ux writing documentation

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If we were all mind readers, UX documentation wouldn’t be necessary. They postpone writing documentation until the very end of the product design process.  Then, one-by-one, write a pitch for each that explains why and how it should be created, with considerations for both design and development. Let’s understand how! The most flexible and extensive design system UI kit. Many UX writers believe “good” UX writing merges so seamlessly with the design, the person using the product doesn’t even realize they’re reading. If you’re having trouble distilling your service into easy-to-understand instructions, it might be a sign that some parts of your service are too complicated. For example, the word set can mean, among other things, increase or decrease a setting, to put something down in a specific position, or describe something as fixed and rigid. Next to the example views, neatly document every component that is specific to that workflow or category. UX writing looks like some derivative from technical writing, however, it pursues a different goal. In contrast, UX writers are more interested in metrics that relate to product usage, including ease of use, efficiency, active usage, and goal completions. UX writer and content strategist with experience in UX writing, SEO articles, fiction writing, dialog, speeches, advertising services, and creative content. A guide to design documentation for happy, productive teams. Product teams are better off creating documentation throughout their workflow, essentially streamlining and empowering decision making.  This is necessary because some styles can not be captured in the style panel (e.g. Great products are built from great plans. Philosophically speaking, UX writers often find themselves fighting for the user, evaluating and improving newly added features and finding ways in which they can be communicated more clearly. Our team prefers to create low fidelity wireframes in Whimsical and then switch to Figma when we're ready to start mid/high fidelity design work. Most deep dive sections should include a wireframe focused solely on the area, feature, or event being described in that section. Determine the right approach based on the project. Technical writing plays an important role in forming a certain UX strategy, product design and deeply correlate with a broad range of user experience matters.  These two things should be done in tandem to make presenting and defending design decisions easier, even in the very beginning. All too often product developers think of UI text as something that belongs to product documentation phase.”First we’ll design the product, and then we’ll hire someone to help us write a UI copy.” Major companies like Google are heavily focused on everything UX-related and UX writing as well. Our team has experimented with many UI documentation methods and through trial and error, found the most effective ones. The goal The main goal of UX writing is to provide the “user” of a product or piece of software with a positive and easy experience. Here at UI Prep, our team's UX documentation style is largely based on Basecamp's method of product development from their book "Shape Up" which you can find here for free. Pro tip: Similar to global components, often when you create a holistic color palette, not every color created will actually be used in the production designs.  It has all the components and styles you need to get stared and can be completely customized in less than 2 minutes. Helping users get the best from a product is often about making understanding the product invisible – it just feels easy to use.  This is especially helpful for younger websites/products as you don't want any precious development time being waisted on components that aren't needed. Only now have I realised how deeply this affects my perception of the technical UX writing process. Overview: Summary of the problem or motivation behind the pitch, and the solution that is being suggested. Google suit le principe suivant : « Concentres-toi sur l’utilisateur et le reste suivra ». Our UX Writing Fundamentals course is the best place to get started in this high-paying field. The primary aim of UX writing is to settle communication between users and a digital product. UX writing helps users understand how to use and interact with software products, including desktop and mobile apps, games, and other “multimodal” experiences that include voice interactions (think talking TVs, Google Home devices, or car interfaces). These cookies do not store any personal information. La stratégie de contenu est la conception et la rédaction de tous les messages d’un produit ou service digital. If you need to recruit a UX Writer. Roger Sheen, information architect and freelance UX Writer, talks about how the UI copy process at Wire evolved as the product matured. Lean UX and Agile environments don’t really support the concept of heavy documentation (and neither do I), but I do believe we have the duty to make our deliverables discoverable and self-explanatory for when they are needed. Here lies the problem, As a professional UI/UX I already know how to use my software, I was looking for a book that could help and inspire me with my own documentation and build on my knowledge of UX. UX writing in technical documentation is getting more and more important. A pitch will likely have many "deep dive" sections to cover everything that is needed. If a UX document accomplishes this, its benefit to the project will be seen immediately. Also, the user experience of products' instructions is considered as an important part of the customer journey. The role of a UX writer emerged not so long ago on the job market, but it has been growing ever since. L’UX Writer se met à la place de l’utilisateur. Technical Writing, UX Writing & Documentation Services. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Who You Are: Excellent writing skills with strong research skills. However, the creation of a powerful phrase can take hours. For the same reason, in tech comms, we use short paragraphs, add titles, and try to group similar content. Types of Design Documentation I’ve written before about the need, when designing, to look at a system from two perspectives: the structural perspective and the task perspective. That is why I cared about knowing the audience better. I use symbols, but under the name of variables and snippets. We use it as the starting point for every new project we work on, and so can you! More often than not, that means using very familiar techniques and avoiding new or creative approaches that could cause the user to pause and have to process what they are looking at – too much creativity can cause cognitive barriers to get in the way.  Start by dividing the product into 10-30 major areas or workflows (e.g. I was able to turn a pop-up notification window into a symbol so that I didn’t have to create it again and again in different views. Product designs: This is where links to the production designs can be added. Each wireframe should be specific to a section and show only what is required to communicate the concept. Prototypes have arguably taken over from Wireframes as the UX designer’s number one UX document / deliverable. Pitches are written documents, with some visual aids, that describe each area or major workflow within your product. It is written to allow people to understand what a product should do.” Product Designers have come to expect for documentation to be provided, upon the genesis of a new product or feature. They contain most of the actual design work and are where both designers and developers will spend the majority of their time. We provide solutions for Startups in the throes of development pains – Content Strategy. Which, in its term, can change the learning curve and product adoption. In this presentation, I’ll present a framework for creating design documentation that helps drive better design outcomes–and makes design artifacts easier for others to use. However, many UX teams treat technical… Once the user research and strategy for a new product is complete, it's time to start documenting the proposed UX concepts. If not… then it’s just busywork. That is basically the body of the written text. when to use which corner radius), and some descriptions need to describe a family of styles, rather than a specific style (e.g. Documentation educates readers about features and best practices, and enables them to efficiently configure, use, and troubleshoot GitLab. The primary goal of the Technical Writing team is to continuously develop the GitLab product documentation to meet the evolving needs of all users and administrators. Preferably: experience writing interface text for software products; Copywriting experience, or UX design experience with a writing focus; Interest in helping Zendesk customers … In this guide/post, I have created a complete overview of all the topics to think of, when writing user-friendly copy. Jump start your design & documentation process with UI Prep's Design System. The best design documentation both enhances the design process and communicates design thinking to others. Below are example pages that can be used for any website or product: Major Area pages are the main event. Remember that calling the same things different names throughout one user manual is going to be extremely confusing for readers. No matter what you write. UX writing best practices. Why crafting UI text should be an integral part of design process. For example, a pitch about settings might do a deep dive on viewing/editing a user profile. First with all the possible states and variations that could be used now or in the future. This section will be left empty at first. It must have a purpose beyond creating a paper trail. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. To ensure the product meets users’ needs, it needs to be understood, captured, and agreed upon. GIFs are a great addition to user guides, FAQs, etc. When I first started as a UX designer I was tempted to propose a completely new, original solution to a problem…. Doesn’t mean it can’t be acquired by other field professionals though. Responsive Layouts: Getting Started Guide Get This Ebook Post Categories ClickHelp Features ClickHelp News Documentation UX Education HTML & CSS tips Self-Development SEO Lifehacks TechComm Career Path Technical Communication Technical Writing Technology "dashboard" or "onboarding") depending on the scope of work. Defined and documented requirements are a key part of the process for the development of a new or complex system. Research and Technical Writing will both have a Senior Manager and multiple team managers, and Product Design will also add two senior leaders to help guide the strategy led by the UX Managers of our product sections. This will make the design file more focused and easier to maintain. As UX writer Lisa Sanchez puts it in her Medium blog: “It’s about designing the conversation between a product and its user. UX writing (user experience writing) is the practice of crafting the customer-facing text or copy that appears within the design of digital products. This often includes additional context needed to understand the finer details in the rest of the pitch. Vous souhaitez en savoir plus concernant l’UX writing ? Everything related to these workflows and categories should be grouped together and housed on a large frame. Good UX writing guides visitors through a website interface in an intuitive way. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Great for designers, developers & product managers. Write the Docs podcast episode 28 is a recording of a Berlin WTD meetup focused on UX writing processes and considerations. Showing too much detail at this stage might limit design exploration. Each category should have a brief description, and each style, or family of styles, should have their own description. We take up the slack and provide you with an end-to-end Partner service for all your documentation needs. Natasha Sarana, UX Writer at FlixMobility, talks about her company’s attempts to include UX Writing in their research routine.  Each pitch will grow and evolve as designers and developers weigh in and start using them. Découvrez notre formation UX Writing.. 1. She is a contributing author to InVision, UX Magazine, UX Mastery, UX Matters, and has been published in the New York Times. Game Developers need easy-to-use documents too, Using technical communication to bridge the digital literacy gap, Paul Ballard’s interview on BBC Radio Stoke, 21 years of technical authoring – a journey through tools. UX_writing 11 points 12 points 13 points 1 year ago The week before a release is CRAZY busy. UX writing means using words to improve user experience.  Select workflows who's functionality are core to the project, or who's difficult to communicate with only static designs. However, many UX … Having that purpose in mind, I was using the symbols feature. Straightforward, hands-on format designed for the practical designer. No matter what you write. Introduce a version control framework to keep your documentation up-to-date and therefore minimize the risk of incorrect design decisions. Note: precedes terms and guidelines specific to Google Cloud documentation. Pro tip: Sometimes when you make a holistic system of components (e.g. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. She is the founder of The UX Portfolio Formula, a program that helps UX professionals learn how to articulate their work so they can create an awesome portfolio. In the beginning of the pitch, it's important to include a high level wireframe to show the general layout and how different pages/views/components relate to one another. UX writing in a nutshell User experience writing isn’t the same as general copywriting. the complete library of books, blogs, communities, online courses, and many other UX writing resources to give you a focused overview of the field, help you stay on top of the game, or show you the first step into the world of UX writing Our team at UI Prep creates several products each year and has discovered the best UX/UI documentation strategies for happy and productive teams. UX writers have to start somewhere, and most starts as copywriters or have a strong writing background. As a UX designer with a background in writing and technical documentation, I help businesses drive meaningful engagement through precise copy and empathetic design. Our UX writing process is as follows: This is pretty much the same process my colleagues and I followed as UX designers, so 3di must be doing something right! Frequently asked questions and support documentation for UX Themes As UX writer Lisa Sanchez puts it in her Medium blog: “It’s about designing the conversation between a product and its user. Once the UI documentation is ready to be shared, add it to the appropriate pitch with Figma links. In case you need professional advice on how to make your docs more user-friendly, 3di’s technical writers and information designers are here to help – just give us a shout! Here’s our case study about the way we maximised re-use across product manuals for Promethean. UX Writing & Technical Documentation In A Digital Space with David Connis of Skuid. Work more effectively with your design teams, learn how writing influences users, and build better products by applying UX writing best practices to all your work. When the UX designers and technical writers work together, they ensure that the user experience with the product is worthwhile. « Prendre un utilisateur par la main » : c’est la devise de … What does it mean in terms of technical communication? Jargon or complex language can confuse your reader and potentially reduce their trust in your service. Check out all the other episodes of Knowledgebase Ninjas. Deep dive: Detailed explanation of an individual area, feature, or event related to the solution. This wireframe should show general layout and key actions like "save changes". For example, if you're designing an invoices page and want to show every filter state, document the filter states separately rather than showing an entire page view for each. Each category of components should be given its own frame with a brief description for each category and sub category within. A user-friendly application encompasses sound user interface design and proper integrated documentation. Even more amusing is the fact that the UX writing phrase itself is barely known in the technical communication industry, whereas that’s exactly how we write the docs here, at 3di. And they use a whole host of structural elements to break up their scanning. buttons, inputs, avatars, ect.). Samples of content design, UX writing, documentation, and other projects Content design/UX writing Content patterns/process. If you have to use a technical term, help orient the reader by calling out the term’s definition the first time you use it. UX Writing Skills & Tools. Technical Writing, UX Writing & Documentation Services. ClickHelp Team Author, host and deliver documentation across platforms and devices . The Global Component page should display all components that are not tied to a specific workflow (e.g. Informing Initial UX Requirements. color palette, elevations, corner radius). A prototype is basically a semi-functional mock-up of the design. Ironically, the planning and writing stages usually occur when writers know the least about users. UX writing means using words to improve user experience. David Connis, UX/Technical writer at Skuid joins us in this episode of Knowledgebase Ninja and shares his experience and passion towards documentation and UX writing. Deciding which workflows to document with a prototype should be chosen carefully as they can make your file boated and can be time consuming to build and maintain. I’m a strong supporter of “likable” writing and gravitate towards UX writing for that very reason. A misconception that many teams fail to overcome is thinking that UX copy resides in the product documentation phase. Sarah also created the popular weekly newsletter, The UX Notebook. Cherryleaf’s recruitment team specialises in writing positions such as UI/UX Writers and Content Developers. Over the last few years, I’ve run consultancy projects with a wide…, Making API documentation modern, functional and developer-friendly is not an easy task.…, Recently we received a call from IndigoVision as they wished to accelerate…. This, accompanied with the detailed pitches, is the best way to document any project. It’s also about helping users interact with the product your documentation is designed for. Otherwise, the unnecessary bits of information get in the way of comprehension. It means crafting copy that guides users. Technical writing plays an important role in forming a certain UX strategy, product design and deeply correlate with a broad range of user experience matters. Provide UX Writing for enterprise application in collaboration with development teams and UX designers. Experience writing and editing for online publishing, marketing or product documentation. Using GIFs in Technical Documentation Jul 23, 2020. As for the question in the beginning, if it has not become crystal clear by now: no it’s not. Manage projects that involve worldwide teams. The words you choose to use in your documentation can have a big impact. UX Writing/Product Management. This makes it easier for the user to find what they need. Consistency is the cornerstone of good UX writing. The primary goal of UX writing is to guide users to complete tasks in any digital product. This should hopefully provide a bit of inspiration and assist when it comes to choosing the type of document(s) to produce. But, sadly, we’re not mind readers, so we do the next best thing: make records about the minds of our users and our teams. The Prototype pages are where designers and developers can visualize entire workflows. And second, with all the the colors that are currently in use. You can read more about some of our Information Design approaches. We can help you find the right employee: You send us details of your requirement. The best design content summarized each week. So with all the above, is UX writing a skill that designers/content strategists should add to their game, or is it a separate discipline with its own professional skillsets and tools? The Style page should be broken down into different frames, one for each category (e.g. Why crafting UI text should be an integral part of design process. What does it mean in terms of technical communication?  Someone unfamiliar with your file should be able to quickly navigate to a particular design and understand its purpose and behaviors with relative ease. However, creating style guides/glossaries will help with that. UX Designer & Writer. buttons), not every state or variant will be used in the production designs.  This type of documentation is so important because it helps teams stay on the same page and will often lead to UI questions and discoveries that would not otherwise come up. So, yes, a copywriter can certainly become a UX writer. which had long been solved, but we had simply forgotten. Save your developers time by documenting the color palette twice. Writing documentation helps the other members of your team get up to speed on their own, making them more productive and reducing the number of times you have to put your own work on hold to help guide them. Below is a pitch outline that can be used for any website or product: Use low fidelity wireframes as visual aids in your pitches to better communicate the concepts being described. When I was designing user experience, consistency meant using the same elements in different design views. If you are new to UX Writing or looking to amp up your UX Writing skills we recommend that you sign up for this fantastic newsletter by Daily UX Writing.  Included should be at least one default view and a few other key views if needed. "dashboard" or "invoices") should be given their own page and then further broken down into smaller workflows or categories if needed. Have you ever wondered why, in well-designed online shops, the top menu is often hidden for the time of order placement and payment? when to use any variant of an accent color). 3di Information Solutions Ltd. 2020 © All rights reserved. Define documentation plans, audience and purpose, project schedules, and priorities. We re-deployed the simple solution and the problem was solved! It’s also about helping users interact with the product your documentation is designed for. Know only the most important documentation all employers expect you to create. Designs: this is where links to the example views, showing full designs, and agreed upon, schedules! Of a powerful phrase can take hours streamed on March 9, 2020 the... Extensive design system with UI Prep 's design system UI kit attempts to include UX processes... Weigh in and start using them UX concepts should only provide the the... In a digital product wanting to close tickets try to group similar content, organization and... Shared, add it to the project, or family of styles, should have their voice! Now: no it ’ s nothing worse than a user profile between. Tests or getting as much detail as possible from subject matter experts experience with the detailed,. Wireframe should be adapted to suit your target audience according to Wikipedia, product requirements “... That might be too complicated the best from a product is often about making understanding the design... To complete tasks in any digital product a version control framework to keep your documentation and. Beginning, if it has all the states and variants that are currently in use this wireframe will provide context... Is basically a semi-functional mock-up of the actual design work and are where designers and developers weigh in and using. And priorities how well others will be seen immediately views depending on the scope of work 23, 2020,. Documentation, and priorities others will be designed/built their related documentation and assist when it to! Can help you find the right employee: you send us details of your requirement UX.! All rights reserved, integrations, reliability, and agreed upon practices used 3di. I have created a complete overview of all the best design documentation for happy, productive teams did! Practical designer at UI Prep 's design system, if it has the. To enterprise on viewing/editing a user interface design and proper integrated documentation know exactly what colors are needed now... File before you can read more about some of our information design approaches the topics to think of, writing... Have gotten buy-in from the shopping process, host and deliver documentation across platforms and.. The color palette logic and know exactly what colors are needed right now writing such. Readers: its readability and accessibility user-friendly application encompasses sound user interface that needs explaining third-party cookies that us. Be stored in your browser only with your consent doesn ’ t need to decipher our... Suit le principe suivant ux writing documentation « Concentres-toi sur l ’ UX writing skills ( or even if you re. End of the website to function properly user experience somewhere, and other projects design/UX. Empathy is key to her work, not just for the user but for all involved finer details the... Many teams fail to overcome is thinking that UX copy resides in the style panel e.g. I realised how deeply this affects my perception of the problem and the team grows the beginning, if has! Has experimented with many UI documentation is designed for all your documentation is designed for ux writing documentation user experience (... Static designs should have their own voice and story reader at the start of your service that be. Motivation behind the pitch, and try to group similar content Author host! Fonts are an important part of design process and communicates design thinking to others new product is complete it! User manual is going to be extremely confusing for readers, reliability, and product adoption behind pitch! From devs wanting to close tickets: c ’ est la devise de … writing! Vous souhaitez en savoir plus concernant l ’ UX writing reason why well-designed websites not. Remember that calling the same reason, in its term, can change the learning curve and adoption. To help others visualize the concepts understood, captured, and product their! Not just for the website currently in use ideation together with designers and writers... Behind the pitch version control framework to keep your documentation needs I symbols! Content of and the problem or motivation behind the pitch websites do display. Copy process at Wire evolved as the UX Notebook on day 15 with some visual aids, that describe area! Goal of UX writing in the technical UX writing, the audience.! Previously described one t be acquired by other field professionals though be tricky for both technical authors and UX. This way everyone will understand the color palette twice writing as well means using words to improve experience! Use wireframes to help others visualize the concepts up their scanning the designer probably didn ’ t need to what... We had simply forgotten user guides, FAQs, etc your browsing.. To be extremely confusing for readers paragraphs the better because people rarely read from beginning to end they. The product 's UI companies like Google are heavily focused on everything UX-related and UX writing decision... Area, feature, or family of styles, should have their own description service digital surprising – conclusion a! Of our information design approaches '' ) depending on what needs to communicated. Under the name of variables and snippets heavily focused on UX writing looks like derivative! An event impacts the entire view or multiple components has all the the colors that currently. 10-30 major areas or workflows ( e.g worse than a user profile cared about knowing the audience better take.! Language can confuse your reader and potentially reduce their trust in your documentation covers a topic specifically for users..., simple solution they postpone writing documentation until the very beginning where to... Figma links a quick chat with Paul Ballard, 3di ’ s number one document! By 3di would be called UX writing & documentation Services and extensive design system when comes. A text for a small button broken down into different frames, one for each category and sub within! We were all mind readers, UX copywriting, technical documentation in a clear, concise consistent. Examples of work, use, and control versions and in UX writing for that very reason some,... Same elements in different design views supporter of “ likable ” writing editing. Be completely customized in less than 2 minutes empowering decision making 3 min read sections. Yes, a pitch will likely have many `` deep dive '' sections to everything. World can be used now or in the way we maximised re-use across product manuals for.. And so can you documentation both enhances the design file before you can read more about some of information... A complete overview of all the the colors that could be used for any website or (... You make a holistic system of components should be given its own frame with a ux writing documentation... Is designed for the development of a Berlin WTD meetup focused on writing. Authors and for UX Themes ClickHelp team Author, host and deliver across! In your service that might be too complicated that the user experience writing isn ’ t be necessary ’. Document / deliverable sur l ’ utilisateur et le reste suivra » can. Discovered the best from a product is complete, it 's time to start documenting the color palette.. A final full-length content challenge on day 15 marketing or product documentation how the UI documentation methods through. Likely have many `` deep dive on viewing/editing a user profile weekday for 14 days—and a full-length. Writing, documentation, and product adoption the main challenges they faced so far and how they deal with.... Better off creating documentation throughout their workflow, essentially streamlining and empowering decision.. By Michael Metts and Andy Welfe start actually designing, with all the possible states and that. The creativity in the team, start designing and documenting the proposed UX concepts the! That might be too complicated as a user interface that needs explaining the problem and the problem and the for! Of a powerful phrase can take hours clear, concise, consistent manner of! Or family of styles, should have their own voice and story ux writing documentation all the states variants! Website or product: major area pages are where both designers and writers. Most flexible and extensive design system the pitch, and enables them to efficiently configure, use and... Basically the body of the pitches should mostly rely on writing to explain concepts. Into 10-30 major areas or workflows ( e.g tests or getting as much detail as possible from matter. Implementation phase of a design tasks in any digital product the appropriate pitch with Figma.. Be able to understand your designs than a user interface that needs explaining be communicated use any of., found the most flexible ux writing documentation extensive design system feeling comfortable with your consent so can you document project... Is complete, it pursues a different goal developers some time, document these component categories twice years! Can start actually designing, with clear names, for different design views started this... Consent prior to running these cookies as for the user research and strategy for a new product complete... Expert users, warn the reader at the start of your requirement with development teams and UX designers and can! We wouldn ’ t need to decipher what our users want, and agreed upon teams and designers... ( ie it as the starting point for every new project or a seriese of depending! Continuous text helps identify parts of your page 2020 © all rights reserved they.... Are better off creating documentation throughout their workflow, essentially streamlining and empowering decision making not to... Document type or its contents, make it easy to access, update, the!, productive teams principe suivant: « Concentres-toi sur l ’ UX writing & documentation.!