
 Concerns and values (privacy, lateness)
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12. Communicate
effectively
Message /
Content
Component /
Syntax
Tone
IMPACT OF USER RESEARCH ON
CHOOSING TERMINOLOGY
The user shall be able to set a(n)
appointment in the calendar:
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Appointment Calendar
Meeting Diary
Engagement Agenda
Rendezvous Schedule
Date Personal Assistant
Event Little Black Book
Gig Itinerary
Homework
Assignment
Student Planner
Entry Fitness Tracker

13. USER RESEARCH
For the functional requirement:
The user shall be able to set
appointments in the calendar
the UX designer considers:
 What is the usage scenario?
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Jane has an important appointment
with John, tomorrow morning at the
office. She must be on time. It takes an
hour to get ready and half an hour to
get there.
She sets the alarm for two hours
before the appointment. She sets the
appointment with a 45 min reminder.
Now she feels confident she will get
there on time.

14. TASK ANALYSIS
Set an appointment
Set the date and time
Name the
appointment
Set the reminder
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15. OBJECT – ACTION – ATTRIBUTE
For the functional requirement:
The user shall be able to set
appointments in the calendar
the UX designer considers:
 What are the attributes of the
appointment?
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 Set an appointment
 Title
 Date and time
 Location
 Repeat
 Reminder
 Guests
 Rooms

16. OBJECT – ACTION – ATTRIBUTE
For the functional requirement:
The user shall be able to set
appointments in the calendar
the UX designer considers:
 What other objects are involved?
 What are their attributes?
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 Set an appointment
 Title
 Date and time
 Location
 Repeat – How often, when, until
when
 Reminder – How much time in
advance, what type
 Guests – Name, Email
 Rooms – Name, availability,
number of seats, technology
available

17. APPOINTMENT AS OBJECT
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Attributes
Title
Location
Date and time
Actions
Print
Delete
Duplicate
Publish event
Change ownerRelated Objects
(attributes and actions)
Repeat
Notes
Guests
Rooms

18. LANGUAGE ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER TOOLS USED
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Appointment - Occasion
Title - 
Location - 
Date and time
Notes - 
Guests - participant
What am I
telling them
again?

19. UX LANGUAGE
 What does each concept mean?
 With respect to similar words, are their distinctions meaningful to the user?
Do we need both words or are we talking about the same thing?
 Are there some things that are part of the core definition and others that are
less central / optional?
 If they are less central, will they be done somewhere else that is only accessed
when required?
 If they are somewhere else, how will the user know how to get there – how
shall we name the place so the user will find it when required?
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20. FROM ANALYSIS
TO CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
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1. The core attributes of
the appointment –
What is the title of
this set of attributes?
Notice “Untitled” and
“Subject” From: Conceptual Design for Interactive
Systems; Designing for Performance and User
Experience; Avi Parush

21. FROM ANALYSIS
TO CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
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2. A related object?
An attribute of the
appointment?
Impact on naming?
Is it obvious that the
Reminder is for the
Untitled
Appointment?
From: Conceptual Design for Interactive
Systems; Designing for Performance and User
Experience; Avi Parush

22. FROM ANALYSIS
TO CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
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3. Is Recurrence a
related object?
An attribute of the
appointment?
Impact on naming?
Why is it
“Appointment
Recurrence” here
and just “Reminder”
there?
From: Conceptual Design for Interactive
Systems; Designing for Performance and User
Experience; Avi Parush

23. FROM ANALYSIS
TO CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
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From: Conceptual Design for Interactive
Systems; Designing for Performance and User
Experience; Avi Parush
Appointment RecurrenceCalendar

24. ANOTHER CONCEPT FOR SETTING AN APPOINTMENT
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25. FROM ANALYSIS
TO CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
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Appointment
Quick
Appointmen
t
Calendar
From: Conceptual Design for Interactive
Systems; Designing for Performance and User
Experience; Avi Parush

26. FROM CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
TO DETAILED DESIGN
2/26/2019DEBI PARUSH (C) 2018 26
1
2
4
5
3
Think about the wireframes in terms of the full
task workflow – what is clear? Confusing?
1. Click on calendar. Pop-up opens.
2. Click on More options. Window changes to full
screen event editor
3. Add title
4. Set reminder
5. Save
6. Confirmation
6
From Google Calendar

27. FROM CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
TO DETAILED DESIGN
DEBI PARUSH (C) 2018
1
2
At each stage, what does the user need to know /
to do in order to succeed?
1. Click on calendar. Pop-up opens.
2. Click on More options. Window changes
to full screen event editor
3. Add title
4. Set reminder
5. Save
6. Confirmation
Communicate
effectively
Message /
Content
Component /
Syntax
Tone

28. WHAT’S THE MESSAGE? GANOC
What does the user need to know here:
 Goal: What I am trying to do here
 Action: How? Expectations?
 Navigation: Where? Is it here?
 Outcome: What will happen after doing the
action?
 Context: Where am I
 In the process?
 In the user interface?
 In terms of state
2/26/2019DEBI PARUSH (C) 2019
From Google Calendar

29. UXUI COMPONENTS
DEBI PARUSH (C) 2019
1
2
Think about the wireframes in terms of GUI
components - – For each one, how does the user
know that it’s ok to click? What would you want to
tell a confused user? Where?
1. Clickable area of the page
2. Default indicator of event with the
selected time and (No title)
3. Pop-up window with
1. Editable title field with instruction
“Add title” or “Add title and time” as
hint (no label)
2. Radio buttons made from phrases,
indicating default selection
3. From – to date time selector with icon
as label
4. More options - secondary button
5. Save button – primary button
From Google Calendar

30. A LANGUAGE STYLE GUIDE
FOR GUI COMPONENTS
DEBI PARUSH (C) 2019
1.Pop-up window
1.Title
2.Actions
3.Completion buttons
From Google Calendar

31. A LANGUAGE STYLE GUIDE
FOR GUI COMPONENTS
DEBI PARUSH (C) 2019
1. Provide instruction in editable fields
with verb and attribute on editable
fields
(no label)
2. For toggling between single-word
options, provide each option side by
side and highlight the default option.
Use short phrases. No abbreviations.
3. From – to date time selector with icon
as label. Can the icon explain the
option?
4. More options - secondary button
5. Save button – primary button (not Save From Google Calendar

32. MORE GUI COMPONENTS
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Communicate
effectively
Message /
Content
Component /
Syntax
Tone

33. REVIEW IN DEV
 Goal: What is the user trying to do here?
 Action: How? Expectations?
 Navigation: Where? Is it here?
 Outcome: What will happen after doing the action?
 Context: Where am I
Wherever you feel confused, unsure, lost, frustrated, angry - describe the
situation in terms of what is important and missing.
Share the insight with Product, UX, in an issue in your ticketing system with,
or without a proposed solution.
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34. IMPROVE THE LANGUAGE IN TERMS OF …
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• Does my message meet
the users needs here and
now?
• Am I using the product’s
voice? Does the tone fit the
users?
• Is the choice of words
compatible with the
component used to
communicate?

35. FROM “LETTING GO OF THE WORDS” BY GINNY REDISH
“If you think of the web as conversation, you'll realize that
much of your content is meant to answer the questions that
people come with . . . think about what people come wanting
to know and then about how to give them that information as
concisely and clearly as possible.”
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36. FROM “LETTING GO OF THE WORDS” BY GINNY REDISH
1. Give people only what *they* need (not what you want to give them)
2. Cut! Cut! Cut! And keep cutting.
3. Think “bite, snack, meal.”
4. Start with your key message.
5. Layer information.
6. Break down walls of words.
7. Plan to share and engage through social media.
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37. WRITING FOR INTERACTION – LINDA LIOR
 Another good source for guidelines and possibilities.
 When starting a project, I often review the book and am
filled with inspiration
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DEBI PARUSH (C) 2019
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38. MICROCOPY – THE COMPLETE GUIDE KINNERET YIFRAH
 Inspiration that takes you from the high level
decisions, such as identifying the “voice” of the
product, down to specific examples of different
ways to write for different components of the GUI
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39. FROM “MICROCOPY: THE COMPLETE GUIDE” BY KINNERET YIFRAH
The microcopy – words in the user interface components
 The Voice and Tone
 WHY this information
 Helps YOU
 Meet your GOALS
 Deal with OBJECTIONS CONCERNS
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DEBI PARUSH (C) 2019 39

40. THANK YOU
 I would be happy to customize this and other workshops to your company’s
needs.
 Please feel free to contact me with any questions, feedback, and requests
 Debi Parush
 +972-54-341-8295
 debiparush@gmail.com
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