As a technical writer, you have many skills and opportunities to contribute to the user experience. This presentation offers some tips to on how to use them to identify gaps in the user experience and approaches to bridge them.

1. HOW TWS CAN IMPROVE THE UX
DEBIPARUSH@GMAIL.COM
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2. WHAT MAKES A USER EXPERIENCE BETTER?
 Easier to use
 Easier to learn
 More efficient – getting the job faster
 More effective – more precisely meeting the user’s needs
 Feeling better emotions – more fulfillment, less frustration, fear
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3. HOW DO WE EVALUATE USER EXPERIENCE?
 Ease of use –
 the user knows how to use the system,
 every step is clear: the user always knows where she is, what to do now, what to do next
 Ease of learning –
 the user intuitively knows how to use the system (with minimal training),
 the system helps the user learn seamlessly
 Efficiency –
 the time it takes to complete the task;
 few steps, no extra keystrokes,
 less need to navigate to find what’s required
 Effectiveness – the extent to which the user completes the task
 Emotions – how the user feels throughout the user experience
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4. HOW TWS CAN IMPROVE THE UX
You may use many of these “tips” for providing user support already:
1. Know who the others are
2. Walkthrough the workflow in their shoes
3. Ask yourself: GANOC and share your findings with the team
 Identify gaps between the user’s and the product’s workflow and
terminology
 Design with consistency and distinction, as appropriate
Let’s practice thinking them through for improving the UX
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5. 1. WHO ARE THE USERS?
 Know who the users are –
 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
 UX TIP: Use this input when gathering information from your team. Asking
these questions keeps the real users in mind and they will be empowered to
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6. TECHNICAL WRITER AS USER
Educational background:
 MA in Educational Technology
 Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution
What does she do
 Writes microcopy using Google Docs, Slack,
and Jira
 Writes user support material using Paligo
 Designs user experience with PPT
 Provides workshops on related subjects
 What’s on her mind
 Giving the user the right info JIT
 Keeping all the material up to date
 Getting accurate information from the
SMEs
 What bothers her
 Confusing user interfaces
 Tight deadlines
 Last minute changes
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7. MEDICAL EXAMPLE
 About Dr Smith
 Manager of the Heart Institute
 Is responsible for ~300 patients. Needs to know which patients are deteriorating and of those, which need
most urgent care.
 Dr W is painfully aware of the huge number of patients who suffer from heart disease, its danger, and the
expense of hospitalization. He is concerned with the discomfort the illness causes. He points to recurrent
admissions as a major problem associated with the disease:
 Increases the mortality rate
 Expensive to health budget – 1-2% of the healthcare expenditure is caring for heart patients.
 Once patients are discharged, the doctor monitors them from home to keep them stable. A major goal is to
prevent readmission into the hospital.
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8. ORGANIZATION - CEO EXAMPLE – FROM A SALES PERSPECTIVE
https://www.slideshare.net/comptia/it-trends-through-the-lens-of-buyer-personas
Tip: Collaborate
with Marketing and
Sales when thinking
about the users
and stakeholders.
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9. SECURITY EXAMPLES
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security-center/security-center-planning-and-operations-guide
Tips:
• Looking at the roles
is the minimum. Go
deeper into what
obstacles they face
and what keeps
them up at night.
• Use these when
wearing the users’
hats as you walk
through the product
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10. 2. WORKFLOW WALKTHROUGH
With the hat of each user type, “walk in their shoes”
while reviewing the workflow, focusing, one at a a
time, on a single, typical user’s
 needs,
 abilities, and
 limitations in the context of when they would be using
your product.
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11. ONE TECHNICAL WRITER’S ROUTINE
 Every Sunday, update all the documentation with the latest features:
 Internal Release Notes
 User’s What’s New
 Sales Update
 Documentation
 Today, provide a document on how technical writers can contribute to the user experience
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12. THE DOCUMENTATION PROCESS: A SAMPLE WORKFLOW
Prepared for:
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13. THE DOCUMENTATION PROCESS – WHERE THE FULL WORKFLOW OVERLAPS WITH THE
PRODUCT
Prepared for:
Different users
may use the
product
differently, for
example some
might first build
the document
structure before
compiling and
editing.
DEBI PARUSH (C) 2018 13

14. 3. ASK YOURSELF: GANOC
As you walk through the product wearing a user’s hat, ask yourself:
 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
 In the process?
 In the user interface?
 In terms of state
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15. UX TIP: ASK YOURSELF: GANOC
 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 and share the insight with Product, UX, in an issue in your ticketing
system with, or without a proposed solution.
Remember that this may feel like an attack. Discuss and agree if and how
sharing these types of findings can be made to feel constructive.
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16. SAMPLE TASK ANALYSIS
Assemble / Write
documentation
Collect detailed
information
Capture bitmaps
Write workflow
Research use
case
Structure
document
Intro (why and
when)
How
Troubleshooting
Compile and
edit document
Create article
Insert media
Format article
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17. WHAT ARE THE OBJECTS IN MY WORKFLOW?
Document / Documentation
Textual Content
Images Article / Document
Intro How
Trouble
shootin
g
Bitmap /
media
Tip: Notice the different language that
surfaces in the analysis. Are different words
used for the same thing? Are the same
words used for different things?
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18. UX TIP: ENSURE CONSISTENCY AND DISTINCTION
Be consistent, appropriately
 Each time the user does the same thing, it
should be done the same way.
 Each time the user does a different thing, it
should be done a different way
 All the same things should have the same
term
 All different things should have different
terms
Same? Different?
Workflow Use the
same
Use
different
Terminolog
y
Use the
same
Use
different
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19. UX TIP: ENSURE CONSISTENCY AND DISTINCTION
Document / Documentation
Article / Document
Intro How
Trouble
shootin
g
Bitmap /
media
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20. MAPPING OBJECTS IN THE WORKFLOW TO THE PRODUCT
Documentation
Article
Intro How
Trouble
shootin
g
Publication
Topic
Section
with
paragrap
hs
Section
with
procedur
e
Warning
UX Tip: Where there are differences between the terms that the system and the user use:
• Change the system, or
• Explain to the user, translating from the familiar to the system terminology
Bitmap Media
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21. MAPPING THE PROCESSES IN THE WORKFLOW TO THE PRODUCT
CMS
 Create Folder
 Create Topic
 Write Intro text in default section
 Insert element
 Write text
 Insert media element
 Upload PNG
 Insert a How section
 Write text in default para
 Insert procedure element
 Write text
 Insert media element
 Upload PNG
 Save
 Create publication
 Drag and drop article(s) into publication
 Save
mble / Write
mentation
ructure
cument
ntro (why and
when)
How
roubleshooting
Compile and
edit document
Write article
Insert media
Format article
Previous tool (Word)
 Create New Document
 Write document
 Write text
 Select Style format
 Insert pictures
 Save to folder outside the app
Type – style format / element
Images
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22. MAPPING THE PROCESSES IN THE WORKFLOW TO THE PRODUCT
mble / Write
mentation
ructure
cument
ntro (why and
when)
How
roubleshooting
Compile and
edit document
Write article
Insert media
Format article
Previous tool (Word)
 Create New Document
 Write document
 Write text
 Select Style format
 Insert pictures
 Save to folder outside the app
Type – style format / element
Images
UX Tip: Where there are differences in the familiar and new
processes:
• Change the system, or
• Explain to the user - translating from the familiar to new
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23. USER SUPPORT – JUST IN TIME – WHERE APPROPRIATE
For each challenging item, offer support to the user at each appropriate
level:
 In the words on the screen
 With (i) info messages – Suggest info where you identify gaps
 With links to topics for more information – Offer links to help pages where
there isn’t enough room to explain
And ...
 In high level articles that explain the process top down
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24. TECHNICAL WRITERS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE UX
How you can identify contributions
You may use many of these “tips” for providing
user support already:
1. Know who the others are
2. Walkthrough the workflow in their shoes
3. Ask yourself GANOC: Goals-Actions-
Navigation-Outcome-Context and share your
findings with the team
 Identify gaps between the user’s familiar and
the product’s new workflow and terminology
 Design with consistency and distinction, as
appropriate
How you can use your findings
 Remember that different users may use the
product differently
 Use each of the user profiles when gathering
information from your team. Asking these
questions keeps the real users in mind and they
will be empowered to do the same.
 Wherever you feel confused, unsure, lost,
frustrated, angry - describe the situation and share
the insight in an agreed, constructive manner .
 Where there are differences between the
terminology and /or processes that the system and
the user use:
• Change the system
• Explain to the user, translating from the familiar to the
system terminology
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25. THANK YOU
 Hear more about Microcopy and UX at MEGAComm 2019
 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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