Creators Code: How to Avoid

Death by WordsA Checklist for Creators: 10 Ways to Improve IX, the UX of Information

©2013 Sridhar Machanihttp://google.com/+SridharMachani

Impressions are made everywhere and everytime: Everyone judges your product by what they see, hear,

and read about your product.

Buying decisions are made at almost every such impression, or the user experience (UX).Test: Have you ever bought a product or subscribed to a service that had spelling mistakes, confusing text, ugly looks, or reputation of bad-mouthing users?

Why care about IX (Information Experience)?

How to avoid:● Common traps: Write, edit, and prepare content● Suicide: Inside the product (in-app)● Poison: Outside the product● Infections: Interacting with users● Conspiracy: Support● Trial: Documentation● Prison: Blog● Execution: Social

Agenda: 10 ways to avoid death by words

1. Common traps: Write

● Be human, write for the humans, not for devices● Write for your audience (Normal users? Admins?

Developers?)● Keep it informal, active, direct, and simple● Separate content by concepts, procedures, and references

(where possible)● Use screen-shots/images, flow-charts, and videos if words

are not enough● Don’t steal content (there’s no undo online)

2. Common traps: Edit

● Remove words that are:○ Unwanted○ Ambiguous○ Hurtful, sarcastic, or controversial

● Check for consistent usage of words and style (use either UI or user interface throughout)

3. Common traps: Prepare

● Spell check everything (UI elements, web pages, error messages, emails)

● Proof read for right meaning and context (‘trial’ and ‘trail’ are both correct spellings, but which one do you mean?)

● Use readable font size and styles (purple text on black background is unreadable)

● Repeat the cycle; get more eyes to review

4. Suicide: Inside the product (in-app)

● First-use experience○ Guide users how to use core functions with warm, welcoming words○ Show how to get back to home page/screen and how to get help

● Retain known names and shortcuts for common tasks in the UI● Take permissions and inform users about delicate tasks (saving

personal data or sending data to third-party apps)● Notifications

○ Don’t disturb users when they’re sad/angry (I wish we knew how :-))○ Interrupt only if you must○ Show meaningful messages

● Remove clutter and distractions

5. Poison: Outside the product● Website:

○ Ensure users can easily navigate, sign-in and sign-out, find help, and contact you

○ Tell them who you are● App stores:

○ Tell users what works, what doesn’t○ Tell them what is free, what’s not

● Newsletters/Brochures: Tell stories, try not to sell on every page● Ads:

○ Show or talk about your core functions, not every feature○ Don’t clutter

6. Infections: Interacting with users

● Be nice: ○ Talk to them like you would talk to close family and friends ○ Show empathy and the benefit of doubt - you don’t know what

battles they’re fighting● Be fair:

○ Keep promises - nobody forgets what’s due to them○ Don’t argue - you’ll be a loser even if you win○ If they’ve made mistakes, give them a chance to exit or come good

● Be transparent: ○ If you’ve made a mistake, admit it○ Don’t mislead them, especially in matters of money and privacy

7. Conspiracy: Support● Problems:

○ Diagnose the issue before starting to fix a problem○ Sometimes users think it’s a problem, but it may not be, or it

may lie somewhere else○ Set expectations - price, terms, what is/is not covered, ETA○ Watch out for users who complain, and more so for those who

don’t complain at all● Forms (in-app):

○ Gather information that you really need to fix an issue○ Avoid collecting or storing sensitive data

7. Conspiracy: Support (Continued)

● Emails/IM: ○ Read users’ emails/messages before responding○ Collate requests and instructions, instead of sending an

email/message for each item● Forum:

○ Monitor, moderate, and respond in reasonable times● Phone:

○ It’s better to use phone calls for escalations or critical functions○ Unless you can sustain quality phone support, stick to emails/forums○ On a call, be patient, soft, and courteous, and hear the users out

8. Trial: Documentation

● A rough draft is better than nothing● Organize and visually separate topics based on concepts, procedures

(install, upgrade, configure, customize), and references● Publish PDF, HTML guides (some of us still like to print and read)● Videos are great for users with high Internet bandwidth - for others,

publish audio and transcript versions of the videos● Involve writers early in the game - from planning and design● Involve support teams to identify areas of focus that need extensive

documentation (more screenshots and examples)● Send beta docs to some users for early reviews and bug fixes● It’s a constant cycle - draft, review, fix/update, publish

9. Prison: Blog

● Write about topics that help and entertain users● Great place to talk about your product updates, timelines,

plans, and teams● Write about industry topics and win brownie points● Keep it official, not such a good idea to talk about your

family problems● Be prepared for all kinds of user comments - it’s up to you

to moderate it, just let the users know about it

10. Hanged: Social

● Use social media platforms to build relationships and engage with users

● It’s about your company’s brand - what it stands for● Post and respond regularly● Be careful what you write/share - it can’t be taken

back● Analyze and identify trends - no news is generally NOT

good news out there

● Less support calls/requests -> more savings● High user recommendations and ratings ->

growth in users and revenue● Users' trust and confidence -> easier to upsell

and market other products

What does it all mean for your business?

Good information experience can bridge a lot of gaps

Need Help? Questions? Suggestions?Contact me!

Creators Code, the book

It would be great to elaborate on these topics with lots of examples, comparisons, and HOW-TO procedures.

That is precisely my objective in this upcoming book. If you would like your product to be discussed or if you

have a suggestion, please drop me an email at sridhar.machani@gmail.com.

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